3 Ogilvy commandments that apply to B2B communications

I finally got round to reading David Ogilvy's Confessions of an Advertising Man. Published in 1963, I expected it to be a quaint look into the Mad Men era. In fact most of what I read not only still stands, but seems more relevant than a lot of present-day articles that focus on brand at the expense of sales.

I was also astonished at just how much of what Ogilvy writes about mass advertising of detergents and cars is equally true for B2B communications. His comment that agencies are infested with people who regard their work as an avant-garde art form, and are more interested in winning awards than selling products for their clients, for example, rings depressingly true. But the book also includes positive tips to improve your own work. Here are my top three, and how I think they apply to B2B comms:

1.    Your most important job is to decide what benefit you are going to promise

Appealing to the reader's interest is key to success. This is equally true in a brochure selling engineering services (where readers may be keen to "avoid factory shutdowns" - so interested in services that guarantee machine performance) as it is for a TV ad for a face cream that "cleans deep into pores" or washing powder that "washes whites whiter". Describing the end result for the user outguns describing the product itself. This can also impact the structure of your offer, as it makes you think about what the client is actually buying.

2. Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating

This might seem self evident, but is often not observed in B2B communications. The first draft of text describing complicated products and services is often produced by the specialist, and little changed by the copywriter, who finds it difficult to understand and is worried about looking stupid in front of their client. But nothing is too complicated to be explained simply, and in an engaging way. The key to this is asking your client very basic questions, and making sure you pin them down on a clear answer. Contrary to what you think, clients tend to like this, and will think you are thorough, not stupid.

3. Search all the parks in all the cities; you'll find no statues of committees

To work well, communications need to have a limited number of clear messages. Numerous people involved, with different, sometimes conflicting objectives, gets in the way of this. Avoid sign-off by committee: invite input from several people by all means, but be clear that not all comments will be incorporated. This depends to a large extent on your internal client, but you can start by explaining why it's important and suggesting an approval process that is less likely to lead to death by a thousand cuts.

What do Michelin-starred chefs and corporate communications have in common?

“Reduce” is a word with fairly negative connotations. Not so in cooking. One of the prized arts of a star chef is “reduction”, the process of thickening and intensifying the flavour of, for example, a delicious red wine sauce.

What does this have to do with communications? Many businesses try to explain what they do by detailing their products and services, then providing figures on, for example, how many people they employ, how many countries they operate in, or how much money they make. 

The result is a sort of corporate shopping list that is not only internal-facing, but also tends to send the reader to sleep. Examples abound but this description from a large healthcare provider comes to mind:

“X supplies medical gases, home healthcare services, hygiene products, medical equipment and specialty ingredients. In over 30 countries around the world, X influences the lives of more than 1 million patients at home and serves over 7,500 hospitals and clinics.”

How, then, to use reduction to intensify the flavour of your corporate communications? And why would you want to?

First of all, even very smart people have a short attention span. So whether you’re speaking to someone standing in front of you, or writing for the web, it’s useful to know how to get your core idea across in a couple of sentences.

Secondly, the process involved in boiling down a message to its essential flavours helps you know what you’re really selling, who you’re selling it to and why they’re buying it. This in turn shapes everything you will say about the brand or product.

So here’s a quick recipe for achieving a tasty reduction:

1) Jot down the answers to some key questions: What is the “problem” your business

solves? How exactly does your business address this problem? What is the purpose? Who is your primary audience? What’s your competitive advantage? What evidence do you have to back up these claims? What will the world look like if you achieve your vision?

2) Take your notes – you will probably have a side or so of A4 – and use the same structure to write out a long version of your “core story” – the essence of who you are and what you do. Cut out words, repetitions, and some stats. Your first draft of this might be around a page.

3) Turn up the heat: look at what you’ve written. How much is repetition, or waters down what you’re trying to say? Cut out words, some stats, flabby turns of phrase.

4) Repeat step 3.

5) Repeat step 3 again.

What are you aiming for? Ideally under 100 words, and if you can do one sentence, with under 25 words, so much the better. Bear in mind though, that this may not be possible: there’s a point at which reduction sends you into dangerous territory. At this point it’s useful to apply the sausage factory test, which I wrote about in a previous post: you may have a snappy sounding strapline, but could it also apply to your competitor, or indeed a company in another industry entirely?

For inspiration, GE does a good job. I’ll leave you with their take on healthcare. At under 80 words, it does an exemplary job of saying what GE does, where, and why:

“GE is constantly working to make the world a healthier place by supplying the healthcare technology that saves nearly 3,000 lives every day. Our focus is on helping medical professionals make an earlier, more accurate diagnosis of disease and then better equipping them to treat it. We’re also designing the tools that make healthcare available in even the most remote parts of the world. Anywhere there is a need for better healthcare tools, we are there.”

Happy cooking!