The Content Your Customers Want Now - 8 Facts

2018-02-09

Is it worth having your website up?
If your website isn’t benefiting your business you’re wasting money. If you didn’t invest in quality content you’ve wasted even more.
Yes it’s worth taking time and resources to create worthwhile content. You won’t showcase broken or damaged goods in your shopfront window. Why do you present site visitors to sub standard information then?
This is what your website should be seen as. A shopfront. And your entire business will be judged based on what you place there. This also relates to:

• Blogs you post
• Social media you create, comment on and share
• Online profiles you create such as on LinkedIn

Can you risk losing clients because your content isn’t up to standard?

Where to Begin

It can seem daunting when you realize the importance of one of your marketing tools. How do you ensure you’re doing it right?
When it comes to content there’s one approach that helps business owners without fail.
A client’s perspective.

What you do Wrong
We often think we know what’s best for our clients. But they know the truth. Sometimes these two perspectives don’t align.
Every marketing tool you use must contain content that your clients find:

• Important
• Relevant

If you get this right you’ll experience more engagement from your audience.

How to Get it Right
You simply have to switch your point of view.
Don’t think of what you believe to be important. Determine what clients deem vital. The facts below are excellent starting points.
Use them to make sure your content is in line with what your customers want.

8 Facts that Help You Match Client Expectations

Yes. If you want to be successful it calls for a scientific approach to content creation. But this is the only way you’ll get the results you crave.
And in today’s world you won’t build your business without effective content. The internet is too much a part of life. Investing time and energy into practicing these approaches will be worth it.

1. It’s not About What You Think

Your opinion doesn’t matter.
The cliché of ‘the customer is always right’ still applies in modern society.
Your responsibility is to find out what your customers think. You can gauge this through:

• Questionnaires
• Case studies available online
• Doing market research
• Seeing what people comment on social media platforms

Whether you’re creating marketing content or company information you need an angle. Even your marketing company will ask you what you want to say.
Do you know what your customers will respond to? Find out before you start creating content. If you don’t you may be wasting time and money.
Luckily there are a few general trends that are usually successful.

2. Focus on Needs

It’s not about how amazing your new product is. Can you pinpoint how effective this item fulfils the needs your clients have?
This is all your clients are interested in.
Clients respond when they know they’ll benefit. Their eventual satisfaction must be equal—or larger—to the price you ask for the product or service. And your clients only feel satisfied if needs are met.

3. What Makes You Different?

What makes you different?
You know you’re vying for customers’ attention. What prevents them from navigating off your website? In today’s world your clients can find any of your competitors simply by using a Smartphone. It only requires a moment of doubt about your capabilities.
But when people believe they’re viewing the best option they want to stick with it. Who wants to purchase second best products?
When they have the best:

• They can boast about their new products
• Trust the quality service they receive

All you have to do is to convince people you’re the best option. This means you must stand out from the crowd.
You need to answer one question: What makes you different?
Make visitors even more curious about you instead of thinking about your competitors. Focus your content around your uniqueness. People will believe they’ve found the best answer to fulfil their needs.

4. Give Specifics

Creating content requires a balancing act:

• You must give concise information because people are lazy to read.
• Simultaneously you must provide enough information so people don’t have questions after using your site.

If you’re selling anything online the last characteristic is important in product descriptions. Remember people look for online content to get fast solutions. They don’t want to go to a physical store.
Does your website make it easy for people to make decisions?

Descriptions
Imagine you’re standing in a physical store. Your online descriptions must tell the browser everything an employee in your store can.
Detailed descriptions are vital. Harness the power of modern technology for even more impact:

• Add images from all angles so browsers know what they’re buying.
• Feature videos that showcase an item—or service—and its value.
• Include feedback and reviews from other customers. Clients are more willing to believe objective feedback than your own opinions.

A detailed product description will result in more sales.

Colors and Types
People love variety.
If you offer more than one type or color of an item your content must mention this. This is what your consumers will find in a store. Offer them the same benefit online.
An extensive range also builds trust. They’ll return for other products if they believe you offer them the widest variety.

Options
No two consumers are the same.
Browsers will navigate to a different site if they can’t quickly find what they’re looking for.
You don’t want to limit the audience your content finds favor with. Do you cater for everyone?

• Some browsers are concerned about aesthetics. Others feel practicality is more important. Does your content offer both groups enough information?
• People have preferred payment methods. How many methods do you provide? Make it easy for anyone to finalize payment so your sales increase.

5. Effortless Content gets People into Action

Why do people use online services? It’s supposed to be an easy and fast way to reach personal goals. Does your content facilitate such an experience?

Payment
The payment methods mentioned above must follow user friendly processes. It doesn’t make sense purchasing items online if it takes longer than standing in a queue at a local store.
You’re not engaging with the buyer in person. He or she can stop the purchase at any time. Do you give them reason to?

• Don’t require registration before the first purchase. If a browser is in a hurry he or she will stop the purchase and find a website that’s more accommodating.
• Allow purchases with as little information and clicks as possible. This is not the moment to gather personal information about your customers. Once again you must provide for his or her—not your own—need to make a fast purchase.
• Ensure your payment process can happen fast. Does other content make your website lag? If internet connections fail while a purchase is being made you may lose that sale.

Offer your customers an enjoyable experience and they’ll be back for more.

CTA
Your content isn’t complete without a call to action. Any content page without a CTA is useless to you.
A CTA helps you:

• Obtain customer information
• Get people to commit to a sale
• Gather feedback from visitors

This is the purposes for your website right?
But this is information that meets your needs, not your clients’. Tailor it to their needs if you want reaction from them. They want:

• Speed: Test your CTA so you know it works. You don’t want lag to limit your impact. Keep all processes short to increase engagement.
• User friendly functions: Make it easy to follow the processes. Using ratings instead of text as feedback is one way you can increase engagement.
• As little effort as possible: Ask for the minimum amount of information. You can attempt at getting more detail later on.

When speed and ease of use are associated with your content you’ll see return customers.

6. Quality Must Shine Through Everywhere

You’ll be judged for each aspect of your content. It’s not only about what you communicate. HOW you communicate also matters.
Don’t let anything cause distrust in your brand.

Security
Your clients want to feel safe while viewing or using your content. Can you guarantee their security?

• Online payments must be done with security features in place. Without them hackers can access your clients’ information. Details about your security features must be displayed in your content. Without it your potential customers will find it difficult to trust you and commit to a sale.
• Even general information about clients must be kept safe. Any leaked information can reflect negatively on your business.

Your content must include your concerns for your customers’ safety. Remember it’s about them!

Design
Do you trust anyone with your business?
Be this protective when designing your content. You can’t simply place it online on any general background.
People’s perception of your content includes everything in your design:

• The colors you use: What messages do these colors communicate? They must complement each other or visitors will feel you lack style. This affects their trust in you.
• Themes you use: Is this relevant to the industry you’re in? You want visitors to feel at home the moment your content appears on a screen.

Do market research about what your customers respond to. You’ll love the increased engagement you get.

7. Use More than Words

You’ve seen content relates to much more than words on a screen. You can create dynamic content by using modern methods.

Images
Your customers want fast answers to their questions. Did you know an image is processed faster than text?
Include photographs or graphs in your content. This information will be remembered easier too. It’s the perfect way to communicate complex ideas.

Video
Go one step further and add audio to visual content:

• Show videos about you, your products or the company.
• Make explainer videos to share complex information in a way anyone can understand:
  • With whiteboard animation videos any relevant scene can be drawn. Characters can act out dialogues without you even hiring an actor.
  • Explainer videos that use animation make ordinary subjects look interesting.

Videos are even more effective than images. The added medium of sound gives more stimulation to viewers’ senses. The movement also draws attention.
Videos are excellent to use as social media content. Videos will stand out among the posts containing text or images.
Can you see how these mediums offer customers what they need? This—not the facts you want to share—is the first step in engaging with them.

8. Offer Information

Don’t fear the extensive skill and expertise you possess will go to waste in content creation. There is a customer need you can fulfil.
Customers love learning new things. It makes them feel in control. It gives them the chance to be better than their friends or colleagues.
Use this to your benefit.

Blogs
This need of consumers is why blogs are so popular. When customers require answers they know somewhere there must be a blog about the topic.
Write about your experience and you can help others find the answers they need.

Become an Expert in Your Field
Your company will benefit when you get known for having the answers. This establishes you as an expert in a certain field.
You can also post content when other experts review your work.
This is important because it builds trust. Your customers can see you’re knowledgeable. They’ll feel more comfortable trusting you than someone who is new in the industry.

After you break the bad habit of focusing on yourself, don’t stop working. Marketing platforms are always evolving. Find new viewpoints your customers may develop. Add and change your content so it always answers the questions your clients ask. They’ll think you’re reading their minds. And they’ll love you for it.