The One Thing You Should Demand of Marketing Rockstars, Ninjas and Jedis

Too many marketers and consultants, desperate to manufacture a meaningful and unique value proposition, have been using these colorful titles for a few years now.

Even though there’s nothing meaningful, unique or valuable about them.

I thought these titles would have all but disappeared by now, but they seem to be more prevalent than ever.

Facebook mavens. Content evangelists. Design ninjas. Social media jedis. Marketing gurus. Video rockstars. SEO masters.

After all, anyone would kill to rub elbows with a real life rockstar, ninja, guru or jedi. We all wish we could be surrounded by such coolness and wisdom.

Of course, these empty titles aren’t limited to marketing. There are tens of thousands of LinkedIn users, maybe more, who refer to themselves as gurus, mavens, ninjas, jedis, rockstars, masters or evangelists.

Throw the equally meaningless “expert” into the mix and that number jumps into the millions.

Sorry, I didn’t have the time, the patience or the stomach to tally up the exact numbers. Do a people search on LinkedIn using those terms and you’ll see what I mean.

You know what I’m talking about.

Highest quality. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Best customer service. One-stop shop. Industry-leading expertise. Blah blah blah is in our DNA. We do blah blah blah so you don’t have to.

Like the list of titles mentioned previously, these marketing clichés are vague and meaningless. They give people a reason to look for other options. People have heard these phrases so often that they go in one ear and out the other.

As much as lame titles and marketing clichés frustrate me as marketer and content writer, they frustrate me even more as a consumer.

When I’m looking for a reason to choose one product, person or company over another, and all I see are ridiculous titles and clichés, it makes my decision more difficult.

Lame titles and marketing clichés don’t educate me. They don’t make me feel a certain way. They don’t earn my trust.

They just annoy the hell out of me.

So next time you encounter a self-proclaimed rockstar, ninja or guru, don’t take their word for it.

For years, I’ve told abusers of marketing clichés to dump the vague, empty language and give their audience something of substance. Something of value. Something that will put people one step closer to a sale.

In other words, don’t just say it. Prove it.

For example, if your customer service really is the best, tell me what makes your customer service better than everyone else’s customer service.

If you can’t, maybe customer service isn’t as strong a selling point as you think.

The same goes for so-called experts, ninjas, mavens and evangelists.

If you don’t dismiss them right out the gates for using a silly title, tell them to explain why they’re qualified to write your content, develop your SEO strategy, build your website or manage your social media platforms.

Tell them to show you their process. Tell them to show you examples of their work. Ask them to provide you with contact information of a client or two so you can get a real world perspective on their work.

If they make claims about being able to deliver certain results, tell them to validate those claims with actual data.

Don’t let them get away with just saying it. Demand proof.

Talent Zoo CEO Rick Myers said it best in a tweet a couple of years ago:

The same applies to websites, social profiles and professional bios.

Beware of meaningless, superficial titles, and make sure you dig deeper to find out exactly what the gurus, experts and jedis have done to earn such a lofty status.