Blog Marketing to Increase Choice Confidence

/0 Comments/in , , , /by


“Choice confidence is an important driver of buying behavior,” Associate Professor of Marketing Demetra Andrews writes in the Indianapolis Business Journal. Together with colleagues, Andrews examined the influence different forms and quantities of information on consumers’ willingness to buy, naming certain types that tend to be most effective in building buyer confidence:

  1. Information that is diagnostic makes it easier for prospects to distinguish the differences among available options.
  2. Increasing the number of “cues” (individual pieces of information) increases customers’ perception of their own knowledge.
  3. Information presented in verbal format (vs. numbers) is most effective in building purchase intentions.
  4. Product ratings increase choice confidence.
  5. Testimonials from “influencers”, including consumers who provide insights into their own experience with the product or service encourage confidence.

Each of these valuable insights can be translated into blog content creation:

Diagnostic information
In order to facilitate informed decisions by readers, data needs to be presented and “analyzed” and broken down in terms of results. Remember, searchers are asking themselves “What’s in it for me?” Along with features, effective blog posts describe benefits.

Increasing the number of “cues”
Chunking refers to the strategy of breaking down information into bite-sized pieces so the brain can more easily digest new information. Blog posts are ideal for serving up “bites” of information, creating impact over weeks and months.

Ratings and comparisons
One core function of blogs for business is explaining yourself, your business philosophy, your products, and your processes.  An effective blog clarifies what sales trainers like to call your “unique value proposition” in terms readers can understand.

Testimonials
Customer success stories and client testimonials boost your credibility with new prospects, helping them decide to do business with you. But, as webcopyplus.com explains, website testimonials “also foster commitment from those providing the testimonials.”

“By tailoring information form, format, quantity and source, businesses can help customers make better, more confident choices that will meet their needs,” Andrews concludes. By tailoring the presentation of information as presented in blog posts, content writers can enhance blog readers’ confidence and encourage them to become customers.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Aiming for the “Me, Too!” Effect in Blog Marketing

/0 Comments/in , , , /by


“All salespeople present themselves as problem solvers yet most never ask clients to vividly describe the problems they are experiencing,” Paul Cherry maintains in the book Questions That Sell. An outstanding salesperson, the author teaches, will offer clients the opportunity to open up and vent their frustrations. “You will have success building a relationship with your potential customers only when you can get into their world and identify the forces at work in their lives.”

In blog marketing (where prospects are meeting you before you’ve had the chance to meet them), as Jeremy Porter Communications teaches, the goal is to create a connection with your audience that makes them receptive to your message. He names seven emotions and their opposites that marketers can tap into to get an audience “from where they are to where you want them to be”:

  • anger/calmness
  • friendship/enmity
  • fear/confidence
  • shame/shamelessness
  • kindness/unkindness
  • pity or compassion/indignation
  • envy/emulation

At Say It For You, we understand that, in blogging for business, face-to-screen is the closest we blog content writers will come to our prospective buyers of our clients’ products and services. On the other hand, we’re conscious that behind every decision, there is always a person, a being with feelings. One of the most direct access paths to prospects’ feelings is through stories. “Consumers are used to telling stories to themselves and telling stories to each other, and it’s just natural to buy stuff from someone who’s telling us a story,” observes Seth Godin in his book All Marketers Tell Stories.

The thing to remember is that people are online searching for answers to problems or solutions for dilemmas. If, in encountering a blog post about a customer who went through a sort of pain and suffering akin to theirs (and who has now come out the other side), readers’ natural and highly emotional reaction might well be “Me, too!”.

Far sooner and more directly than descriptions of features and benefits of your offer, an emotionally charged story of suffering solved might well result in a “me, too” sale!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Blogging for Window Shoppers and Tire Kickers

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by


“Many of the folks who come to see me aren’t necessarily looking for a new plan or a new planner,” financial advisor Zach Fox, AAMS®, says. “They may just be looking for confidence in their existing plan.”

Diane Wingerter, certified grantwriter and owner of GrantWriting for Goodness™, agrees. “Yes”, “no”, “maybe”, or “not now” are all possible responses by people who are seeking funding – or, indeed, by funders themselves, she notes.

Blog marketers need to approach readers with a similar mindset. Will blog marketing “close deals” in the same manner as a face-to-face encounter between a prospect and a sales professional? Of course not. Hubspot blogger Corey Wainwright lists some of the indirect selling benefits of blogs and their place in the sales process:

  • If you’re consistently creating content that’s helpful for your target customer, it’ll help establish you as an authority in their eyes.
  • Prospects that have been reading your blog posts will typically enter the sales process more educated about your place in the market, your industry, and what you have to offer.
  • Salespeople who encounter specific questions that require in-depth explanation or a documented answer can pull from an archive of blog posts.

Blogging is what marketing firm pardot.com calls stage-based, meaning that prospects move through different stages of the sales cycle. In one study, Pardot found that B2B consumers started their research with Google, then returned two or three times for more specific information. For prospects at the top of the “funnel”, the most effective content will be light, educational and product-neutral. Later in the cycle, readers who are already sold on your industry, just deciding among vendors or providers, need more specific information.

The “maybes”, the “not nows”, and readers looking only to bolster their confidence in their existing plans or product choices will come away with a positive experience and valuable information. On the other hand, readers who have reached the final decision-making stage might just be ready to consider your unique value propositions and to follow one of your Calls to Action.

In blog marketing, don’t ignore the window shoppers and tire-kickers!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Don’t Just Blog There – Engage!

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

 

Kudos for the most-watched Netflix series used to be based on how many households had watched a particular movie or show, Mental Floss magazine explains. But watched is a loose term. Anyone who who clicked “play” on a title would be counted, even if they made it only 10 seconds into the material, the authors explain.

When Netflix’s switched its popularity model (where only subscribers who’d watched a show for at least two minutes (and only then within the first 28 days of the show’s release) were counted, there were dramatic shifts in the popularity rankings, Mental Floss authors explain…

When it comes to blog marketing, getting found is most certainly a primary goal, but even after searchers have “found” your blog site and clicked “play”, the job of engaging those readers has just begun.

Steve Mehler of Techsling names things blog readers “really want from you”, including:

  • timely topics
  • a simple read
  • information
  • problem solutions
  • entertainment
  • visuals
  • emotional connections

“The definition of engagement has changed slightly over the years.” Jim Henshaw of Raventools explains. While early measurements focused on Bounce Rate and Pages per Session, that’s not enough (users may keep clicking on different links because they can’t find the content that interests them!) Truly engaged readers continue reading through to the bottom of the article.

Online publishers have spent the last few years trying to attract as many visitors to their website and apps as possible, but were later forced to rethink their online strategy and to put greater focus on maximizing loyalty and engagement, Jorrith Schaap observed in Crowdynews. Enhancing audience engagement is important, Schaap explains, because engaged users:

  • are more likely to trust the publisher’s brand
  • return more often to the website
  • visit more pages during a session
  • are more inclined to sign up a newsletter or RSS blog feed
  • are more likely to become customers and clientsAbove all, do not annoy your readers, Nick Stamoutis of BrickMarketing warns, with:
  • Slow loading
  • Cluttered design
  • Confusing navigation systemSo, don’t just blog there – engage!
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

In Blogging, Keep Functional Alternatives in Mind

/0 Comments/in , , /by

They aren’t really the same as your product or service, but it’s important to analyze how your product or service compares to them, Jeanette McMcMurtry reminds entrepreneurs in Marketing for Dummies, referring to functional alternatives.

What are functional alternatives?
Let’s face it – there are products and services out there that aren’t exactly like the stuff you sell or the services you perform, but which lead to the same, or at least some of the same, outcomes for clients and customers.

Examples:

  • For a health coach focusing on weight loss, functional alternatives potential clients might choose include diet meal delivery, dietary supplements, cosmetic “fat freezing” procedures, and personal trainers.
  • For an orthopedic surgery practice, functional alternatives for potential clients include nonsurgical kinetics, psychological pain management clinics, and cryoanalgesia (using cold to block pain).
  • For a fitness studio, functional alternatives include home exercise equipment sellers, yoga or pilates studios, and online fitness course providers.
  • If you own a hotel, AirBnb and dimilar businesses are functional alternatives.

You need to decide how you compete with functional alternatives to your business or practice, McMurtry explains, then build action items into your marketing plan.

In blog marketing, as we know at Say It For You, content creation must be built around a thorough understanding of your target market. What are their goals? What choices do those prospects have in achieving those goals? In what way are your products/services substantially different?

Years ago, I met Jeff Bowe, owner of a private equity group called Actum. I remember him saying “When you walk into a room, everyone should know you for one thing, and that one thing needs to be very, very clear – to you and to your target audience.” In blog writing, it is crucial for business owners and professional practitioners to differentiate themselves from their functional alternatives.

Do you…do things faster? Operate at a lower cost? Make fewer errors? Offer greater comfort or less pain for the customer? Provide a more engaging experience?

In blogging, keep functional alternatives in mind!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail