I’m sorry… I don’t speak Jargonese

Actionable, integrated, robust, dynamic, responsive…you get the idea. Marketers are all guilty of writing copy that is stuffed with buzzwords or of generating copy that shouts “Me! Me! Me!” as it brags up the cool features of a company's products or services.

The problem with either of these approaches to marketing is that the content is written from the company's internal perspective, instead of from your buyer's external perspective.

REMEMBER: When a buyer finds your content, they probably came across it while they were searching for a SOLUTION to a business challenge they’re facing right now.

This means you’ve got only a few seconds — yes, seconds — to convince readers that you understand their needs and that you can help them solve their problem. While using certain keywords is important, cluttering your content with fluffy buzzwords is distracting. And forcing readers to wade through industry jargon to get to your “solution” isn’t being helpful, either.

So ask yourself:

Does your content quickly and easily help your customers solve their problems?

If it doesn’t — if it merely shows off what you know or what product or service you have to sell — your readers will look elsewhere for answers.

Today’s digitally savvy buyers are quietly doing much of their research online before they ever reach out to contact your business. They don’t call your sales team and ask, “Can you do X for me?” Instead, they scan certain areas of your website to find proof of what you can (or can’t) do for them. That’s why it’s more important than ever for your company to produce stellar content — framed from your potential buyers' perspective — that is laser-focused on how your product or service directly addresses the needs and problems of your prospects.

You may have a great do-dad with lots of bells and whistles — or provide a wonderful skill or service with all kinds of à la cart options — but if your buyers don’t understand it or see how it will directly help solve their problem TODAY, they’re gone. In a swipe or a mouse-click.

Your buyers (not what you’re selling) need to be at the center of your content universe. So you need to first take some time to get to know your buyers and prospects by creating buyer personas. Arming yourself with insights from your buyers will take the guesswork out of determining their needs and allow you to create content directly aligned with solving their problems.

Good marketing isn’t about what you want to TELL your customers; it’s about sharing what your customers need to HEAR — right this moment.  {Tweet This}

Everything you create should be an answer to how you can help solve your customers’ problems. The first step in changing your content from being product-centric to being customer-centric is to ditch the Jargonese. If you’d like customized help reworking your existing content to be more customer focused, contact the content engineers at Cultivate Communications today. We’ve got just the translators you need to turn your Jargonese-laden copy into a lead-generating content marketing strategy.

No mumbo. No jumbo.