There must be better ways to describe what you do than ‘systems’

The impenetrable system. The guarded processes that allow your business to run more efficiently. I’d like to hear of a word that has far less meaning to a consumer than ‘system’.

Systems, I’m sure, work perfectly 99% of the time. That’s not my concern if I’m a member of the unlucky 1% club.

The accountability of system

There have been books written and studies examined that highlight the impact systems have upon customer experience. I’m not going down that path. I want to talk about the marketer’s use of the term ‘system‘.

You see, a system doesn’t differentiate your craft or make your internal processes far more intelligible. Telling me, your consumer, about the wonderful systems you have in place isn’t a good path to follow.

System, to me, is:

• the cause of my 2 hours wasted picking up a purchased item that was ‘no longer in stock’
• the reason my airport parking place hadn’t been allocated correctly
• the reason my son can’t eat 95% of the products on the supermarket shelves, because the system believes they ‘may contain nuts’
•  the reason I wait in for a delivery that was never made

For me, system is an ugly word. It’s a mechanical inaccessible fortress within business that stops me from getting what I want. It’s inflexible and unforgiving.

The dictionary tells me that system is ‘a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network; a complex whole.’ For most businesses who ’employ’ system it’s something to hide behind when things go wrong. ‘Well, I can’t do anything about it now… it’s in the system‘. Like I’ve just dropped my keys into a tank of piranhas.

I don’t want to hear about systems

• Do I want my children to go through the educational system, or do I want them to be inspired by learning?
• Do I need to be placed in a system, or do I need to know that somebody will take my call and listen and act upon my concerns very shortly?
• Do I take a journey on the Underground system, or do I get to my intended destination with minimal stress and exertion?
• Do I hire your business because you have systems in place, or because you can provide me with a solution?

I’ve read marketing materials that explain how CRM systems allow for 1TB of data to be backed up. I’ve listened to sales pitches that allay my fears due to a system that is already in place. I’m not alone in this, I’m not looking for a system. People don’t wake up and require a system to get the results they need. They’re seeking solution. 1 extra syllable. A whole different outlook.

The wrap up…

You probably have a sense of my disdain. System represented the old way of doing business. The way we could wow our customers with the wonderful technologies we have at our fingertips. Don’t worry, the system will take care of you.

It won’t. It’s a cold dark place and represents everything that humanised marketing is looking to eradicate. For sure, you have systems in place. They have a purpose. That purpose is left in the basement, far out of the reach of your audience.

Marketers are allowed to break convention. If your ‘systems’ people talk in a different language, your job is to translate that language into the one the rest of us have become so frequented with. The language of you and me.

When your consumer requires reassurance… is your answer that you have a ‘system in place’, or ‘we’ve already thought of that’?

Written By:

Ian Rhodes

Twitter

First employee of an ecommerce startup back in 1998. I've been using building and growing ecommerce brands ever since (including my own). Get weekly growth lessons from my own work delivered to your inbox below.