The royal ‘we’ has entered the building
A talented independent suddenly writes like an international group. ‘We leverage our multidisciplinary capabilities’ appears on the homepage. The phone is still answered by one knowledgeable human, but the website sounds like it needs its own procurement department.
There is nothing wrong with being small. For many customers, direct access, care, speed and accountability are advantages. Hiding them can remove the most persuasive part of the offer.
Scale is not the same as confidence
Trying to look larger usually produces generic language, borrowed visual habits and claims with no fingerprints on them. Confidence is different. It is being precise about what you do, how you work and when you are not the right choice.
Make the human advantage visible
The aim is not to look amateur. It is to look deliberately, credibly and usefully yourself.
- Say who clients will actually work with.
- Explain the decisions you can make faster because the business is independent.
- Show the point of view that a committee would probably dilute.
- Use plain language a real customer would use back to you.
The prescription
Do this next.
- Remove one sentence that exists only to sound bigger.
- Replace ‘we’ with a real name wherever direct accountability matters.
- Turn one small-business advantage into a specific customer benefit.