The First Step to Better Website Copy Part 1: Understanding Your Customer
The secret to attracting better leads, making conversions and building your business is targeting the right audience.
When I hear ‘something for everyone,’ I think ‘nothing for me.’
When it comes to writing your copy, what you think about your product or service is not as important as the perspective of the customer.
You may be able to draw on your own experience to a degree, but it’s insufficient to really uncover those big benefits and discover how your product or service is uniquely suited to solving your customer's problem.
If you don’t know your customer, you don’t know how to sell your product. It’s as simple as that. Copywriting is more about strategic thinking than it is crafting the perfect sentence. Part of that strategy is making time for customer research.
It may seem obvious, but why do so many people make the mistake of missing this crucial step?
Maybe it’s seen as too much like hard work or not that important, but I hope that after reading this article you will understand why customer research should be the copywriter’s first task and be champing at the bit to get cracking on with your own.
Why should you focus on your audience?
If you focus on your audience and what they are trying to accomplish you’re well on your way to writing great copy.
Remember that everybody thinks of him or herself as the centre of the universe, so when your prospect considers buying your product or service all he or she cares about is ‘What’s in it for Me.’
So, you had better figure that out quickly.
Why do you need to know your customer?
This might sound a bit fluffy, but I believe you need to know your customer inside and out because you care about them. Your service offers a solution to their problem. You need to empathise with that problem and without fully understanding their needs, desires, goals and fears you’ll just be using guesswork to inform your copy.
As my former mother in law says: “Never assume… it makes an ass out of u and me.” You might groan at that cheesy line, but it’s true. Don’t just suppose you know; ask and get it right the first time.
Also, when you’re talking to someone you need to know who you're talking to so that you can use the appropriate language and tone.
We don’t talk to everyone the same. You wouldn’t speak to your mates in the pub in the same way you’d talk to your grandmother, for example. You can probably think of dozens of examples where you cater your manner to the situation: school, work, home, with your partner, your cat, your kids etc.
We all tailor our communication style to our audience
In Scientific Advertising - the revised edition, Claude C Hopkins says “If we don’t understand our customers and their environment, it’s very hard to empathise with them and ‘speak their language.’
Learn the language of your audience and meet them where they are.
The key to writing good copy is to make it sound like a conversation. This means you have to abide by the same principles you would in real life. Why? Because you want to make a connection. If you spoke to Granny like she was one of your mates you risk alienating her (and possibly losing your inheritance to your more charming cousin).
A common oversight is not fully appreciating the need to understand your target market resulting in copy that doesn’t meet your desired outcome. This leads to disappointment all around: your audience hasn’t solved their problem and you’ve lost a sale. A waste of time, then.
By this stage, I hope we can all agree on the importance of knowing your ‘who.’
Well, then, let’s ask the next question:
Who’s your target market?
Please don’t tell me ‘everyone.’
If you did, you wouldn’t be the first, but from now on let's get it straight that it’s not ‘everyone.’
Arguably the most important part of the briefing process is customer research and many business owners in a hurry to get their marketing underway skip over this part.
Some people assume they know everything about why their customers buy. It might even seem self-evident. However, unless you’ve sat down and thought it through, chances are there are some gaps.
What do you need to know?
Basic facts - find out the tangibles like age, gender, education, socio-economic status, job role, decision-making status, industry, point in the sales funnel, buyer journey.
What makes them tick - here we get into the subjective experience like needs, desires, fears, frustrations and struggles.
What puts them off - Why are they reluctant to buy your product or service?
Their goals - You want to know what the person you’re speaking to is trying to accomplish within the context of your product or service. What does a win look like to them?
Knowing this information will help you get under their skin and see things from their perspective helping you to tailor your copy to suit so that it resonates with your ideal customer. In your copy, you can use the same vocabulary and figures of speech that they do and talk about your product or service the way they would so that the message resonates with the thoughts going on in their head. It will draw them in and they won’t really know why.
I just want to know what’s in it for me!
Practical tips on how to get to know your customer
If you want to know your customer inside and out start by talking to them and listening closely to what they tell you.
Depending on what makes sense in your situation this could include:
Gathering testimonials and reviews - after every sale or project is completed make sure to get that precious customer feedback
Interacting directly in person - nothing beats a face to face conversation to get to know someone
Picking up the phone for a chat - if it’s appropriate but don’t pester
Making a poll on social media - ask your fans what they think
Sending out an online survey - try Survey Monkey or Google Forms.
And after you receive this solid gold information, make sure you thank each person individually.
If you confuse - then you lose
The more you know about the people who consistently buy your product or service the better. Gaining clarity will help you write copy that’s relevant and meaningful to your audience. You’ll avoid the kind of vague, fluffy copy that’s easy to ignore - and induces no one to buy.
As in pretty much every case in copywriting, specificity is critical to success here.
Know your ‘who’ and you’re off to a good start
Every business owner with a great product or service should be able to attract the right prospects. The clarity you’ll gain and the time saved chasing clients will more than offset the effort made honing in on the specifics of who your audience is. With a message this compelling, customers will come to you.
Although we’ve talked about the importance of customer research, understanding your customer isn’t just a case of chatting to them until you discover all their needs. It’s not enough. Oftentimes, people don’t know what they want or need so you, as the expert, have to bring your own insight. This is why knowing your product and your market are of equal importance. I’ll talk about the features of your product or service in a future post.
Marketing your business consists of many moving parts but if you take time to understand what’s going on with each element you increase your chances of success.
Good Luck!