Writing killer web content starts with addressing the elephants in the room. It’s a strange connection, but allow me to explain.
Elephant #1: Ignoring pain points
Our clients are extremely concerned about their brand perception, and understandably so – we get that (we can also help with that, but I digress). That said, it’s sometimes challenging to get clients to discuss their audiences’ negative experiences and pain points. But it’s a must.
Take our copywriting project with Corporate Fitness Works (CFW), a cool company that develops custom fitness center management programs for other companies nationwide. Corporate Fitness Works’ services cater to many audiences from CEOs and HR executives to architects and fitness professionals. That’s why step one of the process involved getting together with our web design/developer partner Big Sea and Corporate Fitness Works to have a candid conversation about what keeps each of CFW’s audiences up at night.
So maybe Ms. HR Executive wondered, “How do I even start an employee fitness or wellness program?” And right on the solutions page, we answered: The thought of building a fitness center or starting a fitness program can seem daunting. That’s where we come in: We’ll work with your team to understand your company’s unique challenges and culture. Then, we’ll develop custom solutions that stick with your employees in impactful ways.
We also explain the step-by-step process to Ms. HR Executive so she’s not left wondering how much work and commitment it’ll take to partner with Corporate Fitness Works.
Elephant #2: Accepting jargon for what it is
Our clients are true geniuses in their respective industries. We salute and celebrate that.
But with expertise often comes jargon. Totally normal, but we’re not hesitant to question and simplify that type of inside speak. The truth is: We will lose our clients’ audiences if we accept their industry or company jargon for what it is.
And it’s easy to get lost in the alphabet soup of an industry like financial services (CDs, IRAs, the list goes on). But we worked tirelessly to define every service and product when writing new copy for Achieva Credit Union’s website. We even took one gigantic step back and defined what a credit union is, along with its benefits and features.
Elephant #3: Being happy with telling instead of showing
Think about the things that sway you to choose one brand over another. You want to know what’s in it for you. You want to feel confident that you’ll have an easy buying experience. And above all, you want your pain points to go away (back to you, Elephant #1). But how do you a trust a brand without hearing from real people?
Originally, both Corporate Fitness Works and Achieva Credit Union lacked customer and employee testimonials on their websites. That’s why we worked with both clients to show, not tell.
For instance, Achieva can tell us they have the best checking product around, but we weren’t aware of its security measures and credit monitoring until Stacy, a member since 2016, spoke up.
And Corporate Fitness Works can say they have a friendly company culture with lots of professional development opportunities for fitness professionals, but what does that look like? We helped paint that picture when we heard from CFW employees like Antonique.
Moral of the B2 story: Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions and address challenging situations in writing web content. It’s how we identify our clients’ value propositions. And it’s what leads us to concise and compelling web content that turns visitors into loyal fans.