Last week I skimmed over the article Turn Brain Science into Bucks: Incorporating Persuasive Messaging into Your Content Strategy from Bruce Clay, Inc. Blog by Virginia Nussey. I only had a few minutes to skim the article and went back tonight to read it in more detail. The main point of the article is to stress how important it is for content marketing to pay as much attention to the customer’s needs and not just the ever-important keywords. Yes, this has been said a lot, but I don’t think I’ve seen the major points of the psychology of marketing written together and as clearly as this.

As I was reading the article, it took me back to my Common Sense Selling training that I received from John Schumann (Whetstone Group). Some of the major points of which are to find and understand the needs of your customer and meet your customer on their level. After all people prefer to do business with people like them. People who understand their needs.

Find the Pain:

Using historically ingrained sales tactics; you can spew 300 great features about a product to a prospect (John Schumann calls it show up and throw up), but if you don’t tell them about the 1 feature that actually meets their need… odds are you will loose the sale to a competitor that specifically addresses that need. Using the Common Sense Selling strategy you would first ask the customer what problem or “pain” they are experiencing with a given situation and then listen and let them explain it. Become interested in this problem and then engage the prospect to go into more detail. After discovering their needs, then you take the time to explain how your product or service is the solution to that problem. Oh, yeah. Keep focus. You don’t need to follow up with the other 300 features and benefits.

In SEO marketing, your approach is a bit different than in a live sales call. However, you do need to make sure you understand the key needs of your customer. Don’t use the same old show up and throw up routine. You may think everyone wants bigger, faster stronger, but it’s entirely possible that simpler and safer is the real market need – bigger, faster, stronger etc. may just be fluff. Differentiate your product from the competition by providing relevant, keyword rich text that clearly communicates the solution to the need(s) of your audience.

While not as intensive week of Common Sense Sales Training, this a article is great place to start thinking about how to pitch your product differently from the other noise your audience is exposed to.
Turn Brain Science into Bucks: Incorporating Persuasive Messaging into Your Content Strategy from Bruce Clay, Inc. Blog by Virginia Nussey.