A lesson in how to think like your customer to create attention-grabbing copy.
How do you go about writing copy that speaks directly to your customer and makes them take notice of what you are saying?
We are all busy people and with an abundance of messages out there, both on and offline, it takes something pretty special nowadays to make your target audience stop and read what you’ve got to say.
When I write copy for my clients, whether online or offline, the first thing I do is think like their customer – it’s so ingrained in my approach it’s part of my website strapline.
So how do I think like the end customer?
Rather than stepping into their shoes and walking for miles I go for a far more relaxed approach – I take their seat, make myself comfortable and listen carefully.
But the chair I sit in depends on who my clients are selling to.
The Sofa Test
For companies selling to consumers B2C (rather than business) I put myself in the mind of their target customer, whom I picture sitting on their sofa with a laptop on their knees.
I think about what service or product they are looking for, the keywords they might type into Google, what are the triggers that will make them buy … above all, about what they will get out of buying from or using the services of my client.
I find companies (particularly business owners) are so enmeshed in the details of their business that they struggle to take a step back and see it as their customers do and most importantly use the language that they use. They need an outsider to do this, which is where someone like me, an expert copywriter comes in.
Without this fresh perspective they produce copy that is dull, confusing, too long or too detailed. It’s a big turn-off for that potential customer on the sofa flicking rapidly through websites. If the words aren’t eye-catching and no connection is made they will soon move on to the competition.
The MD’s Chair
Being eye-catching is exactly what the Business to Business (B2B) company needs its marketing to be too. In this case, I’ve moved off my comfortable sofa to the MD’s chair.
That email campaign, proposal, website or brochure needs to attract the MD’s immediate attention. My clients may love their business and want to write reams to appeal to the MD so he/she knows how good it is … but the MD doesn’t have time to read all that. Because he/she is thinking about that big order from China; about those end-of-year financials needed next week; about sacking that marketing exec who is proving to be trouble; and about that Skype call to New York coming up …. If your email campaign lands in the middle of all that it’s going to be completely ignored or at best deleted whilst the MD’s chair swivels around in another direction.
By writing copy in a way that appeals to them, perhaps using their technical language if appropriate or a style familiar to their market (use industry magazines, social media, websites to research their style) you stand a far better chance of being noticed.
You may think your business is the best thing in the world; no one else does … yet. Grab their attention by talking to them in a way they will sit up and listen too, then you’ll be able to convince them. And hopefully they’ll love you too!
If you are struggling to get comfortable in your customer’s chair and need help writing copy that makes them take notice, get in touch with the copywriting experts……we make ourselves comfortable in all sorts of chairs.
