Becoming official and being added to the dictionary doesn’t’ mean a word or phrase isn’t commonly used and recognized. It just reminded me that as marketers we often forget that we are not necessarily our customers, and need to keep that in mind with every communication.

The best marketing resonates with customers and makes them feel we are speaking directly to them. Miss the mark with language that seems foreign to them or like jargon and you can alienate them.

Its easy to lose perspective of whether a term or phrase is jargon or has moved into common usage with our audience, particularly if you live, breath and work in a niche. It’s your job to be up to date on trends, news…and you are probably a bit ahead of most of your audience, making it hard to keep it all in perspective. That is not to say there aren’t very savvy audiences out there on the cutting edge. The key is to really know your audience.

Social media such as blogs and twitter give us an incredible opportunity to have ongoing conversations in real time with our audience and read exactly what words and terms they speak/write in.

The real question for marketers is not when does a term become official, but when is it commonly used and accepted into the familiar language our target audience speaks.

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“Recently, Kevin Owsley went searching for a reputable organization that could validate the eco-friendly traits of his company’s carpet-cleaning fluid. But after canvassing a dozen competing groups hawking so-called “green certification” services — including one online outfit that awarded him an instant green diploma, no questions asked — he grew disillusioned about how meaningful any endorsement would be to his customers.

Mr. Owsley goes on to  say ‘I joke and say, ‘I could buy some of these companies a case of beer, and they’d give us a certification.’ I’m very frustrated by that. ”

To certify or not to certify. For small to medium size companies, the price alone may inform this decision. Whichever route you decide to go, good marketing for your sustainable business doesn’t rely on a certification. It’s really about telling your story and providing credible information to stakeholders. read my article  5 top tips for responsible green marketing…

how it differs in green marketing:

• the engagement and input needs to be company wide
• the skills needed cross numerous departments – r & d, technical, production, shipping… as well as marketing
• product and company data such as energy usage, materials sourcing and composition… needs to be tracked, measured  and available to supply chain, stakeholders and consumers
• transparency and honesty are necessary – even when results are less then planned targets