Why Customer Service is the New Marketing
[image courtesy of ansik] Whether it’s in customer reviews, blogs or forums, people are talking about products and influencing buying decisions. Blaring out sales messages merely antagonises skeptical prospects, who place their trust in the objective advice of their peers. Research is showing that the ROI of traditional marketing methods is falling, whilst customer interaction is increasing. [...]
[image courtesy of ansik]
Whether it’s in customer reviews, blogs or forums, people are talking about products and influencing buying decisions. Blaring out sales messages merely antagonises skeptical prospects, who place their trust in the objective advice of their peers.
Research is showing that the ROI of traditional marketing methods is falling, whilst customer interaction is increasing. This would suggest that an adjustment to the bean counter is needed to how marketing dollars are spent.
Perhaps it’s time to stop thinking about just ‘joining the conversation’ in marketing to an online world, but also to be useful in how you communicate. People want insightful advice and information of value. They want constructive customer service, not sales messages.
Engagement offers a more profitable equation
A recent Financial Times article ‘Can Web 2.0 help to build your brand?’ discussed how the costs of marketing in the IT sector are continuing to rise, whilst revenue is continuing to fall. With half of marketing budgets being spent on traditional methods (advertising, sponsorship, public relations, events etc), it was suggested that engaging with Web 2.0 tools (blogs, forums etc) could provide the answer to a more profitable equation.
The FT gave examples of Dell and SAP, who’ve both benefited from engaging through customer service, rather than branding, to build a closer affinity with prospects. Dell have recorded a 26% decrease in negative comments after providing advice on replacing fire prone laptop batteries, whilst SAP have created a self healing community in which members do SAP’s job of providing customer service to each other.
SAP’s example shows how people are interacting over their shared passions, which is what companies should be doing if they want to be of value to prospects. People want to be educated and they want authenticity in how businesses communicate, not just a well publicised logo.
Be useful to earn loyalty
Whilst the web savvy IT sector are the first to experience this shift, consumers interacting over shared passions is only going to spread as more become comfortable navigating the web to find answers. Branding is now not just claiming product superiority, but about how you engage this passionate online audience.
Be useful and people will reward you with their loyalty (the subject of my eBook incidentally), which is what marketing should be trying to win.
In the FT article it was estimated that 36% of enterprise websites now use blogs, customer reviews or discussion boards, with another 27% expected to join. Do you want to be part of the 37% left behind?
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One-to-one marketing and its implications for copywriters
In recent weeks, I’ve discussed why you need to adjust your copywriting’s personality to appeal to different audiences. It just comes with the territory. Well, the rise of one-to-one marketing means the ability to mould your language and style to match your target market could soon be in greater demand. What is one-to-one marketing? With marketing budgets being [...]
In recent weeks, I’ve discussed why you need to adjust your copywriting’s personality to appeal to different audiences. It just comes with the territory.
Well, the rise of one-to-one marketing means the ability to mould your language and style to match your target market could soon be in greater demand.
What is one-to-one marketing?
With marketing budgets being dragged towards the guillotine, marketers are scrambling to deliver campaigns that provide a better return on investment.
The cost of mass, untargeted campaigns is becoming harder to justify, and annoying prospects with irrelevant messages is to be avoided when customer retention is so high on the agenda.
In order to improve their relevancy and appeal, marketing campaigns need to be personalised to match the preferences of each prospect. This can be achieved by capturing data on customers (e.g. with personalised URLs) and then using it to customise future campaigns.
Subsequent email and direct mail messages can then be delivered that feature the products and services a target has shown an interest in. Better one-to-one targeting in this way means campaigns can be more relevant, generate more sales and stave off a marketing budget’s execution.
So what has this got to do with copywriters?
As far as I’m aware, currently the main elements personalised within one-to-one campaigns are the name, images and products offered. However, as more data is added to the pile then future campaigns can be more finely tuned and personalised to match the profile of each customer.
With the personality of copy so important to marketing’s effectiveness, it’s not a wild leap of faith to envision the language of campaign’s being customised to appeal to the personality type of each prospect.
Different personality types (B2B buyers, the technically minded, service orientated etc) respond to different emotional triggers. So it would make sense to be able to adjust the copywriting of one-to-one marketing campaigns to match each segment.
Speculation, but worth considering
If your product is targeted at a wide cross section then delivering one-to-one marketing with copywriting customised to appeal to a particular profile type could reap rich rewards.
Pure speculation at this stage, but something worth ‘added value’ copywriters being aware of because the effectiveness of one-to-one marketing means it’s a strategy that’s set to grow.
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Boost Your Sales with Customer Reviews
People might be ignoring overtly salesy marketing, but they still listen to each other. One of the most persuasive voices for selling your products can be your customers themselves. Whether you’re selling eBooks, renting skips or promoting your expertise, reviews and testimonials can enhance your credibility and build trust with hesitant buyers. Reviews ’social proof’ your [...]
People might be ignoring overtly salesy marketing, but they still listen to each other. One of the most persuasive voices for selling your products can be your customers themselves. Whether you’re selling eBooks, renting skips or promoting your expertise, reviews and testimonials can enhance your credibility and build trust with hesitant buyers.
Reviews ’social proof’ your products
Web savvy consumers now search for reviews as well as the products themselves. As Dean Rieck coined on Copyblogger, people look for the ’social proof’ of a product or service. This is the wisdom of crowds in action where people search for feedback from previous happy customers before feeling confident enough to click ‘buy’.
If they don’t find the social proof on your site then a quick ‘Google’ on your product or company name will often do the trick. You can’t just bury your head in the sand if you’re selling a shoddy service.
Criticism can boost your credibility
So should you risk criticism appearing on your own website? In a recent E-consultancy article they suggested that a few negatives amongst the positives can actually enhance your credibility. People will think they’re getting objective advice, rather than being fed a corporate exercise in censorship.
Most reviews are believed to be complimentary anyway.
In a Bazaarvoice survey they found that 87% of reviews are positive. As Bazaarvoice CEO Brett Hurt commented, “This debunks a major myth about word of mouth and should encourage companies and chief marketing officers to be more comfortable with ‘letting go’ and inviting consumers to talk about their experiences.”
Inventing reviews is risky
Currently less than 30% of online retailers use customer reviews. So sharing feedback is an opportunity to differentiate yourself.
Just don’t try writing them yourself:
- The backlash from customers who feel cheated could discredit you for life, or force you to change your company name to avoid reprisals in the future
- Jo Public doesn’t worry about putting commas in the right place or writing in the active voice. However, he does write in an everyday, colloquial manner that gives his words a ring of authenticity. Trying to duplicate this can be tricky, no matter how talented a scribe you are
- Better Business Blogging alerted me to new EU law banning ‘buzz marketing’ and the use of faked campaigns to get people talking about you. This means making up your own customer reviews will be illegal in Europe (although how strictly the law can/will be enforced is another matter)
So whilst your competitors fret about letting people write on their websites, let your customers talk about your products to boost trust, credibility and sales.
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Junta 42 releases eBook: ‘How to attract and retain customers with content NOW’
A great blog if you’re a believer in the benefits of valuable content for converting browsers into buyers (which I am), Junta 42 has released a new eBook on content marketing and why you should implement it as part of your marketing strategy. The eBook’s 11 pages long, and provides some inspiring case studies and excellent [...]
A great blog if you’re a believer in the benefits of valuable content for converting browsers into buyers (which I am), Junta 42 has released a new eBook on content marketing and why you should implement it as part of your marketing strategy.
The eBook’s 11 pages long, and provides some inspiring case studies and excellent advice on getting your campaign rolling.
Here are a few points I scribbled down:
- 2007 Forrester research showed that 90% of purchasing decisions begin online
- Content marketing is the art of understanding what your customer needs to know and then delivering it in a relevant and compelling way
- If you deliver relevant content you’ll become a trusted resource
- The internet means prospects are no longer reliant on the traditional media to meet their information needs
- With access to information at their fingertips, buyers are now more proactive in finding content to help them make smarter buying decisions
- The reduction in editorial staff of traditional media organisations means businesses can fill the gap. The demand for content isn’t diminishing, it’s increasing
- Content should have a call to action and your campaign must be measurable e.g. sign up to a newsletter or request a trial
So if I haven’t already convinced you of the marketing benefits of valuable content then please download the eBook and allow Joe Pullizi from Junta42 to have a try.
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Which Personality Type Does Your Copywriting Appeal To?
Different people like to be spoken to in different ways. Some want to know the facts, whilst others are more interested in hearing a story. So copywriting needs to be pitched to match the attitude and style of your target audience, and resonate with their personality type, if you want it to provoke the right response. In [...]
Different people like to be spoken to in different ways. Some want to know the facts, whilst others are more interested in hearing a story.
So copywriting needs to be pitched to match the attitude and style of your target audience, and resonate with their personality type, if you want it to provoke the right response.
In my last post, I discussed why you need to give your copywriting personality if you want it to build an affinity with your brand and a desire for your products.
To discover which personality to adopt, my tip was to immerse yourself in your target market’s culture: visit their websites and read their magazines to understand how to write in a language that’s fine tuned to their wavelength.
Another tactic used by prominent copywriters, such as Dan Kennedy, is to harness centuries of research into personality types to adjust your copywriting to appeal to their characteristics.
So what are the personality types?
For thousands of years, philosophers, psychologists and behavioural scientists have tried to distil the way people think and behave into personality types. The general consensus is that people fall into one of four categories:
[Summary details provided via Michel Fortin’s post: Does Your Copy Have Personality? – worth a read for more in depth analysis]
Drivers
– They want to know the bottom line: what results your product will provide, when they can have it and how much does it cost.
– B2B buyers, sales managers and hard nosed business people in general
– Stick to the facts with a pithy pitch, rather than getting creative with your prose
Analyticals
– Facts, statistics and features are what these buyers look for. They want to know how your product works and why it will provide the results you claim, so give them the figures to back up your words.
– Scientists, engineers, technicians, doctors and the systematically minded
– Specs, stats and data. Success stories will be ignored
Expressives
- Buying decisions are driven by feelings and the desire to buy products that make them feel good abut themselves. How can you help them impress the Jones’?
- designers, teachers, artistic types and the aspirational
- How will your product make them look good? Paint them a picture of what their life could be like if they’d just hand over their credit card
Amiables
- Compassionate and caring. How can you help them solve a problem? And more importantly, how will your product enable them to help others?
- People who deal with people: consultants, HR, public services etc
- Need assurances, so testimonials and case studies will help, particularly if told in the form of a friendly story
Pigeon holing your target market might seem a simplistic approach to understanding how they think and behave. However, if you try and please everyone then your copy can end up sounding bland and boring.
So it’s worth having a think about whether your target fits into any of these four categories, and then refining your copywriting to compliment their characteristics.
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Lost in Google’s sandbox? Here’s how to find your way out
[Photo courtesy Hamed Saber] Since moving to my new domain in March I’ve been stripped of my glorious Google page one rankings for my key terms (copywriter, copywriting etc), and left groveling with a begging bowl in the dank, dark depths of its search listings. Whilst a brief fall from grace was expected, I’d hoped it [...]
[Photo courtesy Hamed Saber]
Since moving to my new domain in March I’ve been stripped of my glorious Google page one rankings for my key terms (copywriter, copywriting etc), and left groveling with a begging bowl in the dank, dark depths of its search listings. Whilst a brief fall from grace was expected, I’d hoped it would only be a few months before Google learned to love me again.
However, when I noticed that my Yahoo page one ranking had been reinstated I started to panic.
Well, it would appear that Google has banished me to their ’sandbox’. This is a mystical (some would say mythical) place where new websites are held until they’ve matured enough to be allowed to hang around with the older sites on Google’s top listings.
Whether the sandbox is an actual Google policy or merely a theory is a debate I’ll leave for the SEO experts (which is why I’m being particularly diplomatic in this article).
However, there are some generally agreed reasons why the sandbox would exist and how you can find your way out:
Why have a sandbox?
Google’s continuing success (and future world domination) relies on providing the most relevant answers to search queries. Consequently, their mathematical algorithm for classifying websites has to be able to separate the dross from the silver.
It’s believed (by some) that Google introduced the sandbox to encourage website owners to build a decent volume of good quality content and links from other sites before they’d be allowed a high ranking for competitive keywords.
The sandbox was also (allegedly) introduced to stop people using ‘black hat’ tactics to deceive Google’s spiders (e.g. keyword cloaking and link buying). The idea being that rather than using quick fix tactics, webmasters would be forced to prove they’d obey Google’s rules and could play fairly before their websites would be allowed to run free.
So how do I find my way out?
Opinions vary. But it’s generally agreed that if you’ve got a new domain then you’ll serve a minimum of six months in the sandbox before you can earn Google’s trust and be let out blinking at the bright lights of a page one ranking.
The way to find your way out, and prove to Google that you’ll behave, is to regularly add content to your website that’s relevant to your business and attracts links from other sites. This is something blogs are great at: naturally building your exposure through commenting on other blogs and attracting links to your content.
Attracting links from other relevant sites is crucial. It’s believed that links are the decisive part of the equation for earning a release from the sandbox.
You can’t just build your website, paste its pages with a bulk order of keyword articles and then sit back for six months waiting for Google’s approval. You have to build up back links and then wait for the actual links to age before Google will even think about letting you free from their holding pen.
Quality content builds trust with Google as well as customers
Whilst black hat tactics might work temporarily, Google are constantly fine tuning their algorithm to open the trapdoor on those they consider cheats and to promote those who’ve put in the hard graft and become valued members of their online community.
So writing insightful, valuable and link worthy content is necessary for building trust with Google, as well as with your customers.
Hopefully, this post will go a small way towards encouraging Google to love me again, and expediate my early release for good behaviour.
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What’s Your Copywriting’s Personality?
If copywriting is salesmanship in print then all you’ve got to do is weave a benefit laden pitch that will persuade anybody to buy, right? Well, whilst that’s generally true, what you’ve also got to consider is that different people respond to your words in different ways. The trick is to write in a style that [...]
If copywriting is salesmanship in print then all you’ve got to do is weave a benefit laden pitch that will persuade anybody to buy, right? Well, whilst that’s generally true, what you’ve also got to consider is that different people respond to your words in different ways.
The trick is to write in a style that appeals to your target group, rather than to as wide an audience as possible. You have to give your copywriting a personality that resonates with their attitudes and aspirations. And you need to reflect the personality of your client at the same time.
Why is personality important?
The internet can seem a robotic, impersonal place, so web copy generally needs to be more chatty and friendly than its offline version. The attention spans of online readers are also akin to that of goldfish, so you want your copy to be lively and energetic if you want to engage their interest and stop them swimming away.
The words on your website also define how you speak to visitors. A picture might (occasionally) say 1000 words, but no amount of jpegs are going to make as much of an impression as your writing.
People gauge the attitude and personality of your business through the words that they read. Are you a serious corporate organisation ‘driven to exceed expectations’? Or a fun loving, funky start up?
Different copywriting styles appeal to different personality types (generally divided into four defined groups which I’ll discuss next week). So you want your copy to speak in a language your target market will be happy to listen to.
So how do I give my copywriting personality?
Moulding an impression of your target buyer is one of the key tasks you need to do before you sit down to write. It’s not just what you say but the way that you say it, and your copywriting’s personality needs to engage with the passions, desires and habits of its audience.
To understand how to pitch your writing, you should be able to get plenty of information from your client on the types of people they sell to. Whether its hardnosed B2B buyers demanding the ‘optimum solution’, trendy self-conscious types or the data loving technically minded, you need to match the personality of your writing to that of the person you’re trying to seduce.
A useful tip is to behave like a method actor and immerse yourself in the websites and magazines your target group reads. Analysing the style of writing, noting the language used and copying some of it out (for practice) will help you to develop your copywriting’s personality.
When copywriting personality becomes a differentiator
Innocent drinks are the poster child for many aspiring start-ups. Launched by a group of milkshake infatuated friends with limited cash, over the course of nine years they’re now one of the UK’s most popular soft drink brands.
Standing out from the crowd is difficult in any marketplace. One of the ways they differentiated themselves, from all the other brightly coloured labels, was through their copywriting.
Their copy presents them as fun, quirky and witty. They were the plucky upstart taking on the big corporate brands, with a new approach to business, and people loved it.
Innocent drinks now dominate the UK smoothie market, and it’s in no small part due to the personality of their copywriting.
So what’s your copywriting’s personality?
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Another blog that’s worth a visit for Copywriter’s Crucible fans
Whether you call it business blogging, content marketing or engagement, giving away free content is a great way of building trust and credibility with info hungry web surfers. Google seems to like it too. It has taken a while for awareness to spread (I’ve still got a drawer full of business blogging leaflets from a Milton [...]
Whether you call it business blogging, content marketing or engagement, giving away free content is a great way of building trust and credibility with info hungry web surfers. Google seems to like it too.
It has taken a while for awareness to spread (I’ve still got a drawer full of business blogging leaflets from a Milton Keynes exhibition two years ago), but this year I’m finding more people are getting clued up on the benefits of weekly articles for boosting their online profiles.
The latest place to find words written by me is the bda (Buckingham Design Associates) website. My current contributions are:
Print dead in ten years? Only if we run out of tree
Mobile Marketing: Do You Want to be a Temporary Intruder or a Trusted Friend?
Over the next few months I’ll be covering various topics on print, mobile and digital marketing. So if these areas are of interest then hopefully you might consider subscribing for an added weekly dose of marketing news and tips?
Otherwise fear not, because the Crucible is still high on my list of weekly duties for a variety of reasons:
- Helps with my daily workout of 500 words a day
- Gives me an outlet to write freely, and get as carried away with my metaphors as I want
- Enables me to network, question views and get feedback from other writers and marketers (my post on whether Indian writers used a different structure and syntax to Western writers has a particularly active comments section)
- Helps with my Google ranking (although I’m still stuck in the darkest depths of graveyard listings until I’m forgiven for changing my domain name)
So to all my loyal subscribers who listen to my weekly sermons on the evolving role of the internet copywriter, please be assured that I’ll be posting at The Copywriter’s Crucible for the foreseeable future.
As well as copywriting, marketing and self promotion tips, you’ll gradually be hearing more from me about the direct marketing world. So stay subscribed Crucible fans, because there’s plenty more to come. And hopefully I’ll see some of you over at the bda blog as well.
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10 Sticky Content Tips for Keeping Visitors Glued to Your Website
[Image courtesy MarkDM] Brochure websites need to be consigned to a museum as relics of the internet’s evolutionary history. There I’ve said it. Websites, and the thinking behind them, has evolved a lot over the last few years. If you just want to recreate your company brochure into pixel form then, please, go ahead. But the [...]
[Image courtesy MarkDM]
Brochure websites need to be consigned to a museum as relics of the internet’s evolutionary history. There I’ve said it. Websites, and the thinking behind them, has evolved a lot over the last few years. If you just want to recreate your company brochure into pixel form then, please, go ahead. But the longer you can keep prospects on your website the more time you’ve got to build a relationship.
People surf the web for information. Not sales messages. So your website needs to be interesting and ’sticky’ if you want to engage your visitors’ interest and keep them glued to your pages.
Here are my ten tips for making your own part of the web so sticky that you’ll be politely asking visitors to leave so you can close for the day:
1. Simple navigation - Make sure it’s easy to explore and has a familiar navigation. Much like the layout of a shop, you want to ensure visitors know where they are and can swiftly find the section they want without getting lost. Having a search box is essential for those who’d prefer to go straight to the helpdesk for directions.
2. Educate - People search the web for information. Not advertising. So rather than scare them away with shallow sales spiel, you should be looking to answer the questions that led them to your site in the first place(based on 80% of your traffic coming from searches on Google). Provide content that sells through education and builds trust e.g. case studies, company news, insight on your industry and advice on how to use your product.
3. Tell a story - the internet can seem an unfriendly, robotic place, so give your website a personality by telling visitors your story. Who are the people pulling the levers behind the scenes, what’s your history and what are your dreams for the future? A cheerful ‘about us’ page is crucial for building trust, rather than a platform for boasting about how great you are.
4. Feed your visitors’ appetite for information - create a directory of articles or, better yet, a blog, which visitors can easily search for answers to their questions and learn more about your expertise at the same time. It will help boost your Google ranking too.
5. Compelling content - Is copy the same as content? I’ll let others debate that elsewhere. But for the purposes of making a website sticky then applying copywriting tactics is a good idea. Create content that’s compelling, drives visitors to further explore the site and contains a call to action, such as subscribe, contact or, best of all, buy.
6. Subscription options - Most visitors aren’t comfortable handing over their credit card details the first time they visit. So make it easy for them to subscribe to your blog or newsletter so you can develop the sales process over time. As the old adage goes - ‘People like to do business with those they like and trust’, and providing regularly updated content of value is a great way of building trust and confidence in your expertise.
7. Customer reviews - People switch off when they think they’re being sold to. But they do listen to each other. Customers reviews can provide social proof of the quality of your products/service as well as keep people engaged writing their own.
8. Interactivity - Surveys and polls can provide another tool for enabling people to interact with your site. Make them short but sweet, and ask questions that provide insight into how you can improve.
9. Usability testing - Even when you think your site is finished there’s endless tweaking that can be done. Ask friends, family or impoverished students to test your website for you. Can they find the answers to their questions and have you gained their trust when they visit? Watching how others interact with your site will provide invaluable info on what areas gleam and which need some extra polishing.
10. Measure, tweak and repeat - Use Google analytics to monitor how people are engaging with the site. Knowing which pages are most popular and which switch visitors off can help you fine tune your content and work out the path your prospects tend to take before becoming customers.
This post was inspired by a similar article I wrote for bda’s blog. It’s worth a read for reinforcing the value of content for engaging visitors and keeping them glued to your website.
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An Underused, Full Proof Way to Sell More in Less Time that’s FREE
[photo courtesy of monamigreetings] Even if you compose the most concise copywriting to ever grace a page, the most persuasive words aren’t always written by you. There’s an ingredient you can add to your copy that can help you sell more in less time. It’s an underused tactic. But one that can rapidly satisfy a prospect’s [...]
[photo courtesy of monamigreetings]
Even if you compose the most concise copywriting to ever grace a page, the most persuasive words aren’t always written by you. There’s an ingredient you can add to your copy that can help you sell more in less time. It’s an underused tactic. But one that can rapidly satisfy a prospect’s logical and emotional demands at the same time.
People are skeptical of being sold to, but they do listen to each other. So to persuade them to buy your product you need to provide them with evidence of someone it has benefited. You need to provide the social proof that your product is as wonderful as you claim.
Along with case studies and customer reviews, testimonials are marketing gold for building trust, confidence and credibility. They provide evidence that your claims are valid, and that you’re not a fly-by-night salesman who’ll be gone by tomorrow.
Harness the influence of others
In recent articles I’ve highlighted the power of word of mouth marketing. People are discussing products and services on blogs and forums all over the web. After a prospect’s read your sales copy they’ll often search on your product or company name to run a background check on whether you’re to be trusted.
So why not harness the power of word of mouth in your sales pitch. Add testimonials to your landing page, brochure and sales letters to add concrete to the foundations of your claims.
Just remember - don’t try writing them yourself. People can tell if something is contrived or massaged. If the language doesn’t reflect how people speak or sound authentic then you risk losing people’s trust for good.
Asking for testimonials is good customer service
Testimonials are under utilised because most businesses don’t actively collect them. Whilst you can search through old emails for praise or ring recent buyers, you should put a procedure in place for requesting a testimonial from every customer.
You could treat it as after sales customer service. Rather than just ask for praise, send a questionnaire requesting feedback on your service. What could be improved. What went well. And what comments would they like to share with others.
People like to help each other, particularly when it comes to sharing recommendations. So if you’re providing a high quality service you shouldn’t have any difficulty coaxing praise from people whose problems you’ve solved.
Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or an international enterprise, adding testimonials to the copywriting for your website, sales letters and brochures is a full proof way of selling more in less time.
And best of all, it’s pure marketing gold for free.
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