Write for Your Ideal
Customer
Got your MWR firmly planted in
your brain?
Fantastic! Have you also made
notes from your assignment about those six key components -- MWR, Opening
Headline, Opening Paragraph, Sub-headings, links to the MWR, and Body Copy?
Okay, we’re ready to work on the
foundation for a successful e-biz…
Surprised? Are you thinking to
yourself?... ”Where’s the keyboard action?” ”What about formatting?” ”No
headline creation?”…
Well, just like most things in
life, you can’t skip to the front of the line, without some unpleasant
consequences. Effective PREselling and selling are no different. Every
word-headline-sentence-paragraph has a persuasive role to play… a powerfully
persuasive role.
-----
-----
A firm foundation is critical for
whatever actions you take from now on. So let’s go back to ground level.
Your business, whether it is...
• big or small,
• pioneer or mature,
• high-tech or
labor-intensive,
• top-end or bargain-basement…
depends on the perceived value of your product (or service) by your customers.
If they do not see a benefit or “what’s in it
for them,” then their relationship with you will go no further.
Your prospective customers will
look elsewhere. And your competitors are always willing and waiting to greet
them. How do you prevent this? Know your target or ideal customer first... put
yourself in her shoes and get inside her head. She represents the majority of
people who would be specifically interested in your product or service.
No tire-kickers… no curious
cruisers… just prospects with a specific interest in your specific business.
You have to understand her thoughts and feelings, figure out her personality
type, sense what makes her tick. Basically, you have to get inside her head.
Once you know your customer, you
can anticipate her wants, appeal to the right emotions and show her how your
product/service will benefit her. We both know what happens then. Value always
outweighs financial cost in a shopper’s mind.
You PREsell by providing valuable
content! Then, and only then, you sell by providing valuable benefits. A
satisfied customer becomes a lifetime customer, as long you “overdeliver” on
everything you say and do. On the Net, you don’t have the luxury of
face-to-face contact or a slow pace to get to know your customers.
That’s why it’s critical to
develop a thumbnail sketch of your target or ideal customer before you begin to
write any copy on your site. Remember your words are like a virtual
salesperson, behind the counter or stationed in the aisle. Your sales copy has
to make your ideal customer feel that you are talking to her, one-on-one,
welcoming her, providing attentive service and fulfilling her wants. You cannot
write effectively unless you know her mindset. Oh, by the way... when we talk
about a customer, as you may have noticed, we use the feminine pronouns (she,
her). Why? Two reasons…
1) To jar your thinking -- we are
all so used to reading “he” and “his.” Reading the female pronouns will remind
you to think that people, males and females, will be reading your words.
2) To drive home the fact that
women account for up to 80% of purchases on the Net (depending on your niche,
of course). “Normal” use of the male pronouns would keep you "thinking
male."
A thumbnail sketch of your ideal
customer, paints a picture in your mind of whom you are dealing with... and
more importantly, to whom you are writing. Success will not come if you write
for yourself. You don’t need to be persuaded. You already know and love your
product/service (or those that you represent). Write for your target customer…
her needs, wants, worries, interests.
Boil your target down to a
single, ideal customer. Picture her. Now write for her. Thinking of a single
person automatically helps your copy feel one-to-one as you write. If you think
of thousands of people as you write, your copy will take on an impersonal,
broadcast tone. You know her best so talk to her!
No comments:
Post a Comment