Marketing Mission: Target Those Who Care
Let's assume that when it comes to WordPress websites, everything is equal. You have a great-looking website that loads in 2 seconds and looks great on mobile. So how do you stand out from the rest of the billions of websites online?
While researching a project I'm working on, I went through some of my bookmarks. (Boy, do I have bookmarks.) If you are like me, one link leads to another and another and… I can get lost reading for hours.
So I clicked on the title of this one bookmark titled Why ‘Social Conversion' Is A Term You Should Know. The first thing I noticed was the article is from 2008. But it is just as, if not more, relevant now.
The following quote within that article is what inspired this post:
…the most compelling form of marketing is one that establishes a rapport between our organization's expertise and those who care.
~ Justin Talerico
When I read the article, I realized that it reflected a conversation I have with clients regularly. But, unfortunately, that very rapport is missing on many websites. The very same websites that coincidentally do not experience the success the site owner desires.
Ask business onliners if they know for sure what their potential customers genuinely care about. They'll answer that they do — because they think they know. But is that reflected on their websites?
Many websites are from the perspective of what the site owner wants potential customers to know. Which ironically may not be what those potential customers are looking for or need to know. Or care about.
What Does Your Market Care About?
It is common for me to ask: “What is the primary issue that your target customer cares about?” After reviewing their visually generic website, which usually lacks substantial quality content and images with a “corporatey” or boringly generic About page.
After asking that question, I am generally met with silence… They don't know for sure. So again, their focus is talking about themselves and their business from their perspective. Does that serve potential customers adequately?
Most site owners have never thought of their marketing from this perspective before. Of course, they know what they want to relay to customers about how great their product or service is. But that's about it.
However, that approach leaves one party out of the conversation. The customer. You need to know and explicitly address what your potential customers care about to create a presentation that caters to those concerns. This is how you build relationships.
The answer to this question goes far beyond what most assume and offer. The answers I usually receive are “good service” and “the best price.” Generic obvious sales speak.
Service is a given — any business must excel in service to succeed. The best price — not necessarily. The old saying “you get what you pay for” does ring true. Value does not always correlate to the lowest price.
While being competitive is important, I don't believe in business models based on a race to the bottom. Models that sell based on the lowest price may work for commodity items, but most folks do not sell commodity items.
Back to the analogy of if everything is equal — say the price is too. Then what makes your website, business, products so unique? You'd better have a compelling answer.
You. Your story. Your passions.
Being like everyone else doesn't set you apart. On the contrary, resembling every other website causes you to blend in with all the others.
When you personalize your visuals and content with your unique personality and what makes you different — that's when you stand out. That's how you attract visitors that care about what you stand for.
If you don't share your story or are not passionate about what you do and why visitors should buy what you are selling, why would you expect customers to be enthused to do business with you? They probably won't.
When you share your story — and why you are enthusiastic about what you do, you also unsurprisingly share what your potential customers are looking for. Someone they can relate to, trust, and get that warm fuzzy is in it for all the right reasons. Being uniquely you creates a synergy that potential customers can connect to.
When deciding who to do business with, again, if everything is equal, wouldn't you gravitate towards the website/person/company that you feel “gets” you? That isn't a cookie-cutter version of everyone else.
Of course, you will. Speaking for myself, I'll even pay a little more to do business with folks like that.
Your story oozes into everything else…
Knowing what visitors care about guides you on your website's focus, visuals, navigation, and structure. Next comes content created based on that approach reflecting your unique personality.
On this website, my personality is evident in my content and graphics. So you get a clear window into what I believe in, my ethics, how I do business, and why. It's all me — and I put it out there.
Social media use and blogging provide the opportunity to connect with your market. Every single thing we do online is, in fact, marketing. Every bit, byte, like, comment, graphic, email, post, article — everything.
That's what you need to do on your website. Make it so that it could never be anyone else's website because your website is all you.
Feeling lost in all the noise?
Stop and consider the billions of web pages and millions of quality websites out there (as of June 18, 2021, there are currently over 1.86 billion). So wouldn't it make sense to consider, learn about and find out everything possible when it comes to what makes your customers tick?
Social media is one such tool. However, another critical factor is that your Blog reflects that you understand your market via your areas of expertise.
Creating Customer-centric Lists
Client-centric, also known as customer–centric, is an approach to doing business that focuses on creating a positive experience for the customer by maximizing service and/or product offerings and building relationships.
Investopedia.com
And building relationships.
Let's start by creating a few lists to help you establish an editorial calendar for your blog and social activities that include topics you can intuitively write about. In addition, issues you can research and investigate. As a result, you'll be better organized and in a position to cater to what your customers care about.
By creating these lists, you will be better able to target those who care about what you have to offer. They will see you as genuine and approachable because you are mirroring what they are thinking about.
Knowing what your target market is concerned about allows you directly and specifically talk to those anxieties, desires, hopes, needs. As a result, you contribute to building relationships that turn into repeat customers and recommendations. Plus, you've helped them out — and that's worth a bookmark every time.
Purpose, Passion and Personality
You cannot be everything to everyone, nor is it even wise to attempt to be so. But by doing what you do best and writing about it with purpose, passion, and personality while catering to your potential customers' needs, that's when the magic happens.
When you make that connection, those who care (your market, your target customers, your suppliers, your partners) will welcome the opportunity to accompany you on your journey to success.
At your service,
