Waikato Business News November/December 2019

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS November/December 2019
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Sticks and stones
How much do the words you use
genuinely reflect your brand? How hard
do you think about the words you use and
how you use them?
Researching a new client
last week, I looked
through other websites
in their sector. Naturally they
were similar, outlining highly
specialist services in an industry
I know little about. But in
this case, it was like the same
person had written them… and
I was still none-the-wiser about
what any of the companies
really did. The language was
overly complicated, incredibly
technical and the descriptions
were so very, very long.
True, those technical websites
are not selling their services
to me. The people who
commission work from them
would (hopefully) understand
every word. But even then,
there’s no need to bore them
into submission. And none of
them gave any sense of what
the experience would be like to
work with them.
If the product or service
your brand provides is the
same as your competition,
finding something that makes
you stand out is a constant
challenge. As you zig, others
zag, and your whole sector is
in one big slalom race to win
new business. If you’re the
one coming down the slope
saying things differently to the
rest, you will be the one they
remember.
Knowing your audience,
what they will relate to and
understand, is one of the
most important starting points
before you put pen to paper.
Not just their demographics,
their role in the decision-making
and their understanding
of your service, but also what
emotional impact is going to
be most effective. Do your
words need to reassure them,
motivate, entertain or simply
inform?
The lesson in that
for me was that
yes, language is a
beautiful thing but
using it effectively is
more important.
Think about how your
words will lead them to
describe your brand and the
relationship they can expect
to have with it, not just what it
can do for them.
Be prepared to focus some
energy on getting the words
right. It’s not easy, that’s for
sure.
I can generally string a sentence
together, but sometimes
it comes out as complete and
utter gobbledegook. Sometimes,
people must look at
me with confusion about the
garbled splurge that falls out
of my mouth. While, at other
times, something comes out to
make me scan the room to see
if someone smarter actually
said it.
Many years ago, I was in
meetings with someone who
was incredibly articulate. Coupled
with a lovely voice and
lofty reputation, they seemed
so beautifully erudite that I
found myself nodding and
agreeing. Until, one day, I listened
carefully to the words
themselves and realised that
it was actually nonsense. As
the least experienced in the
room, I figured the only way
to learn was to ask them to
explain. They said it again,
simpler. Leaving the meeting,
most of the room whispered
their thanks as they had no idea
what the rambling was about
either!
The lesson in that for me
was that yes, language is a
beautiful thing but using it
effectively is more important.
I lost the opportunity
to work with a client once
because I condensed the proposal
document into something
concise and pithy. I had
assumed that they would prefer
me to get to the point, with
brief summaries rather than
pages of lengthy rationale. He
acknowledged that my recommendations
were sound and
that I had covered everything
he needed, but he wanted to be
convinced by the rigour of the
thought behind them.
If you choose to simplify
or take a very casual conversational
approach, you also have
to be confident that your audience
will connect with your
language style.
Fortunately, New Zealanders
are generally comfortable
with a level of informality reasonably
early in relationship.
It’s important to understand
your audience’s acceptance of
this from your brand.
It used to be that we considered
whether a contraction
(such as we’re rather than we
TELLING YOUR STORY
> BY VICKI JONES
Vicki Jones is director of Dugmore Jones, Hamilton-based brand
management consultancy. Email vicki@dugmorejones.co.nz
are) came across as too casual,
or to go easy on the exclamation
marks. Now informality
can mean things like whether
it’s OK to swear and the use of
emoji.
If you feel this is genuinely
appropriate and authentic to
your brand, go for your life.
But if you feel that your audience
isn’t ready for colourful
language or quirky yellow
faces and cartoon fruit, be prepared
to have to take them on a
journey with your brand, but at
the right time and in the right
places.
The words we use and the
tone in which we express them
have two important goals. One
is for our words to be authentic
to how we want our brand to be
heard. The other is for them to
connect to the people we want
to hear them. Understand both
and both will win.
Delivering for the Waikato region
By JAMIE STRANGE
HAMILTON-BASED LABOUR MP
On behalf of my wife
Angela and our children,
we would like to
wish you a very Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year. We
hope that 2020 brings you good
health, opportunity, and joy.
It’s been almost two years
since the coalition-government
came to office. I’m humbled by
the trust you’ve placed in our
leader Jacinda Ardern, and as
a team we work every day to
repay that trust with action. I’m
thankful for the chance to serve
and champion our region as a
local Member of Parliament.
I’m proud that over the past
two years we’ve made real
progress on the long-term challenges
facing New Zealand.
We’re making steps to
ensure we are the best place
in the world to be a child. In
Waikato, we’re upgrading a
number of schools and we are
building more than 70 new
classrooms across another 30
schools. This means hundreds
more children will be learning
in warm, comfortable and
modern classrooms. We have
also signed off on Hamilton
Christian School becoming
state-integrated.
We’re investing in Smart
Waikato – a programme that
improves student achievement,
helps students get into meaningful
work, and ensures a consistent
supply of skilled labour
for our regional economy, with
a strong focus on the trades.
In October our Prime Minister
visited the Waikato to
announce a $12 million grant
to enable a $74 million world
class theatre to be built in
Hamilton. Other contributions
to this project have come
from councils, Trust Waikato,
Lotteries, and philanthropic
donors. This will create uplift
and opportunity for the arts
sector across the Waikato and
Bay of Plenty regions. Construction
will begin early next
year.
We’re investing in mental
health and addiction services,
including $100 million to
rebuild the Henry Rongomau
Bennett Centre in Hamilton.
We’re delivering better cancer
care through increased access
to new cancer drugs and treatment
equipment.
Futureproof have combined
with the Hamilton to Auckland
Corridor team, in order to
collaboratively plan the future
growth in the Waikato region.
The Hamilton to Auckland
Corridor Plan maps development
between Cambridge/
Te Awamutu in the south and
Pukekohe in the north. This
corridor is the busiest in New
Zealand and will be a key economic
growth area over the
coming years.
A passenger rail service
between Hamilton and Auckland
is due to begin in July next
year. Alongside this, the Ministry
of Transport is undertaking
a business case to explore rapid
rail between Hamilton and
Auckland (around a one-hour
journey).
Good progress continues on
the completion of the Waikato
Expressway, with the Huntly
section due to open in February
2020. It’s important we have a
balanced transport network,
combining road and rail in the
most efficient and accessible
manner.
Work has begun on the
Labour MP Jamie Strange.
completion of the Hamilton
Ring Road and a bridge across
the Waikato River near Hamilton
Gardens. This will unlock
the 8500-house Peacocke
development through $180
million from the Government’s
10-year interest-free loan and
$110 million in NZTA subsidies.
We recently passed the
Zero-Carbon Bill, setting targets
to reduce our impact on
global warming.
We’re working hard to
ensure everyone has a warm,
dry home. We’ve banned overseas
speculators and we’ve
made changes to the Home-
Start grant to help more Kiwis
into their first homes. We’ve
stopped the previous government’s
sell-off of state houses,
and we’ve already built more
than 2000 new state homes
across the country. We have
also boosted funding for Housing
First programme to reduce
homelessness.
Our economy is in good
shape, and there’s a lot to be
positive about. We’ve delivered
a strong surplus, growth
well ahead of our major trading
partners, low debt and record
low unemployment. Here in
Waikato, we’ve created more
than 1000 new jobs since coming
into office.
While there’s still plenty
more to do, I’m incredibly
proud of the progress we’ve
already made for New Zealanders.