Comments on: Laundry List Marketing

By: Engago Team

Engago Team — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:35:23 +0000

If a company mentions already what they do, is much better than companies where you have to go to “About us” in order to understand what might be their business.
How many companies have a home page on their website that looks splendid (even with Flash animation) but you just don’t know what they do.
Having a “Laundry list” is still better than a tag line without substance.
And Google can handle a “Laundry list” too.
Of course a shorter bullet list has more chances to be remembered or being read.

By: Cam Beck

Cam Beck — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:37:27 +0000

“Branding by bullet point. Really bad idea.”
You may consider trademarking that phrase, if it isn’t already. I love the exposition.

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:38:14 +0000

I agree that bullet points have their place. Haven’t you ever met someone who says to you, “I didn’t know you do that!”
I agree that it shouldn’t be the first message you see, but once a customer drills down, the “laundry list” helps them identify whether a company/consultant can be of service to them. If what they look for isn’t there, they may doubt that it is something a company can handle well.

By: Steve Woodruff

Steve Woodruff — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:30:03 +0000

@levon @lewis – I do believe that bullet point lists have their place. But it must be subordinate in my mind. Grabbing attention and getting people’s minds attached and emotions engaged involves a condensed, punchy, “sticky” approached. Lists can come later.
Bullet points give me the particulars of the “what.” But first, I want to know “who” and “why.” The what, IMHO, can often be considered a commodity.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:09:18 +0000

Steve,
I should have mentioned, that I agree, we should include a brand message. But we don’t build web sites to build brand, we build them to grow our business. There are far better tools than web sites for building brand image.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:57:37 +0000

Steve,
I hate to, your a smart guy, but I disagree with you. On a web site, potential customers are scanning for needs. They aren’t reading. We have about 3 – 5 seconds to get their attention. Bullet points work, and my clients (and I) all get business because of our bullet points. Not because of a single message.

By: Levon

Levon — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:44:39 +0000

It is often taught that a brand is a list of bullets that people associate with a company image. For example Coca Cola (refreshing, real, beverage, tastes good, red, soda…). So I think a lot of marketers and branders tend to think that this is the formula for marketing or banding a company, but your point is valid — these associations have to be created more discretely and less explicitly.