Make sure your copywriter says what your customer wants to hear first

Does your target market really care how long you’ve been in business? Maybe. But that’s not the first piece of information they want to know.

We are often hired as copywriters on projects where the client wants to emphasize how long they’ve been in business. And sure, that matters, but not at first. At first you have to get the potential customer’s attention. After they are already interested in you and listening, then you can tell them more about yourself. But at first you have to tell them about them.

Yes, your customers are narcissists, just like you. Just like all of us. But your job as copywriter or marketer is to move beyond our natural tendency to talk about ourselves.

In my city, Kent Floral has been in business since 1906. That’s over 100 years, and that’s pretty impressive! But, other than the trivia, “isn’t that something” aspect, I don’t really care. What I love is that I can call them up and they know just what I want without me describing it (elegant, unusual, sparse, eye-catching, not the usual floral frou frou).

We just had two birthdays in a row here at We Know Words (Marina and Jill), and I of course sent flowers, not just because it’s our brand, but because everyone loves getting flowers. I use Kent Floral because I like to use local small businesses and I get personalized service I wouldn’t get from calling a toll-free number. They just know what I like. A few months ago, they even went so far as to contact a certified floral designer in Phoenix make sure my Arizona-based aunt received an usual get well bouquet.

Let’s face it: The years in business are impressive, but they a secondary point. Lots of times businesses want to talk about superfluous stuff like that first, but really, that comes later. First get your customer’s attention by making it clear to them that you are empathetic, understand them and what they need. Then you can tell them the secondary stuff to reinforce that they’ve made a good decision by choosing to buy from you.

There are many bits of information that you probably want to tell your potential customers, not just your longevity. Customer service, quality, awards won, etc. Those all fall into the same bucket as your years in business, the bucket that should come later, not first.