Julie Kenyon – Page 2 – Insider Marketing

Balancing expertise with readability

17th May 2016 Julie Kenyon

It seems that more and more, we are all striving to be ‘experts in our field’, better than and more informed than the rest.

But in our quest to be the best, are we in danger of being boring or even irrelevant? Sharing knowledge is a common element of a content writer’s brief. “Show my customers how much I know, that I’m a thought leader and the go-to person for help and advice”.

So, my challenge is to balance this drive for ‘showing off’, with ensuring we’re not talking over the heads of our target audience, but giving them the information that they really need.

Yes, it’s important to show knowledge and expertise – but it’s how these skills benefit our clients that readers are interested in. So my approach is to take the in-depth expertise and spin a commercial angle onto it.

It’s all about the outcomes – what’s the answer to that ‘so what?’ question.

Take a look at this example:

“So you have the most advanced technology in the UK but how does that benefit my company? Oh, so you can cut traditional production times in half? Now I’m interested!”

By addressing the pain points suffered by customers, (in this instance, a lengthy production time) you’re more likely to strike a chord. It puts your product or service offerings into context so that customers instantly grasp how it is that you can help them.

We acknowledge that we are all time poor, that we have just a few seconds to capture and engage with website visitors. Offer answers to your customers’ problems, talk about the issues facing them right now and they will respond in a positive way.

A place for ‘heavy’ content

There is of course a strong case for serious, knowledgeable copy and for including it on your website. Perhaps though just not right at the front. ‘More reading’, ‘knowledge hub’ etc, however you want to call it, signposts your more considered, detailed and thought-leading pieces to those that are interested in the finer points of your knowledge.

White papers, e-books and other publications are the perfect resting home for in-depth content, and are very valuable in proving your prowess, and positioning your business as a leader in its field.

So please take a look at your website and be sure to look at it through the eyes of your typical customer. Ask yourself if you are giving them the information they need in a friendly, palatable way, and whether your content needs a re-shuffle, to deliver the best possible online experience.

The power of targeting your content

3rd March 2016 Julie Kenyon

If your business is one of the majority whose product offering can appeal to many, how do you pitch your content to attract audiences from different target markets?

If you were selling oranges for example, it might be helpful for the orange buyer to understand why they should choose your oranges rather than someone else’s.

To start with, you need to understand who your orange buyers are.

One group could be an athletics club for example, who are interested in the re-hydration qualities of your fruit. Another group could be a health club, keen to find the most nutritious oranges they can buy. Then there are parents looking to buy oranges that their kids can easily peel.

Essentially, you’re selling the same product, yet your buyers have different needs that must be satisfied if they are to decide it’s right for them.

Hence the power of target marketing. Generic content risks being ‘vanilla’ i.e. with little by way of interesting ‘hooks’ to reel your buyers in.

In the marketing industry we talk about business verticals – different market sectors that have different needs and priorities yet happen to be in the market for the same product.

So, how can your copy reflect those different needs?

By talking directly to your audience, using a language they understand, and hitting the specific pain points of each sector, you’re showing those buyers that you appreciate their needs, and that you can provide exactly what it is they are looking for.

With content, very rarely does one size fit all. And the more that you can pitch your content to specific target groups, the more likely it is you’ll receive enquiries.

Time for a little more sophistication

It’s good to know who your customers are, and where they are in the buying cycle. Have they bought from you before, enquired but never bought, or do they need educating about all the wonderful reasons why they should buy from you?

Existing customers may appreciate news from you about new products or add-ons to the products they’ve already bought. And they may like to receive a voucher off their next purchase as an incentive to buy again. Or you may wish to include an early bird discount to recent enquirers to push them towards a purchase if they are procrastinating.

New customers may be easier to convert if they are eligible for an introductory offer.

You get the idea. And hopefully get the gist of why targeting your content can add a strong commercial advantage to your business.

Who would you like to do business with?

It might sound like an obvious question but if you’ve an ideal client in mind, check out your online resources to see if they are pitched to attract interest from this group. Perhaps you’d like business from abroad, from a particular sector such as charities, retail or online businesses only.

Take a little time to think about which clients could award contracts that would really make a difference to your business, and create specific content that will draw them in.

Use blogs to target your different markets too, and signpost to those blogs on Twitter using the sector hashtag that’s relevant to the content. It will start to put you on the radar of the businesses you’d like to have a conversation with, whilst showing them that you’re a serious provider in their field.

The importance of delivering on expectations

3rd February 2016 Julie Kenyon

I’ve been very disappointed twice recently, by big name brands that quite frankly, I’d expect better service from.

One was a holiday company with whom I’ve booked a trip of a lifetime (I’ve a big birthday coming up!). They sent me an email recently to request the balance of payment. Fair enough, the balance is now due, however, the tone of the email was not what I would expect from a well-known holiday brand.

The words that upset me were: please keep in mind that if we don’t receive your payment by your balance due date your holiday will be cancelled.

What? So no provision for the possibility that I may not receive that email or I may be away on business or another holiday? Do I not get a second chance? These words were in the 3^rd line of the email – not at the bottom, away from the rest of the message where it could have been added in the form of terms and conditions and in a more friendly tone.

So, I complained. I explained that I had high expectations when booking with this firm, after all, their marketing is second to none, and customers are left in no doubt that they need not expect compromises when holidaying with them.

I also stated that, based on the company’s outstanding reputation, I was even more disappointed at the tone of their letter than I might otherwise have been.

Which is why it’s so important to deliver on expectations. Marketing is only worth its salt if it is true to the word and customers receive the product or service that they were expecting. Anything less just leads to disappointment and feeling let down.

The response to my complaint was equally disappointing: whilst they stated that their intention was not to offend customers, this notification had come from their accounting team.

There’s a point here for all companies to note: make sure all departments in your company are aware of the marketing activities going on and see themselves as equally responsible for delivering on expectations no matter what their role in the company. Every member of staff is a company representative.

Moving on, my second disappointment has come from large retailer from whom I made a purchase last October. Since then I have been bombarded with emails, each one complete with an unsubscribe button that, when clicked, takes you to a normal web page, and not an unsubscribe page. Quite simply, there is no option to unsubscribe.

Despite many emails to complain and bring this to the company’s attention, I’ve been assured that my email address will be removed from their marketing lists (though this may take a few days) yet I’ve received virtually no acknowledgement that the unsubscribe button doesn’t work.

I’d expect a company of this size to operate in accordance with email marketing rules and not repeatedly send emails with the same non-functioning unsubscribe option – especially after the fault has been reported.

This blog may seem like a rant, and perhaps it is to some extent, but it’s to make an important point. Whoever you are, whether your company is a multi national conglomerate or a sole trader, it’s absolutely crucial to deliver on expectations. Don’t set yourself up for a fall with misleading marketing messages, as people, like me, won’t be too forgiving.

Who needs content marketing anyway?

15th October 2014 Julie Kenyon

It’s a bit of a buzz expression I know, a bit like social media and the like. So do you really need to pay attention or will ‘content marketing’ go away in time?

Here’s a quick heads up – we’re all making our buying decisions differently today to how we were just a year or so ago. Continue reading “Who needs content marketing anyway?” →

Not all content is the same

7th August 2014 Julie Kenyon

What I mean is, you can’t approach all content the same way. And the art of content marketing is to understand your audience, the way they operate, and the choices they have when they make buying decisions.

Who are you talking to?
Where are they in the buying cycle?
What language do they respond to?
Do they need educating, entertaining, informing?
Do they prefer hard facts, statistics and results?
Do they rely on you for updates, trends, and news of innovation?

It’s good to think of content as an ever moving feast – customers’ needs and desires change at a rapid rate. Anticipating that change, and moving with it will keep your communications fresh, interesting and relevant.