All too often, small business owners market their services based on what is most appealing to them. They make offers that they think are great. They focus on benefits that they think are important.
Here’s the challenge with that approach: It’s very ineffective!
Your prospective clients buy for their reasons, not yours. If you want them to become clients, you need to be able to see things from their perspective and adapt your marketing messages accordingly. You need to write in terms that are native to them, not you. You need to inspire them to call you, email you, visit your store etc, and they will only do that if you give them a good reason to. This means using their language, to demonstrate the benefits of what you do, based on their most pressing needs. It’s all about THEM.
I saw someone recently trying to encourage small business owners, to attend a free talk he was giving, about how to use foursquare. Here’s what his primary marketing message was:
“Learn how to geosocialize with your local commercial spectrum!”
Now, for 99% of the small business population, that phrase will be more likely to turn them off, than convince them to check out the service. He was talking in HIS language, not his intended audience’s. He failed to explain in clear business terms, what the benefits of attending his talk would be. He failed to explain why a busy business owner should take time out from running their business, to go and listen to him.
One of the fastest ways you can improve the effectiveness of your marketing copy writing, is to review your material and ask yourself:
- Is this written in the language I use, or the language of my prospective clients / customers?
- Does this message clearly explain, in as few words as possible, compelling reasons why they need my product or service?
If you find your copy is failing on either front, rewrite it. This time, place all the emphasis on them and their needs.
Jim Connolly can help you grow your business and achieve the breakthrough marketing results your hard work deserves. To find out more, simply click here!
I love this one Jim! It’s an all-too-common problem you see with many small business marketing approaches. I’m sure we’re guilty of it from time to time as well.
“Dumbing it down” doesn’t mean it has to sound like a baby said/wrote it. It means it has to make sense to your target audience that you want buying your product/service. In most cases, they do not use/understand your product (hence why they are potential customers) so it has to have meaning in “their” world.
I think if you realise you are doing it Rob, you are one huge step toward fixing the problem.
So true Jim, so true. And like you said, reviewing is all it takes to pinpoint those winning copies from awful ones. Sometimes just walking away and coming back to a copy works wonders. Problem is we simply lack the patience. Excellent post!
Cheers. ~Paul
Glad you found it useful, Paul.
Hi Jim
I guess this issue can’t be reiterated enough!Personally I would love to read an actual example of re-writing someone’s copy.Even a sentence.Could you do that? Cheers!
Love this one, Jim. As an ad copywriter/producer, this is one I try to live up to in every bit of work I do. I equate ads to mirrors. When a business runs an ad on TV or radio or wherever, the viewer should be able to see a bit of his or her self in it. The better the advertiser can do that, the better chance of getting a customer.
I’d love you opinion on something though: When writing copy, at what point does one draw the line between doing “what WE know works”, and “what the client wants”? As I’m SURE you know, they’re not always the same thing.