FEWER ADJECTIVES, MORE FACTS: why “quality service” fails to convince

“The highest quality”, “Individual attention”, “Advanced solutions”, “Experienced specialists”.

We see phrases like these in marketing every day. And no, they are certainly not wrong! In most cases, companies really do strive to deliver quality, invest in technology and take care of their clients.

The problem is that these phrases show almost nothing.

After reading that a clinic takes an individual approach, a patient still doesn’t know what that approach will look like. Will the consultation take longer? Will the doctor offer several treatment options? Will the person’s fears, financial means and expectations be taken into account?

Until there are answers to these questions, an “individual approach” remains just a nice-sounding adjective.

M&M’s: melts in your mouth, not in your hand. The slogan avoids abstract adjectives and at the same time addresses a problem the consumer may never have consciously thought about: eating chocolate can leave your hands messy.

The word “quality” is not a feature of a product or service until we explain what it consists of.

For one person, quality dental care means a long-lasting result. For another – unhurried treatment. For a third – clear communication, aesthetics or the opportunity to find all the specialists they need in one place.

That is why abstract adjectives often shift all the work onto the audience. People have to decide for themselves what the brand meant. In marketing, this is risky. They may understand the message differently than we expected. Or not give it any weight at all.

Dental and medical services differ from most everyday purchases. A person often cannot assess the future result on their own in advance. They may be in pain, feel fear or embarrassment, or not know what kind of treatment they need at all.

In such a situation, phrases like “the highest standards” or “flawless results” rarely answer the most important questions:

• What awaits me at my first visit?
• Can the procedure be painful?
• How will the treatment method be chosen?
• How many visits might be needed?
• What if I’m afraid?
• When will I find out the price?
• Will the alternatives be explained to me?

The more uncertainty a person feels, the more valuable the details that help them understand the process become. So let’s not try to look impressive – let’s simply be useful.

Now that is an advertising message:

After a more complex procedure, we don’t leave the patient alone with an instruction sheet – the next day, a member of our team gets in touch to ask how they are feeling.

FedEx: not fast delivery, but overnight delivery. The 1978 campaign “Absolutely, Positively Overnight” did not say that the company “tries to deliver as quickly as possible”. It set a clear time limit by which the customer could judge the service.

No.

Abstract language can be very useful in building a brand’s mood, values and emotional identity. It helps to talk about who a person wants to become, how they want to feel or which group they want to belong to.

Some studies have found that more abstract messages can be more persuasive for consumers who know the field well, while more concrete ones work better for those who lack prior knowledge. More recent research also shows that the right level of language abstraction may depend on the category being advertised: broader emotional language may suit creative or artistic products, while products associated with science and technology call for more concrete language.

So there is no need to strip all emotion out of advertising.

Let’s start with a conversation. We will help you discover the specific advantages of your business and turn them into advertising that not only sounds good but also gives people a reason to choose you.