Take a look at your business websites or marketing material and try this simple test. How much of the wording is devoted to promoting the company? How much focuses on your potential clients and customers?
If you want to test your website’s customer focus, have a go at this online calculator:
» Take the test: www.customerfocuscalculator.com
This is a great tool for testing self-orientation and an example of some seriously valuable content in its own right.
To make your content valuable, talk more about your clients and customers and their needs rather than you do about yourself and your business.
You, you, you not we, we, we
The purpose of your marketing is to build relationships – to get people to know, like and trust you, and think of you when the time comes to buy.
It’s no different to any other relationship. How do you feel when you go to a party and get stuck with the person who keeps talking about themselves, and their marvellous career, and their fabulous children? A bit bored, I’d guess. And how do you feel when you meet someone at the party who is interested in you, who asks you questions, and is obviously listening to what you say? You’re far less likely to slink off to the kitchen at the earliest opportunity if you’re talking to someone who shows a genuine interest in you.
The best marketing is customer-centred, not self-oriented. If you want your marketing communications to hit home then show genuine interest in your customers. Helping, not selling is your mantra.
It takes discipline and focus NOT to ‘sell’ with your marketing communications. But if you can restrain yourself from doing so and focus on delivering value instead a funny thing happens: you win more business!
Whether you are writing content for website, your blog, your newsletter or even a Tweet, think first ‘how can I help?’. Try and provide value at every contact.
How did you fare in the We We Test? Does this help to bring the point home?
Go on, let us know.
Ha, ha, pretty much as expected:
Your Customer Focus Rate: 19.35% (6 customer-focused words)
Your Self Focus Rate: 80.65% (4 self-focused words, and 21 mentions of the Company Name)
I don’t know why I am laughing – hysteria I think. In your experience, are smaller companies better than larger ones at being customer-centred or does it really just depend on the company ethos, regardless of size.
Yours seems to be around average Neil in terms of the sites we’ve tested – but that doesn’t mean that’s good, as I know you know 😉 On the up side- Sharon did discover a site which achieved 0%, so certainly better than that! I think it is harder to turn the juggernaut around for a large firm, and convince people that the real purpose of a website is to help your customers, not pummel them with propaganda!
Thank you very much for the calculator and the advice!
Your calculator amazed me. “It appears that your web page has 46 words focused on your visitor, while it has 4 words focused on your business. That means your site is focused on your customer 92% of the time, while focused on your business 8% of the time.
It appears that this web page speaks to your customer more than 11 times as much as it speaks about your own business.”
Now to keep that up throughout the whole site!
All the best from Connecticut in the United States,
Ernest
Great result Ernest. I can see through the way you write your content the power of a direct conversation with your ideal customers. It really is all about you! Good luck with all you are doing, and many thanks for the comment. Sonja