PPC Blog

Whether we do PPC, SEO, or social media, we all have something in common:

We’re in the communication game

In order to play the communicate game well, we need to understand people.

You’ve heard the maxim “it’s not about you, it’s about them”, meaning that people aren’t interested in hearing about you or your product, they are interested in themselves and how your product can benefit them.

People are like this because our society centers around the wants and needs of the individual, as opposed to the needs of the group, or the producer. When we understand this simple fact, we can better craft marketing messages people can relate to.

Yeah, but so what, you may be saying. “What’s in it you me”?

In search marketing, communicating well leads to more activity on your site. It can lead to more money. It can lead to more money because visitors will engage, where they wouldn’t if the message didn’t appeal to them.

Here are two techniques to help you improve communication. The most important thing you can do in order to communicate well is to ask questions.

1. Ask Questions Of Others

If you don’t understand your audience, how can you sell them anything?

If you ask your customers “what is the single thing they care about most” – i.e the reason they are engaging with you – what would their answer be?

I often receive surveys from PayPal. The surveys come in the form of multi-choice answers.

I could tell PayPal how to make their service better, but they never ask. They don’t send a message saying “what is the one thing we could do to make you happier?”. Instead, I get the same old multi-choice surveys, forcing their narrow frame of reference on me. That’s not asking the customer what they want. It’s as if some manager somewhere is going through the motions. Needless to say, I don’t answer them.

Never has there been an easier time for two-way communication between vendor and customer. Comments forms. Forums. Email. Social media. So many opportunities to engage with your customers, and ask them the simple question “what do you want”?

Be assertive – pick up the phone, and ask them. Every email you send should have a tagline: “please get in touch if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions”. Think about the various ways you can make it easy for people to tell you what they want.

It’s true that sometimes customers don’t know what they want. If Henry Ford had asked people what they wanted, they would have replied “a faster horse”.

But it’s our job to read between the lines of their answers to find out what they really mean e.g.. “to get places more quickly”.

Look In The Mirror, And Ask Questions Of Yourself

I’ve just read a book called “So What?” by Mark Magnacca. It’s a simple, straightforward introduction to communicating well. Whilst intended for those giving presentations, one useful tool that is directly applicable to search marketing is the “So What?” matrix

Any presentation can be transformed by asking these questions:

• For what? What reason, and for whom, are you doing this?
• So what? Why is it important for the audience?
• Now what? What do you want to happen as a result of this information?

That’s the essence of a well-constructed landing page. What problem are you solving? Are you sure that is a problem the audience has? If not, rethink your offer. If it is, then what do you want people to do next? Click on an order button? If so, make it prominent. Make it easy.

Pretty simple, right. But those simple questions, when applied, will solve most landing page problems.

This also applies to SEO. If people land on your page, you need to answer those three questions, else they’ll click back. There’s no point ranking #1, or bidding into the top position, if people click back. Your efforts are wasted at that point.

Go through your copy and strike out everything that does not clarify to your audience what is in it for them. Every point about how good you are should be put in the context of how you being good helps your audience.

If your competitors offer a similar, or identical product to your own, here are a few ideas on how to change your offer, without really changing anything!

This strategy also works well if you feel your offering is getting a little stale could use a kick-start.

Positioning In The Sales Funnel

Where, in the sales funnel, are you currently pitching?

Try shuffling the positioning either earlier or later.

For example, a landing page might provide a lot of information, targeting people who are at an early research stage of the sales cycle.

However, what happens if the advertiser were to focus on price points and/or shipping options instead i.e. targets the end of the sales cycle? Does this result in more buyers? Or try the other way around. Provide more information, and focus less on the price, to try and woo buyers who are still researching?

The sales funnel is a continuum. The buyer could be anywhere along it. It can be a good idea to run slightly different campaigns targeting people at different points along the funnel, and not just leaving it to the path structure of your website.

You could also try presenting your product with a different image, or in a different context.

For example, a holiday package could be presented as “an escape”, or “an indulgence”, “a learning adventure”, “part of a lifestyle”, or as “something earned”. Each message requires a different approach, as each message engages with different types of buyers.

Breakouts

The breakout involves taking one feature of the product, and making it central.

For example, let’s say someone sells used iPads. They bundle the ipads with an attractive case, but haven’t, in the past, drawn attention to this point. They could try creating an ad that focuses attention on the case, as opposed to just the ipad, reasoning that potential customers already know what an ipad is, but they’re looking for a point of difference. Breakout items can include accessories, service contracts, and guides.

Bundling

If you sell multiple parts, which you sell individually, try bundling them together.

For example, someone could sell individual BBQ implements, such as a scraper, a knife, a large fork, an apron, a burger flipper, carry case, etc, or they could bundle them together into a “BBQ Kit”. Sometimes, individual items can be rolled into an attractive concept, making them easier to sell.

A variation of this approach is often used in traditional collectible mail order. They sell individual model cars, yet show a display case full of the complete set. Buy one each week, and the target is to fill the free display case. At that point, it becomes “a collection”.

Reintroduction

Don’t assume the customer knows everything about the product.

Again, using the iPad example, this could be pitched to a different market by describing it as “a small computer”. Think boaties, small apartment dwellers, motor-home owners, and anyone else pushed for space. The “small” feature is emphasized and dramatized in order to appeal to a sub-market within the computer buying market who are motivated by space saving.

This type of positioning also works well for the small business. A small company may not be able to provide the same benefits a large company can, but they can provide different benefits i.e. more agile, more personal, more customizable more approachable. These aspects are emphasized. The small companies prices may be higher, but again, they can spin this into a positive i.e. “we are there for people who appreciate quality, not quantity”.

Notice how the products aren’t really changed, they are just repositioned, bundled, or described differently to appeal to different markets, or to add a fresh angle.

Further Resources

• Product Positioning – Quick MBA
• Sales Funnel – Wikipedia
• Market Research – a collection of market research reports. Whilst these aren’t free, they may provide a shortcut to testing.
• Why Small Is The New Big – Seth Godin