Is your website copy targeting the right person at the right time?
Are you trying super hard on your website to convince your ideal client they should hire you?
You might be getting decent traffic coming to your website, but that traffic isn’t converting into inquiries.
Right audience, wrong buyer’s phase
The problem could be that you’re trying hard to show how good your solution is to:
- People who are unaware they have a problem.
- People who are evaluating different options for a problem they have just become aware of.
- People who are at the beginning of the research cycle.
No matter how swish your website looks and sounds, if you’re targeting people in the wrong phase of the buyer’s cycle, they will never convert.
Business feels like an uphill climb because you’re always talking to people who don’t see or appreciate your value.
You find yourself justifying, over-explaining, and trying to *convince* someone they need you.
You end up hustling harder.
Your copy doesn’t attract the right prospects.
Your copy repels or blocks dream clients from finding you.
Cue a vicious cycle.
For example, say you’re an interior designer running your business.
You want to talk to people who are solution-aware – which means your ideal client already knows they need an interior designer, now they are researching who in the market will best meet their needs.
A person in this phase will:
- Know their budget and how much they are willing to spend on your services.
- Look at before and after photos in the designer’s portfolio.
- Read reviews, case studies and testimonials.
- Check out the designer’s social media feeds.
- Look for other helpful information and markers to show their choice is the right one such as guides.
Compare this with someone who’s in the early part of their research process.
Their research might look something like this:
- They are considering all options such as DIY, and reading interior design magazines, blogs etc to gather as much information as possible.
- They are doing generic searches on Google or building a Pinterest board of rooms they like.
They haven’t yet considered hiring an interior stylist as it’s not on their radar.
However, they may come across an ad or content in their research process and add it to their list as an option.
Once they have enough information, they move on to the next stage.
3 stages of the buyer’s journey
Typically, a buyer will go through three stages in their journey – awareness, consideration and decision.
If your website is trying to convince the second user in the earlier stage of research, they won’t convert.
However, targeting the person in the awareness stage by providing helpful content such as guides, blogs or videos can help them move to the next stage where you become the only solution for them.
Which buyer’s stage is your website copy at?
Ideally, it should be talking to the pain points of someone who is already at the solution-aware stage.
The person who is solution-aware is far more likely to send you an inquiry because they are trying to find the right person.
Read through the copy on your website today. Which buyer’s stage is it targeting?
Over to you.
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