The moderator held up the storyboard we in the back room were all waiting for. The crunching of M&Ms(c), the giggling comments, the rustling of paper all stopped and the room came to a hush. Everyone held their breath to see how the respondents would react.
The moderator read the line, “We listen…,” and then the three supporting sentences and then asked for a yeah/nay/positive/negative vote as a first reaction. All eight hands shot into the air; the respondents smiled and laughed.
“So,” the moderator asked, “what attracts you about this tagline?”
“It’s exactly what I have experienced with them. They do listen. When I talk to one of their reps on the phone, they don’t rush me; they hear me out.”
“They try to understand what I need.”
“It says that they care, that they’ll take the time to listen.”
“That is just wonderful! How many companies actually do listen? All they seem to want to do is to talk at me, shout at me even; they don’t hear a word I say; they’re too busy trying to get me to pay attention to them.”
“Well,” said the moderator, “is to believeable for [Company name] to say that they listen?”
“Yes, yes, it is! Because they do. They don’t rush to judgment. They hear me out.”
“That’s been my experience with them as well, even though I haven’t had to call them for anything. They take care of business; they do things right; they’re easy to work with. That says that they listen, just as the line suggests.”
By now, the observers in the back room where practically glued to the one-way mirror, watching and listening intently. We had clearly struck something powerful here. The very words that had previously caused respondents to react so negatively, such as “we care,” were now being played back in total positivity simply by changing the word “care” to “listen.”
Best of all, listen implied that the company cared, that they were on the consumer’s side, that they truly wanted what was best for the customer.
Two words–two opposite reactions.
What could some wordsmithing do for your company’s marketing materials?
Comments welcome!
Dr. Bob
