Why Customers Won’t Buy What They Don’t Understand
Most business owners I know are always interested in learning new information and skills that will help them and their business. I certainly fit into that category. I read hundreds of articles, sit on on webinars, and attend classes throughout the year.
Now take a moment and think about something you would like to learn that will help your business grow. Got it in mind? Great. Now, let’s say you’re using the Internet to find out if there are any classes offered on that subject. You find a few options and you visit the website to get more information. Here is what you see on the first page:
kf;dakfadf faka keru$%@ j ieowr. *(@kjf0* #28 234 ujoerjl iueyu, &*(f Los Angeles California.
If you want to 3($tWE fe387 #@ ipresx”; and 473)_34!~ then click hereto register.
No there are no typos in the above two sentences. I want to make a point.
When people look at your marketing materials, whether it’s a brochure, a web page, an invitation, or a press release, if they can’t answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” within the first couple sentences, you’ve lost them.
Are you losting prospective customers because you aren’t telling them what’s in it for them quickly enough? Try this:
Get a pen or marker with red ink and a printed copy of your web page, or brochure or whatever. Now circle any word or phrase that is:
- technical or professional jargon
- a cliche
- an acronym (OK BFG?)
- a word with 4 or more syllables (unless you’re writing in German)
Seeing red? Think of every circled word or phrase as a tiny hurdle your prospect has to jump in order to understand whether your product or service is worth buying. Put out enough hurdles and I guarantee even the most dilligent reader will give up.
It’s not because your audience is stupid. It’s because they are pressed for time and there are other things they would rather be doing than wading through compex, jargon-laden material.
They are even more impatient when they are reading something on the web.
If your website is getting decent number of first time visitors, or you’ve handed out hundreds of brochures, or attended networking events like mad, and people aren’t coming back to learn more, look for red. That may be why they’re not sticking around.
Last point: hard-to-understand marketing is not just a problem for small businesses. Large corporations spending millions of dollars on marketing are every bit as guilty; they just have more resources to throw at marketing and eventually something sticks.
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