Man-E-Faces stuck with me because the character is a strange little plastic reflection of something very real. He had more than one face. In a way, so do we. That is especially true for small business owners. One minute, you are the friendly neighbor talking to a customer. The next, you are the bookkeeper staring at expenses. Then you become the salesperson, complaint department, creative director, janitor, scheduler, problem-solver, and the person who still has to unlock the door tomorr

That is where honest marketing matters. Too often, honesty takes a backseat to lazy phrases, inflated claims, and shiny words that sound impressive but do not prove anything. And frankly, that ticks me off. So here are five types of marketing language that really grind my gears.

Sometimes the brand is the color pattern. Sometimes it is the packaging. Sometimes it is the shape of the bottle. Sometimes it is the mascot. Sometimes it is the way employees dress. Sometimes it is the whole visual world surrounding the product. That overall look is often called trade dress. Trade dress is the visual identity of a product or business when that look tells customers where something came from. In plain English, it is the outfit your brand wears in public. In Debbie Does Dallas,