You see an awful lot of industry acronyms on b-to-b websites, but I am convinced that often, the only ones who know their meaning are the business’ sales and marketing team. Before texting shorthand dominates communications worldwide, I am compelled to make my case for acronym restraint.

There’s no doubt, acronyms serve a purpose — especially among b-to-b associations. Thank goodness I do not have to spell out Laborers-Employers Cooperation Education and Trust, otherwise known as LECET, every time it appears in print. But acronyms get confusing. How do you remember that CMAA is the Construction Management Association of America, while CMA is the Construction Marketing Association?  And what about use of industry jargon?  Here’s an example from a direct mail company’s website where use of an acronym creates  an obstacle to communication.

Qualify more mail for BMC/SCF entry

That sounds advantageous, but what does it mean?

I turned to Google where I found out that BMC stands for Bulk Mail Center and SCF is a Destination Sectional Center Facility, a Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) of the United States Postal Service (USPS). It serves a designated geographical area defined by one or more three-digit ZIP Code prefixes. By now the meaning of this statement must all be perfectly clear, right?

I learned that if you qualify more mail for BMC/SCF entry, you earn a bigger postal discount. That’s a great benefit lost by using a confusing acronym.

The point is, not everyone visiting your website is an industry insider. So each visitor should be treated like an important customer, prospect or influencer. Why alienate them with acronyms and language they won’t understand?  Clarity supports action.

When in doubt, spell it out.

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