The quickest way to increase sales is to focus on quality content. It’s a technique marketers know but many businesses don’t quite get right.
People visit your website looking for something. They come in during different stages of their buying journey. They may be trying to see if there is a solution for a problem they have. For those in the second stage, they are trying to decide which solution is best. When they move to the third stage - they are making the decision to buy.
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Since we’re all spending a lot more time at home, one of the most popular past-times has become home improvement projects.
I was recently looking for landscaping plants to fill in some major changes we’d made. I had a list of criteria. Easy to grow, tolerant of my sun exposure, and color. I knew the size specifications and style theme I was looking for—an English garden type of feel.
Oregon can be a bit grey during the winter. So I needed year-round color with different plant varieties.
Once I narrowed my list down, I started looking to see who carried them.
That step proved to be a bigger challenge than I expected. All the locals seem to carry a narrow selection of the same popular varieties. They carried current bloomers, but not what I’d need to complete the goal.
I finally found a website that shipped plants. I could tell by the home page tabs they carried a wide selection. The problem was you couldn’t search by a specific plant or plant type. There wasn’t a search engine, only dropdowns with general categories.
“Shrubs” was as close as I could get to heather. I had to search through dozens of pages. If my middle name wasn’t “Persistent”, I’d have just closed the tab. It certainly wasn’t user-friendly. I thought of calling them, but there was no one available.
A huge complicated website, no search tools, limited customer support. Lots of content, but the quality suffered.
As the one in my family who does most of the shopping, content really matters to me. The websites that get me back, (unless I have no alternative,) make the experience easy.
In my copywriter marketer work for clients, I keep that shopper’s desire in the back of my mind.
The information and content need to be useful and user-friendly.
The word content has two meanings. We think of content as the article or blog. But the other meaning is an emotion—happiness or satisfaction.
Ideally, the article will give the reader both. It will provide quality useful information and happiness with what you shared and how you presented it.
You’ll lose sales if they can’t find necessary information – they won’t be content. If they can’t easily access the information they want…they won’t like you and if they don’t like you – forget the purchase.
To maximize your marketing investment, you need quality useful content that focuses on your customer’s needs. You need the right content in the places they will find it. And you need to make sure it’s not undermining you.
All sales go back to the customer. Everything you put on your website, every message you put out there should focus on your ideal customer—the person who wants and needs your product.
Start with questions they might have. Answer them with the right content. Think about what they need to know, what validation they need, and how it’s going to benefit them.
People need to see benefits first to trigger the thought to buy. Then they subliminally need that thought validated with support information.
Content is made up of various parts. Keep in mind you’re trying to give them more than a product—you’re trying to trigger happiness and satisfaction.
That means they want information about your business. In a recent survey, the number one thing consumers said they want is your contact information! A whopping 62% put it at the top of their list.
The second most important item was the “About You” page. Rounding out the top three were social media icons so they could check out what others were saying about you. They are looking for transparency and why you should be their choice.
You can’t neglect product information, educational articles, and success stories. All are important to help them along the buyers’ path.
A blog is one of your best avenues to share high-quality information that’s tied to the products or services you offer. The blog can help you expand your audience, increase conversions and enhance brand awareness.
Consumers are becoming leery of promises that sound too good. If you sell them hype, you’ll only get a one-time sale.
You need content beyond your website to build the know, like, and trust factors that trigger sales. You need to put it in places your ideal customers hang out. That goes back to really knowing your customer.
Depending on their demographics it might be Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. If you’re making use of video content, you’ll include a YouTube channel. You can also offer shopping right on your Facebook and Instagram pages.
Share posts with graphics and snippets of a blog or article located on your website. Include a link to drive traffic so they can read the full article.
If you’ve run out of time and your website still has WordPress filler words like Lorem ipsum, it’s time to get help. Many people don’t realize these placeholders in Latin are visible to the public. They destroy your credibility.
If you don’t have the time or the skills, you need a good copywriter who can share messages to increase your sales and make your readers “content.” Need to improve your ROI with quality content? https://jcpwellnesscopy.com/.
Judith Culp Pearson receives three top honors
at the annual Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals in
Ft. Worth, Texas - October 7-9, 2023
