Recently, I had a meeting with a couple of prospects in town. During the course of our chat, the owner of one of the businesses asked me what I “audited” when evaluating a company.
What do I notice and look for in order to do my job?
Hot Diggity… talk about a loaded question!
I was frothing at the mouth to answer.
Because hardly ANY potential client asks me this.
I have a few copywriters who read my blog. I know what I’m about to say will be met with huge head-nods from all of ‘em.
There are two critical things copywriters require in order to do our job well:
1) A business needs to be customer-aware
2) A business needs to be self-aware
Too often, businesses start with #2 first.
What they really need to start with (regarding building a business) is the customer.
Is there really a need for the product/service?
Established businesses already know there is since they’re still surviving. Obviously, they’ve hit upon market demand. But newer businesses sometimes don’t get it. I’ve tried working with a few.
A year ago, I had a client project die on the vine. It was disappointing because I really wanted to help them. But as a technology company undergoing an identity change, it quickly became apparent that someone higher up in the organization hadn’t done the work to develop the brand let alone create a clear description of their services.
The job of the copywriter is to bring clarity to a business’ marketing message.
And to communicate that message persuasively that the target market will want to become a customer of that business.
So what do I look for when auditing a business?
Clarity. A clear message. A brand that is understandable. Simple claims that are accessible.
Here’s the secret… and right now I’m saving you THOUSANDS of dollars in marketing research and brand development: Your prospects and customers are overwhelmed.
They’re being bombarded by a huge amount of messages on a daily basis.
Yet your prospect is looking for answers.
Most websites are full of obstacles to getting those answers.
They’re difficult to understand. They lack a clear offer. There are too many hoops to jump through in order to get an answer.
And written marketing assets? (This is where I come in.)
Either websites give away the store (like allowing a visitor to just click a link to download a free white paper without getting any contact info from them)…
… or they don’t have any helpful info on the site. No case studies, for instance. Or blog posts. Or special reports that could be delivered in exchange for someone’s email.
Anyway… I’m done ranting. Hopefully, you got the point and will realize that today… and every day… Your #1 job is to make your solution EASILY understood by your customer and relevant to his or her need.
If more businesses realized this, it would make a copywriter’s job a LOT easier.
I love to set up a company for success. But it’s really tough if I don’t understand a company’s objective. The “whys” for what they do and the audience they serve.
Meanwhile, if you’re a company who wants clarity, I have a special service I provide that you’ll absolutely love.
It makes creating your marketing assets so much easier. Once you have this asset, you’ll be able to create a whole boatload of other marketing assets: Sell sheets, case studies, web copy, landing pages, squeeze pages, white papers, press releases and more.
Pretty much all of your marketing can be guided by this asset. It’s like having your own personal Marketing Sherpa in your back pocket.
Interested? Let me know. We’ll put you in a clear position to dominate your market.