Why is All Marketing the Same?

I currently sell construction accounting software. Don’t get me wrong, I think our solutions help companies a lot. And our marketing message aligns with what we sell.

Any company will have competitors. I run into them all the time. But are they really different from us? Or are they the same with a different logo?

I think they’re different. I think we’re better. But at first glance you begin to see that so much of the messaging between competitors is the same. Why? I’m genuinely contemplating this question.

Here are some buzzwords and phrases I run into internally and externally when it comes to cloud based construction software.

• Connected
• Disconnected
• Disparate
• Silos
• Leverage data
• Single source of truth
• Integrated
• Seamless
• Platform

So much of the verbiage is so similar across companies that are trying to sell to the same prospects.

This brings up a few questions in my mind.

First, in a world where messages are so similar, what is my differentiating value proposition?

Next, are marketing messages similar because smart marketing people know that these are the words and messages that resonate with the target audience… therefore the messaging is still advantageous and beneficial? It’s almost like coming out with a product that has already been successfully made and sold by someone else. This may seem unfortunate that you were not first to market, but the other product provided proof of concept, so it’s not all bad.

OR, are marketing messages so similar because industries get stuck in their own bubble and fail to think outside the box and truly stand out and differentiate? Maybe the product is different and unique… but the marketing message is not.

These are genuine questions I’m asking of myself and wondering what the right answers are. My worry is that in a world of common messages, prospects become calloused and begin to tune out when they hear buzzwords.

But that’s where I can try to captain my own ship as an Account Executive. I cannot necessarily change corporate marketing, nor should I. But once I get a qualified prospect to sit down and chat, it’s then up to me to show them why we’re different… in a good way of course.