A to Z of Marketing: K = Kiss

The A to Z of marketing is designed to give you a flavour of the multitude of components that need to be considered when marketing  a business.

This week we look at K = Kiss.

For those who have worked within a marketing environment before will recognise the KISS principle – which is an acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid.  Basically it means exactly what it says – just keep your messaging as simple as possible.

It is estimated that the average person is exposed to around 2000-3000 marketing messages per day.  At first that sounds ridiculous but then when you think about the media we are exposed to daily – TV, radio, magazines and newspapers, shop fronts, van signage, billboards, buses, clothing, websites, direct mail, phone apps, promotional merchandise, e-mails, logos etc  and you realise that it is probably quite accurate.

So, when the average person is constantly being bombarded with marketing messages, if your message is anything other than simple, it has no chance of cutting through the marketing “noise”!

You also have to bear in mind that the human race is made from a plethora of different personality types and intellects.  Some of us like lots of information, however the vast majority of us prefer to get to the crux, quickly and simply.

It is no coincidence that some of the most successful people in business over the last 50 years share a similar trait.  Richard Branson, Henry Ford, Charles Shwab, Bill Gates, Theo Paphitis, William Hewlett and Simon Woodruff (Yo Sushi) all share one very similar trait – they all suffer from dyslexia.  It is their determination to make things as simple to understand as possible – that has enable them to communicate more effectively, with clarity, with their client base.

So next time you are creating some form of marketing communication, please remember to KISS your customers!