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Moving communication campaigns into action |
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What do potential customers want to know about your product? Here is a back issue of Marketing Booster, the email newsletter that Richard Groom writes and sends free every fortnight to subscribers. You can subscribe here or read over 60 back issues using the back issues index page. One of the exercises in the copywriting workshop I run is so successful I thought it would be good to feature it as this issue's main article. On the workshop, much of our time is spent looking at ways to decide what content to include in marketing materials. We use a series of techniques to understand what information is most likely to be of interest to potential customers. It's an incredibly simple technique: * Just write down the questions that your potential customers might have when considering a purchase. Questions could include things like: - Is there a guarantee with this? - What are the set-up costs? - How long does it take to install? - What are the running costs? Come up with as many questions as possible. Then you can make sure your range of marketing materials will anticipate and answer your purchasers' questions. That's important because if your brochures, web site and other materials are missing vital information people might look elsewhere. They might not take the trouble to ask you for the information they need. So it's a very simple technique - but you need to invest a bit of time and effort if you are to do it well. That's because no matter how well you know your customers you still won't come up with all the questions yourself. Here are three ways to generate as many questions as possible: 1. Brainstorm with colleagues. Brainstorming generates more ideas than working alone. So get together with a small group of colleagues and run a brainstorming session. If you haven't done brainstorming before then find a good source of information on how to do it effectively. 2. Do some independent research. Take a look at your competitors' marketing materials and see what information they provide to their potential customers. What questions are they anticipating and answering? Sometimes you can also track down articles on 'how to choose a supplier' that apply to your sector. These often include a comprehensive range of issues that customers might consider. 3. Ask your customers. There are several ways you can do this, including: * Call some existing customers to ask what questions they had when they first looked for a supplier. If you don't have personal relationships with customers then perhaps others in your company could do this for you. * Ask your sales people to help. What if, for a couple of weeks, your sales people made a note of every question they are asked by potential customers? Explain why it's so important that you know this and they might just be happy to record the questions and send them to you. * Visit potential customers in their environment. The next time you go to the exhibitions and other events that your potential customers attend, talk to them and ask them what they need to know before choosing a supplier of your products or services. If you do some or all of these activities you'll build up a huge list of questions that potential customers have. Then you can create marketing materials that anticipate the questions. In doing so, you will be guaranteed to create customer-focused marketing communications. Copyright 2004 Richard Groom |