Word salads are ruining brands.
And they’re destroying your business.
What is a word salad? A jumble of fancy words tossed together, hoping it tastes like a story. But really, it just leaves us hungry for a point.
Word Salads are Not a Small Issue
❌ They confuse customers.
❌ They ruin brand stories.
❌ They send customers to your competition.
So, what’s happening here?
→ Simplicity and clarity are often missing.
→ Many brands use overly complex narratives.
→ These messages fail to connect with audiences.
Real words connect (here are a few examples).
20 Ways Word Salads are Killing Your Brand
How exactly do word salads ruin your brand’s trustworthiness? Is it the croutons? The ranch dressing? Or something else? Let’s dig in.
1. Confused Customers Don’t Buy
Word salads make brands sound like they’re winging it—customers prefer a clear dish, not a guessing game.
Just ask Kodak, whose complex corporate language and unclear messaging on digital strategy left everyone guessing.
Their failure to clearly communicate played a big role in their inability to pivot successfully into the digital age, leading to a loss of market share and, eventually, bankruptcy.
2. Overcomplication Creates Hesitation
If your brand story needs a translator, you’ve lost the audience and the sale.
3. Looks Impressive, Feeds Nothing
Word salads sound impressive, but they don’t feed the curiosity of the buyer ( or the bottom line).
4. Jargon is a Buzzkill
Jargon doesn’t impress customers; it just sends them on a hunt for meaning elsewhere.
5. Customers Get Confused, Not Committed
When brands overcomplicate, customers undercommit.
JCPenney learned this the hard way.
When CEO Ron Johnson attempted a major rebrand with vague messaging and unclear pricing, customers didn’t know what to expect. The confusion cost the company nearly $985 million in losses, store closures, and lost loyalty.
6. Messaging Shouldn’t Be a Maze
A brand with word salads is like a GPS that keeps rerouting—annoying and unnecessary.
7. Don’t Expect Cliff Notes
If your messaging needs cliff notes, customers will probably just take the shortcut to your competitor.
8. Dressed-Up Nonsense is Still Nonsense
Overstuffed messages leave customers full of questions and empty on trust.
9. Confusion Isn’t a Brand Strategy
Brands aren’t built on confusion; they’re built on clarity that sticks.
10. Mystery Doesn’t Close Sales
If it takes a detective to decode your message, customers won’t stick around for the mystery.
RadioShack tried to revitalize its brand with a fresh marketing push, but its unclear communication left everyone wondering what exactly the “new” RadioShack stood for.
This muddled messaging, combined with an already struggling business, contributed to its decline and eventual bankruptcy.
11. It’s Not Smart, Just Unclear
Word salads might look intellectual, but they’re terrible at starting conversations or closing deals.
12. Customers Don’t Come Back for Confusion
No one comes back for seconds if the first bite is baffling.
13. Don’t Overcomplicate (or You Overwhelm)
If your brand story can’t be summarized, your customers are already lost.
14. Forgettable and Frustrating
Messy messaging isn’t memorable—it’s forgettable and frustrating.
15. Sound Human, Not Like a Glossary
Complicated language might make you sound smart, but clear language makes you sound human.
16. Write Clearly, or Write Off Loyalty
You can’t build brand loyalty if your story sounds like it’s still being written.
17. Don’t Leave Customers Guessing
Customers don’t appreciate a mental maze—make the path clear and they’ll follow.
18. Easy to Digest, Easy to Trust
If your message isn’t easy to digest, your brand will be hard to swallow.
19. A Messy Message is a Missed Opportunity
If your brand message feels like it’s all over the place, the point you’re trying to make probably is too.
20. Overkill Kills Connection
Overdoing the language creates distance; simple messages make customers feel closer to your brand.
So, what do we do about it?
Simplifying Your Messaging
3 Main Strategies to Refine Brand Communication:
✅ Focus on authenticity
✅ Understand the audience
✅ Harness the power of storytelling
By focusing on clarity, authenticity, and relatable narratives, you’ll ditch the word salads and serve up brand stories that connect.
Otherwise, you go hungry. And so does your customer.
What’s the worst “word salad” you’ve ever seen?
Can Your Brand Do This? Here’s How.
If you have a small business that you own, take control of your brand.
When you control your brand, you control the narrative. I explain that here:
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