What language are you speaking?

Something that’s been on my mind lately:

When you speak to your customers – through email, on the phone, or even on Twitter – are you speaking their language? Are you talking about “mobile devices” when your customers are calling them “cell phones”? (Or do they say “smart phones”? Or even “smartphones”?)

Yes, it matters.

I eat hamburgers, not ground beef patties. I wear shoes, not footwear. And, since I’m from Buffalo, I drink pop – not soda. (But that’s an argument for another day.)

Writing creative, intelligent or witty marketing copy is fine and dandy – but you have to speak the language of your customers, first and foremost. Otherwise you risk appearing pompous, snide or worse yet, completely ignorant about the very people you’re trying to talk to.