Businesses are good at explaining what they sell. Often their websites go into colourful detail describing their services and highlighting the benefits. And why wouldn’t they, that information is important. But does it address the questions someone has before they are ready to buy?
A potential customer might not know the right solution to their problem. They are out there comparing different options and wondering whether they need to spend the money at all. They could have concerns about the process, whether there’s any disruption, or what happens if it all goes wrong.
These questions are more relevant to a buying decision than another creative paragraph about your business’ experience.
What is stopping them from buying?
When a customer doesn’t buy, there’s usually a reason. The timing might be wrong. Or there may be an unaddressed concern.
This is where marketing has an opportunity to do more than promote the business. There are likely questions that are holding people back. They might have concerns about the process, the price, or even that they had a bad experience with a similar company.
Objections are useful content ideas
The thing is, marketing departments are full of overcaffeinated scribblers that spend a lot of time looking for new ideas. What should their next blog, video, or social post be about? And they do this without referring to the useful source of topics sitting in their customer service inbox.
Note the questions you’re asked during enquiries. If people ask why something costs a certain amount, there is an article right there. How long does a project take? You could create content around the typical timescale. If customers are unsure whether they need a service, a blog or social post could explain when it’s appropriate. Or even if another option might make more sense.
Explain the things customers are worried about
Marketing isn’t about presenting your business as a beacon of perfection. In fact, being willing to discuss the less convenient parts of a purchase makes your content more useful.
A renovation company might discuss the difficulties in finding old unexpected work in older properties. An IT company could discuss the disruption involved in replacing old equipment.
None of this means talking your business down. It means that you’re giving potential customers a realistic idea of your capabilities. It helps with managing expectations, and above all it is more convincing.
Price is an obvious objection
Businesses often avoid talking about price because their services vary between projects. That’s an understandable position to take but avoiding the subject altogether leaves customers in the dark.
If you cannot publish an exact price for your service, discuss what influences the cost. What affects the price? Why is one project far more expensive than another.
The useful information is not simply the number. It is the explanation behind it.
That gives people a better understanding of what they are paying for and why apparently similar services can have very different prices.
Do they actually need your service?
There is absolutely no harm in being honest.
In some cases, a customer will not need your products or services. There may be another appropriate approach. Saying this in your marketing will save a potentially customer time, and it won’t necessarily cost you business. It will demonstrate your expertise and make you look a lot less mercenary.
Blog content such as “When is it worth repairing rather than replacing?” or “Do I need to upgrade yet?” is useful precisely because it doesn’t assume the answer is always “yes”.
It also gives potential customers information they may struggle to find elsewhere.
Tell people what happens next
Someone might want to contact your business wondering whether they will immediately be pressured into a decision. They may not know whether you provide a quote, or whether someone needs to visit first.
Explaining the process removes some of that uncertainty.
A simple section explaining what happens after an enquiry, how quotations work and what the next stage involves could do more to encourage enquiries than another paragraph about your commitment to customer service.
Marketing should reduce uncertainty
You can be forgiven for assuming that marketing is the art of persuading someone to drop everything and buy immediately. It’s good when that happens, but such pressure can give off the wrong impression.
The more useful objective is to provide enough information for someone to understand their options, weigh up costs, and decide whether the service is right for them.
That means the facing the topics you often would rather avoid and giving them page space.
If your marketing answers those questions clearly, customers arrive at the point of contact with a much better understanding of what to consider. Some will decide not to proceed, an unfortunate inevitability.
Others feel more confident about taking the next step because you have already addressed those concerns.
That is a much more useful role for content than simply telling everyone how brilliant your business is.
For more information, or for help with your marketing, then please get in touch and we can arrange a coffee and a chat. Contact us on 01604 698 948 or email hello@tj-marketing.co.uk with any enquiries.
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