It was #1 on my 'bad marketing terms' list for a reason.

When we're developing content for a client, the word 'solutions' almost always crops up.

It's a kind of smarmy, sales double-speak which generally indicates one of two things:

1) You haven't actually refined your offering to a level that you can clearly articulate what problems it solves

OR

2) You don't care enough about how it's marketed to find terms that accurately describe what you do

Either way, it indicates a lack of rigour or effort around what it is that you do.

A quick Google search for the term results in many thousands of businesses who've staked their livelihood on the term, whether in naming their business or describing it. The IT industry is the worst offender.

IT Solutions

Is the IT field so nebulously uncategorised that the word 'solutions' is enough to define you as a business?

There are no claims being staked here. No niches being filled, no bold strategies enacted.

Jack of all trades...

And by extension, master of none.

Particularly egregious is that it's usually the first item in a laundry list of possible offerings: IT Solutions, support, service, sales, networks.... No indication of scale or scope, service capability.

It's viral, but not in a good way

Solutions is a word that infects the rest of your business marketing.

The moment it's used, it short-circuits everything else - because it's such a bland catch-all descriptor, you stop searching for better words to use, better ways of describing your business.

It creates zombie copy.

Stop using 'solutions'. I'm convinced we've developed the equivalent to 'banner blindness' for the word: our eyes just slide right off it without anything sinking in.

Find something better. Stand for something clearer. Define yourself - or someone else will.