I've shared this before, but I'll share it again because most marketing leaders have no idea how to communicate effectively to a boardroom or executive team.
And most of our updates fall flat, and it's not because the work isn't good (most of the time), but because we are using the wrong words.
I've been guilty of it more times than I care to admit. Super embarrassed to have said things like:
"We are increasing brand awareness."
"Our SEO strategy is improving."
"Demand gen is working. Look at those MQLs."
Red-faced Kyle. Cool. Cool. But what does all that crap actually mean to the CFO? of the CEO? Or your VP of Sales?
They're not interested in marketing-speak, or frankly, what you probably care about. They care more about revenue efficiency and business outcomes.
So, I've been keeping a list (which I've shared before): A translation guide for marketing leaders.
Don't say this >> say this >> show this
I probably should create a GPT to help with this, but time is not my friend at the moment.
Here are some examples:
Don't say: We're generating a lot of leads.
Say: We're bringing in people who are ready to buy.
Show: Demo Requests, MQL-to-SQL Conversion, Opp Win Rate
Don't say: We’re improving our website traffic.
Say: More of the right people are finding us online, which means more chances to sell.
Show: Organic traffic, bounce rate, pages per session
Don't say: Our email campaigns have high open and click rates.
Say: People are actually reading our emails and taking action, which means more sales conversations.
Show: Open rate, click-through rate (CTR), reply rate, demo requests from email
It's been helpful for me in my communication process, especially in board meetings where clarity is your best friend.
If you want the table, DO NOT COMMENT because I don't need the LinkedIn Police hunting me down.
Just look in the comments, of course.
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