The Gulf oil spill has been a public relations  and branding nightmare for BP. So much so the oil giant now scores lower on a “buzz” brand index than even beleaguered automaker Toyota. Over the years BP has spent hundreds of millions positioning their brand as “green” and “”beyond petroleum.”

To a large extent they were very successful. However, all that effort was destroyed in a matter of a few short weeks. How they handle the clean-up will determine a lot about if they can ever regain the “green” position in the marketplace they worked so hard to obtain. However, if their inital actions are any indications of future performance, I fear they’re going to have a steep hill to climb.

What’s bad, boring, and barely read all over? Business writing. If you could taste words, most corporate websites, brochures, and sales materials would remind you of stale, soggy rice cakes: nearly calorie free, devoid of nutrition, and completely unsatisfying.

One of my favorite phrases in the business world is full-service solutions provider. A quick search on Google finds at least 47,000 companies using that one. That’s full-service generic. There’s more. Cost effective end-to-end solutions brings you about 95,000 results. Provider of value-added services nets you more than 600,000 matches. Exactly which services are sold as not adding value?

Who writes this stuff? Worse, who reads it and approves it? What does it say when tens of thousands of companies are saying the same things about themselves?

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If you care about your product, you should care just as much about how you describe it. In nearly all cases, a company makes its first impression on would-be customers or partners with words—whether they’re on a website, in sales materials, or in e-mails or letters. A snappy design might catch their attention, but it’s the words that make the real connection. Your company’s story, product descriptions, history, personality—these are the things that go to battle for you every day. Your words are your frontline. Are they strong enough?

This is a conversation I have almost daily with my clients. Their copy is never ending “Corporate Speak.” Buzz words. Lists of bullet points after bullet points. Void of any personality. Like it was written by some automated copy robot. This type of copy is so common at this point in time that the rare instance I come across a site with “good” copy it stops me cold and I take notice. Wouldn’t that be something you’d like?

I asked him if he would come up with a few options. And he said, “No. I will solve your problem for you. And you will pay me. And you don’t have to use the solution. If you want options, go talk to other people. But I’ll solve your problem for you the best way I know how. And you use it or not. That’s up to you. You’re the client. But you pay me.” And there was a clarity about the relationship that was refreshing.

— Steve Jobs On Working With Paul Rand On The NeXT Logo