63 Empty Business Writing Cliches to Avoid
Contrary to popular belief, using business cliches in your writing isn’t always a bad thing. The definition of a cliche is “a trite or overused expression or idea,” but sometimes those terms and sayings are overused for a reason: because they work. Advertising works best when it’s able to transmit a wealth of information and meaning with a single phrase, even if that phrase happens to be a bit cliched. Saying a lot with a little is important in business writing, and cliches are one tool that can help you do that.
They become a problem, however, when they’re so overused that they end up losing all meaning. Once you hear something so many times, it starts to become empty white noise; certain words and phrases simply stop showing up on your mental radar. Avoiding the worst of the worst cliches helps your marketing to stay fresh, contemporary and meaningful. With that in mind, here are some examples of the most troublesome offenders.
The worst of the worst business cliches
-
“Rock stars”
The business world is chock full of self-proclaimed “rock stars” right now: marketing rock stars, graphic design rock stars, maybe even one or two financial advising rock stars. But we can’t all be rock stars, or else none of us are. This is the copywriting equivalent of that middle-aged guy who still wears his high school varsity jacket. It makes you sound more desperate than cool, and it’s just plain overused. -
“One stop shop”
Whether your business is a “one stop shop,” a “one stop service” or even offers multiple resources “under one roof,” these cliches make your company sound unspecialized and unremarkable. If your company is versatile, agile and multifaceted, there are much more creative ways of saying that than “one stop shop.” -
“Integrated solutions”
There’s nothing inherently wrong with using a business buzzword from time to time. If your business offers “solutions,” it’s perfectly fine to use that word. But once you start stringing multiple buzzwords together (“Our paradigm offers integrated solutions to boost your ROI”), it just starts to sound like meaningless jargon. -
“Synergy”
Synergy is a meaningful and useful concept in business, but it’s been overused so much in the corporate world that it’s practically a punchline. It may have been relevant once, but nowadays, it’s the sort of word you hear used in comedy films or TV shows by caricatures of self-important, out-of-touch business managers. Use the cliche carelessly, and your audience is unlikely to take you very seriously. -
“Perfection”
Perfection is a pretty bold claim to make, and one that you’re not likely to live up to. Few potential customers will believe that you actually are the “perfect real estate agency” or the “perfect pet shop.” In fact, audiences are far more likely to simply tune these business cliches out. -
“Highest quality” or “lowest price”
There’s no shame in showing off your best selling point, and for many companies, that’s the quality of their products or the prices they offer. But it often seems like everyone says they’ve got the “highest” or “lowest” of something, and that’s just not mathematically possible. Avoid broad generalizations and be specific about your product or service’s value by using numbers and hard evidence. -
“Next level”
What does the “next level” look like? How do you know when you’ve reached it? The average person doesn’t think of their day-to-day life in terms of “levels,” so advertising that a company will take you to the “next level” is awfully ambiguous. -
“Once in a lifetime”
Few things actually do happen “once in a lifetime,” and your discount or offer probably isn’t one of them. More to the point, this isn’t a provable statement; or rather, to prove it, your audience would first have to live out the rest of their life, making this a rather empty claim. -
“Conveniently located”
That’s an awfully big assumption, especially if you don’t necessarily know where the audience lives or works. Don’t make your customers Google this information themselves, and if you’re going to give any indication of where you’re located, don’t use phrases like “right around the corner.” Instead, be specific and let people judge for themselves whether or not it’s “convenient” for them. -
“The future of _____” or “Tomorrow’s _____, today”
Unless you’re actually a trusted futurist or a psychic, you probably can’t actually predict things that haven’t happened yet. This phrase is so overused that it’s hemorrhaged most of its meaning. “The future of estate planning” or “Tomorrow’s media, today” won’t convince many people that what you’re providing is actually futuristic. -
“Best service” or “full service”
“Best service” is a pretty vague thing to say. What exactly is it about your company’s service that makes it the best? “Full service,” meanwhile, just seems needlessly redundant and doesn’t make you sound especially unique. It’s not like there are many places out there who can only do half of the things asked of them. Instead, be specific about what your business does and offer evidence that shows why you do it best. -
“Results oriented”
This kind of goes without saying, doesn’t it? Why would anyone even bother with you if you weren’t concerned with results? People often use this phrase to describe themselves, but it usually just makes them sound like they have no unique qualities to speak of.
More advertising cliches to avoid
|
|
Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with using a phrase that’s been proven to get results, even if it’s a phrase that’s been used before. When you do use business writing cliches, make sure you’re using them because they’re the best possible way to communicate with your audience—not because you’re being lazy.
Can you think of more common business cliches that need to be laid to rest? Please leave your ideas and other thoughts in the comments below!
Posted in Copywriting
Don`t neglect your friends, share this right away.
Our marketing, design and printing experts are passionate about sharing their knowledge. We're eager to help make your vision a reality in print. Be sure to explore the rest of the Printwand blog for more reliable, easy-to-understand information.
As content marketing becomes more and more prevalent, so does the urge to use such cliches. Thank you for making such a great list and pushing us all to write content that is specific and creative!
Thank you for the compliment!
Thank you James.
I’d like to add to the list, “Expect to exceed your expectations.” Whenever I hear or see it, my gag reflex kicks in.
I believe the warmest and fuzziest language of effective business writing are cold hard facts.
Great point, and that’s a great addition.
For laziness and cliches, there’s one tag line that has infected car advertising on TV and that’s, “Our best (name of car) ever.” Let’s give that a, “Duh!” I’ve heard that on BMW, Nissan, Chevy Malibu and other commercials.
Of course the newest and latest is going to be the best, except maybe for the current line of BMWs which have gotten weak reviews in the car mags. So Mr. and Miss and Mrs Copywriter, can’t you find a less obvious tag line cliche? And yes, I’ve written automobile commercials. So there.
I once worked on a sales promotion for a very large tire manufacturer in which they wanted us to highlight their “blowout” prices. I kid you not. To make matters worse, this wasn’t too long after the Firestone/Ford Explorer blowout tire incidents. Fortunately (or unfortunately for the sake of sheer folly), we ignored their directive and went another direction.
This is awesome and so unbelievably true. But it extends to other industries like sales!
These phrases aren’t only cliche, but they raise red flags to someone getting pitched. People won’t go near something too “salesy.”
“…to name a few” is another tired, overused phrase that (in my estimation) kills the profession just a little, every time it’s used. It’s a meaningless placeholder used to fill time when there is nothing else relevant to say. “…to name a few” represents a severe lack of imagination. Worse: it’s lazy writing.
You get all this, and much, much more…
Revolutionary…
Irresistible…
You’re gonna love…
Don’t settle for less…
I’d like to add ‘lifetime guarantee.’ Not only is used a lot, it is completely meaningless. If you buy a toaster and it blows up after a week, then that was the lifetime of your toaster. I once had a client who thought it referred to the lifespan of the customer! Whatever it is supposed to mean, it will never stand up in court.
I know you are serious about this lifetime guarantee thing but I couldn’t help thinking it would be a great line for a comedian.
What I think is interesting about cliche’s, is the way they are sometimes ingrained into people’s ways of communicating because there is no other, better way of saying something.
For example, “We really will go that ‘extra mile’ for you”, compared to; “We will put in an extra amount of effort on top of what you would expect us to”. It can be pretty tricky to avoid a cliche, especially in sales, as Richard said above.
I think a way to avoid a cliche sounding over-used, is to not use it unless you’re actually sincere about what it means. Customers can be especially good at picking up insincere selling points.
Good tip. Sincerity is always the best policy.
Hahaha, great observations and hopefully an eye opener for some of the stubborn customers out there.
“Customer-focused,” “commitment to excellence,” and “quality” as an adjective.
Many of these were in old clip-art books my Dad had back in the 60’s. Funny!
Great list! My particular pet peeve is the phrase, “custom-designed to your specific needs,” when talking about an off-the-shelf or mass-produced product.
Please add “made easy” to this list. It’s maddening! Thanks!
How about the ubiquitous “Going Forward…” (as opposed to downward, sideways or reverse I assume?) and “World-class” typically dredged up to disguise a product, service or company that’s third-class at best.
I’d add the word “Premium” to that list. I’ve seen items such as cooking oil and chocolate wafers being called “Premium”.
Good article! I’ve made a collection of cliches to help my broadcasting clients avoid them. To get your very own free copy of “Hedquist’s List of 275 Cliches,” email jeffrey@hedquist.com and I’ll send them. Guaranteed to reduce commercial effectiveness.
I have gotten tired of the phrase “up and coming” when referring to comedians. So I googled “up and coming cliche” and your excellent list popped up. The one that’s been driving me crazy lately is “re-imagined”. Somebody invented it about five years ago and about six other advertisers have since ripped it off. That’s what they do best.
In this article you’re suggesting not to use these cliche’s, but in a different article (that links to this one) you suggest to use some of these terms. For instance, in this article you suggest not use “lowest price” but in the other article, https://www.printwand.com/blog/50-catchy-marketing-phrases-that-sell-and-how-to-improve-them, you suggest to use he term “lowest price”. So that’s confusing. Which is it?
Great article! Cliché’s has always been known as catch phases but this article really showed me how to properly develop one without sounding redundant.