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Subject:Marcom writer doing TW From:Andy Dugas <adugas -at- NAVIS -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 30 Oct 1998 11:44:57 -0800
As a marcom writer who crossed over to TW, I'd like to add to the recent
thread about marketing/technical writing.
First, it's great to hear TWs say something NICE about marketing writing. I
agree that the majority of marcom is indeed fluff, let's remember that
there's plenty of bad tech writing as well. And marcom can be just as
demanding, maybe more so, than TW.
Generally, the more mass-marketed the product, the fluffier the writing can
get. The inverse is also true: the more high-end the product, the more
precise the writing must be. Why? Because you're writing to a double
audience. The material has to be at a level that is meaning to both the
executive decision-makers and the technical pros on whose recommendation
they'll be making that decision.
How to do that? Focus on benefits and how those benefits are realized. You
have to discuss the product features technically enough to satisfy the
engineers, but not to such an extent that the execs' eyes glaze over. Then
they might elect an inferior product simply because they could understand
the marketing summaries easier.
Which brings up another point. High-end marcom carries much more of the
marketing burden. With a mass-marketed product, you have TV spots, magazine
ads, spokespersons, etc. The marketing effort is carried on many shoulders.
And how many general consumers really analise, say, the benefits of buying
a Toyota vs. a Nissan, or a Dell vs. a Compaq? They read some brochures,
shrug and take their best shot, unconsciously swayed by the zillion hours
of commercials they've watched.
But try selling a company a million dollar system and we're talking a
cavity search by the whole IT staff, some of whom may have built the system
you're replacing. With that kind of money at stake, your marketing writing
damn well better be on the mark.
There seems to be an increasing market for "technical marketing writers,"
which seems to demonstrate that neither technical nor marketing skills
alone is enough. TWs might be able to say "Just the facts, ma'am."
But don't denigrate marcom writers. It's just as demanding to say, "Just
the benefits, ma'am, and be ready to back up what you say."
