‘Buzzword stuffing’ occurs when tech companies chase the latest technology trends. At a tactical level this shows up in content marketing. Like blog posts and whitepapers, as a bunch of keywords packed into the content.
This cartoon shows Mike, the founder and CEO of ACME Tech, as the quintessential startup CEO. Mike is always looking for the latest hot tech bandwagon to jump on.
Why do tech companies do this?
Startups engage in buzzword stuffing to secure funding from venture capital firms. VCs tend to invest in companies that they consider hot and part of the latest technology trend.
In addition, larger tech companies engage in buzzword stuffing to attract the attention of potential buyers. Or to position themselves within a category established by analyst firms such as Gartner. Specifically, they aim to align with the hottest technologies in Gartner’s Hype Cycle.
What is wrong with buzzword stuffing?
- It makes you look bad. Using buzzwords in your marketing and sales pitches can annoy to people. Simply put, people hate buzzwords.
- It puts you on a slippery slope. When you use buzzwords before you can actually deliver the functionality this is precarious. A quick path to customer dissatisfaction is to promise something that you can’t deliver.
Making false statements about a company’s technology crosses a clear line. Elizabeth Holmes crossed that line when she was CEO of Theranos.
- You could end up sounding like all your competitors. Differentiation is important in B2B tech. When you use the same buzzwords as your competitors you are going to sounds the same to prospects. That defeats the key goal of B2B marketing to stand out from the competition
In conclusion, DO NOT use buzzwords. Whenever a company is more focused on buzzword stuffing than solving customer problems, it is a sign of larger problems.
