Quick que
stion: when was the last time you saw an ad for, say, a ream of paper and absolutely, positively HAD to go buy it as a result?
Chances are, never. The price is usually the major consideration.
Now imagine another tool—a more expensive one, such as a fiber network tester. Some of these run into 5- or 6-figure price tags. It’s a necessary purchase, but from what supplier? All those network performance tools basically do the same thing, right? Or so goes the thinking for many B2B buyers.
And that’s a challenge for any marketer.
How do you strike the right balance between providing information the buyer needs to justify the purchase and that extra “something” that compels the buyer to purchase from you, even if your product costs more?
This six-step checklist will help you refine your message, add proof and entice your buyer to ask for more information
Many B2B products don’t immediately lend themselves to truly persuasive copy. For the network tester mentioned above, is it persuasive to say, “The Acme Network Tester isolates faults in any of the seven layers comprising the Open Systems Interconnection model”? It may be accurate, but it doesn’t connect with the core buying emotion of your buyer.
We call this checklist “CREATE,” which is an acronym for Credible, Relevant, Ethical, Authentic, Timely and Exciting.
Once you’ve developed your primary message to promote the key benefits of your product, going through the CREATE checklist will ensure you wrap those benefits in copy that virtually compels the prospect to buy.
Let’s review each step, using the above network tester as an example.
C – Credible: Before a prospect will buy, she or he needs to be willing to believe what you say.
If you’re lucky, your company already holds a recognized industry leadership position. If not, you have some work to do. There’s an old cliché that says when discussing your virtues, they are best said of you, rather than byMeaning, leverage someone else’s informed opinion.For our network tester example, you could point to the latest industry analyst report rating your client as a “Leader” rather “Niche” player. You could weave in customer quotes about how easy your product is to use, how fast it finds networks faults, or how exceptional your customer service is.The point is to use what others say about you as much as possible. That approach carries a lot more credibility with your prospect. Another tip: search far and wide for this information. Do your own research because you may find a credibility gem that’s been overlooked.
R – Relevant: Even if a prospect believes what you say, they won’t care if it doesn’t apply to them
If you were an engineering manager, how would you respond to an email touting the latest advancement in accounting software? You’d probably ignore it, since it doesn’t apply to you. It’s the same for your prospect. And while you may already have a buyer persona or job title to target, it doesn’t hurt to go even deeper. Ask yourself why the prospect needs the product. What problem does it solve? How will they use it? What’s going through their mind as they consider whether to buy? True relevance is based on more than a job title.Take our network tester. At a cabling installation company, the network team lead has different needs than his client, the network ops manager at an architecture firm. The former needs to document performance compliance with specs outlined in the construction contract, or risk not being paid. The latter needs to troubleshoot day-to-day issues quickly with a relatively small but overburdened team.In each case, what makes your copy relevant is the use case. Help your prospect imagine how they would use the product. No detail is too small.
E – Ethical: No one ever succeeds by making outlandish claims or bashing the competition
In financial and health marketing copy, there are very stringent regulations about what you can and can’t say. In other industries, there’s more leeway. But you should still have proof for every claim you make (remember CREATE starts with Credibility). Not only will it keep you and your client out of legal hot water, but it will also make you more likeable to your prospect. And people really do buy from people (or companies) they like.For our network tester, speed is important. Can we say it’s the fastest tester on the market? We can if it’s been independently verified. Can we gleefully share bad news about the competition? Why would we want to? It doesn’t advance our product in the prospect’s mind.But what if our tester isn’t the fastest? Look deeper for a different advantage. It’s almost always there. The point is, you should never lie or over-exaggerate. That doesn’t mean you can’t make a bold statement. You can use what my favorite lawyer calls “weasel words”—the ones that tone down your claim just enough to be true without losing its impact. Here’s a great weasel word for you: “helps.” As in your product “helps” your customers solve a problem, rather than solving it all on its own.
A – Authentic: The overall message needs to be aligned with a company’s brand promise
What comes to mind when I say, “the man of steel”? Superman, of course. When we think of Superman, we know what we’re getting. The same goes for your product. Some companies compete on price (and have plenty of customers who gladly buy). Others compete on different attributes. These are also called “brand promises”, and if your copy doesn’t support it, your prospect is less likely to buy. He won’t know why exactly, but something about the message is “off” and therefore not trusted.Back to our network tester. Since some network testing tools are free, we should compete on something else. One way is to turn a perceived negative (the price) into a positive. Our copy should center on something else, like product quality or ease of use—something that focuses the comparison on something other than price. After all, you get what you pay for, right? Free isn’t always the best deal.
T – Timely: If your prospect isn’t aware of the urgency, it will be harder to keep their attention
Ever notice the dramatic increase in advertisements to buy gifts for whatever holiday is coming up? It’s the same on the B2B side. Whether timeliness relates to a new government regulation or annual budget planning, there are certain times when your prospect is more likely to buy. And your copy needs to emphasize the urgency.Getting back to our network tester. The annual IT budget planning cycle usually starts months before the beginning of the year. If you want to sell a lot of testers in 2018, you better have been marketing your product no later than mid-2017, as that’s when IT directors draw up their initial budget requests. It’s much easier to make a sale when the prospect has already allocated money to it than them having to divert funds from something else. Make sure you mention the prospect’s urgency driver in your copy.
E – Exciting: Once your copy satisfies the first five requirements, create some drama (the good kind)
Most B2B copy would never make it as a whodunnit. It’s stiff and boring, the exact opposite of what compels the prospect to act. Drama is what separates superb copy from mediocre. Humans are storytellers. Your copy should be, too. Here’s a hint: pore through case studies, customer interview, win/loss analysis, etc. Anything that tells a story through the buyer’s voice is perfect.So what kind of story can our network tester tell? How about the IT director’s immediate gut-wrenching horror of the CEO’s assistant complaining the network is down and she can’t send the multi-million dollar contract to the CEO who is onsite with the customer for a signing ceremony? Yikes. Better for the IT director to have a network tester that monitors performance and alerts IT to fix the network before the CEO’s assistant ever notices there’s a problem.
Closing thoughts
It’s easy to look at your web site and existing collateral as examples of how to message product benefits, but this is just a starting point. Until you have a 100% conversion rate, there’s always room for improvement. To establish your true value as a partner to your sales team and a reliable performer to your CEO, using CREATE will help your campaigns truly connect with buyers and generate a greater response.
After all, underneath the skeptical outer layer of every B2B buyer is a human being—a consumer—and he or she will respond as such if you give them a reason to do so. Tell your product’s story using the CREATE method, and I guarantee your copy will soar.