In today’s online world you can find website after website of products in the same industry that sound exactly the same.
This happens when marketers become lazy with copy in order to rush to get a message to their audience.
Or, they have gotten very comfortable with being IN the box. Not stepping over the line of safe copy.
Let’s take a look at…
Underwear.
Talk about generic.
Over the years, women had a choice of white, pink, or yellow briefs (and they were usually grandma pants.) Underwear was practical. It was made to be durable – and certainly NOT for people to see.
Underwear is underwear, or at least it was until Victoria’s secret came along.
Victoria’s Secret made wearing underwear an occasion. But, it wasn’t about sex (not like Frederick’s of Hollywood, which was racy at best and sleazy at worst,) it was about attraction, confidence, and a little secret under her jeans.
A woman could still feel “outwardly refined, with her secrets hidden beneath.
Roy Raymond chose the name “Victoria” to evoke the propriety and respectability associated with the Victorian era; outwardly refined, Victoria’s “secrets” were hidden beneath. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/victorias-secret_n_4181683.html
No one had to know, but her.
How about you guys?
Men never thought twice about putting on tightly whities – or boxers. Men basically had 2 options, they either wore them or went commando.
Now, men really don’t want that sexy, under their jeans feel (at least not the ones I know.)
Practical, durable (for sure), and comfy. That’s what they want.
Hanes has tried to escape the generic trap with Michael Jordon’s marketing power, but the brief of it is…still pretty generic.
Then comes a crazy animated ads with a big, burly man on a pole (I mean a pole dancing pole,) for buck naked underwear – feels like wearing nothing at all.
How about their ad with a big, manly lumberjack, or the weekend fisherman…and free swingin’ flannel, let freedom swing. Now, there’s an image!
And, it sure isn’t generic.
We, as marketers of our business, tend to play it safe and think in generic terms because we believe that’s our audience wants.
Safe.
But just the opposite is true.
Generic, boring, and lifeless messages get passed over.
People want adventure.
People want exciting.
People want to see a better side of themselves.
You can do this very easily in your copy in your content, you just need to stop being generic.
Start Listening
Be a good listener.
Not like a coach (well, maybe a little) but as a server of your customers.
They want more!
They want more to their lives than the day in and day out, same-old-same-old routine.
What are you hearing your customer’s talk about. What’s going on in their lives?
I can guarantee, Duluth Trading Company has listened to their customers!
Pinching, binding and sweaty is no way for a man to go through his day.
Does she know what she wants?
What does your ideal customer want?
Does she even know?
Everyone searches for something.
When your ideal customer searches, she may or may not know what she is looking for, but she does know that right now, she’s not satisfied.
She may not even know what she’s not satisfied with…it’s just a feeling.
One of the key components to listening and understanding our customers (or potential customers) is knowing what they want and where they are in their level of awareness.
Is something bothering her? Does she even know what it is that’s bothering her?
At this point, she is knows something is up for her, she feels the discomfort, but is in the “unaware” level of awareness.
Understanding the levels of awareness of your customer goes a long way when writing copy and content.
If she has noticed that her jeans are a little tight and she’s feeling less energetic than normal, she is probably in the “solution” aware stage of awareness; she knows something’s up and that there’s a solution “out there” for her, she just doesn’t know what it is yet.
When you’re aware, you’re aware all the way
Okay, that was my West Side Story reference…were you aware?
You may be saying “huh”, what are you talking about Christine?
That tells me you’re probably at the “pain” aware phase.
When you know the level of awareness that your ideal customer is at, you can start writing copy that speaks to where she is.
If you’re a burly, sweaty guy and you’re wearing tighty whities are pinching in places they shouldn’t, I know EXACTLY the kind of copy to write that speaks to what you issues is.
See where I’m going with this?
Scissors
Take scissors as another generic example.
They all look quite the same:
Two sharp blades, fastened in the middle, with rings on either end, to insert your thumb and finger, and allow you to open and close in order to cut material with ease.
So, let’s say your ideal client is into scrapbooking.
She creates amazing memories for friends, family, and now she’s branching out to create intricate family trees for people uncovering their genealogical background.
Enter Fiskars scissors.
Fiskars was like any old scissor company, and rather generic.
Let’s just say, with scissors, there isn’t a very high emotional brand connection.
They were a 350+ year old company with very little brand loyalty, until they came upon word-of-mouth marketing consultants and Brains on Fire.
Did you know that orange is the new classic – for crafting that is.
Fiskars dug deep into the world of crafters.
What was the awareness level of their ideal customer?
Brains on Fire uncovered her pain – she was a crafter with sore fingers and achy hands!
She was solution aware.
She was tired of having sore fingers and hands after a day of scrapbooking and paper craft designs.
She knew there must be a better pair of scissors out there that made cutting and designing easier, she just didn’t know what brand was like that.
With Brains on Fire’s help, Fiskars listened.
They launched the biggest campaign in craft scissor history that went far beyond tools!
It was the start of the Fiskars Ambassador. Passionate, engaging communicators, and paid to craft.
These Ambassadors became Certified Fiskateers. That’s one heck of an exclusive club!
Less than 24 hours after allowing Fiskateers to be invited in, we had reached our original six-month goal of 200.
There was a 600% increase in online conversations calling Fiskars by name in the first 20 weeks of the movement.
There are 5400+ active and engaged Fiskateers.
Generic, I think not!
When you know your ideal customer (because you’ve asked, gathered info from you surveys, and done some online research,) and understand their level of awareness they are in, you can begin to craft the most NON-GENERIC, specific to your customer, content that will get them, not only excited, but also absorbed in and responsive to your words.
Use Their Words
Now that you have a better understanding of your one reader, (your avatar, your ideal customer,) you get what’s going on in her life right now (her current challenge slash issue), your know where she’s at in her level of awareness, the last piece to the puzzle of non-generic copy and content is…
Use the words of your customer!
When you do this, not in a creeper way, but in a professional, you get where he is kind of way, everything about your message changes!
Congratulations!
You are no longer generic!
Your homework:
Go online and start doing some research on your competitors.
What do you see?
What messages do you notice in their content?
Do the messages sound the same from website to website, competitor to competitor?
Now you can go to work!
Find your “thing!”
What makes you different?
What makes you a unique, a one-of-a-kind brand that stands out in your field?
And, don’t forget your free download of the Levels of Awareness!
