We throw jargon around like, “search engine optimisation” and “call to action” and “unique selling point”, in our office. But our clients don’t!
Our clients – Jelly Trangle's, specifically – throw around phrases like, “I need a new website” and “why aren’t I making more sales?” and “I hate social media!”
If our lingo doesn’t match what our clients are looking for, how are they ever going to find us online? Happenstance and serendipity are beautiful words, but they aren’t entrepreneurial. To harness the powers of copywriting to increase website traffic you need to put yourself in the customer’s mindset. Don’t guess what they need, find out what they want. And then give it to them.
The Voice of the Customer (VOC) is a collection of the likes, dislikes, and hopes of the client. The idea is to accumulate this data, arrange it in priority of what the client says they want, and then use their language on your landing page to spark a connection with new and potential clients.
Gathering and reviewing the data is the part of VOC that you pay for, either in staff power or by outsourcing it. But once the data is presented to you in pretty charts, it gets very interesting! Collect data everywhere you can:
In-house: Review emails from clients and prospects, take notes during meetings and phone calls, or if you record phone calls, have someone review customer service questions.
Social Media: Go through all of the comments and tweets you receive. “Likes” aren’t important here, you specifically want words and phrases.
Review Websites: Find websites dedicated to product or service reviews to see what’s being said about you, or your competitors.
Forums: Search forums based on your industry to find out what the general population is saying to each other about your product, brand, competitor, or field in general.
WARNING: Have tactics in place to differentiate between trolls, complainers, and quality feedback. If it’s not obvious, click on the poster’s username to see what else they’ve reviewed and whether they have otherwise provided constructive criticism and supportive notes or if they just enjoy the sight of their own ranting.
Once you have your data, organise it by product or service, and then list each category’s responses in order of most important to the client to least. This is all about the client, put your marketing instincts to the side for a moment.
Now it really gets fun! Incorporate the VOC into your savvy landing page design. If you’re a shoelace factory and consumers’ top complaint is that they just want shoelaces that stay tied, your landing page must say somewhere, “Our shoelaces stay tied!” That’s it. You have told the customer exactly what they want to hear, and what they’re typing into a search engine.
Test your results – the point of this exercise is to eliminate the guesswork. Have 2 or 3 wording choices and do some A/B testing. Pretty pictures and clever messaging is fabulous, but when visitors come to your landing page they get warm fuzzy feelings when you’re speaking their language.
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