Do you know why your potential customers probably don’t care about you or your company, even if they visit your website, see your company on social media, read a blog post or find out about you in some other way?
Now, this may not pertain to some of you, but my experience shows that many, many small businesses make these same core missteps I’ll mention in this post.
There are way too many businesses who, quite simply, when developing the messaging for their company, focus on things that customers don’t care about.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
When I worked in corporate America, I was an audio visual systems consultant at a Fortune 500 company for 20 years. We would often have meetings with clients who wanted to add AV technology to a conference room or auditorium.
There sometimes would be other AV companies in the meeting trying to get the contract and when they talked about their company, their message would go something like this:
“XYZ AV Company can install a 6,000 lumen projector, HDMI connectivity, UHF high band microphones, an AXM control system with an NI4000 controller, line array audio system, 2.4 GHz wi-fi, a Polycom HDX 6000 video conference system with Vaddio HD cameras, etc.”
And you know what? NO ONE CARES! (At least not at first. And the “at first” is the most important time in the consulting process to get the client to want to listen to you as to how you can help them)
When I consulted for the same design, my message was more along these lines:
“We want the people using this new room to realize right away how easy it is to use the system. Have you ever been in a meeting room that was so complicated and frustrating to figure out how to use the AV equipment that your meeting failed? With the technology we are installing, that feeling of embarrassment and having all eyes on you because something isn’t working right will not happen.
The image on the screen will be bright, crisp and clear. The microphones we install will allow everyone in the room and on an audio conference call to be heard loud and clear . When a presenter from another company or even another country comes in as a special guest, no matter what type of computer, iPad, tablet or any other device they want to present with, they will be able to do so – easily.”
See the difference between the two?
One other quick example. Let’s say you are a Realtor and on your home page of your website the headline says “I’ve sold over $10,000,000!” NO ONE CARES! (Again, at least not at first. That message will come later).
How about this as a message instead: “If I can’t sell your house, I’ll buy it.” Or, “I know moving is a big decision for families. It can be stressful. You care about the neighborhood, the schools, the memories you’ll be creating in your new home. Let me help you answer those questions as you plan this life changing event for your family.”
You need your initial message to be a STORY that puts your potential customer in the middle of it. That is how you gain trust and credibility. NOT with your sales totals, certifications, technical knowledge and how may initials you have after your name.
DON’T GET ME WRONG. All of the other things that I say “no one cares about” are very important. But those items become secondary to the story you need to tell first.
Of course clients want to know of your background. expertise, technical knowledge and that you can solve the problems that are causing their pain in their business.
But making them part of a story initially that lets them know you understand what they are feeling will bring in a lot more customers than talking about how great you and your company are. You may very well have a fantastic company. Just change up the order of the message.
Relatable story first. Qualifications second.
That’s exactly how we help small businesses at Leadstra. We can guide you on how to best craft your story so you can bring in more clients.
For more tips and ideas, please consider becoming an “Insider” at Leadstra. It’s FREE.
If you found this information useful, please share it. And as always, I welcome your comments.
Lee
