Earlier today I had one of ‘those’ moments with a prospective client. You’ll see which one shortly.

I was on the phone with him discussing a new client relationship. He wants to improve his site’s SEO. Sure, no problem. I start asking the usual questions – what kind of content does he want, who’s the audience…

Then I hear this. “Audience? Huh? We just want whatever it takes to get to the top of Google.”

Uhm…

Thinking to myself, ‘Didn’t we dislodge this attitude from the business world in 2002?’ I asked the prospect to clarify. To what kind of customers do you sell? What motivates them to buy?

Dead silence.

Then, he says something that makes my teeth hurt. “I know what the customers want. This is how we’ll do it.”

Er…hold on a second, Mr. Genius. You’ve admitted to me that sales stink. The phones aren’t ringing. Nobody’s updated your website or sent an email in months. You’re after immediate action and (wait for it) – immediate results.

And on top of all this…you already know what customers want?

No. You don’t know what your customers want. You know what YOU want – money, success, days off, etc. Your customers want entirely different things – products that work, services that do such-and-such job, relief from the headache of dealing with Problem X.

They want this relief to come from you. And they don’t CARE what YOU want.

I believe this is the biggest problem with marketing today. B2B, B2C, doesn’t matter. Too many companies fail to consider their customers’ desires. They just superimpose their own.

It’s tough to crawl out of your head and into someone else’s. Very tough to try on a customer’s mindset and figure out what they want, and how to speak to them about it. Believe me, I know. That’s why there are marketing experts (like me) to do it FOR you.

But no. It’s easy (and cheap) to just assume you know what customers want. And then act from there. And then wonder why your marketing doesn’t convert.

It’s entirely possible to get what you want as a business owner/VP/startup guy-of-all-trades. People do every day. But in order to do that you must give customers what they’re after. It takes imagination, effort and patience to link the two up.

Sometimes I’m able to demonstrate how the two link up, and get myself a new client (yay!). Sometimes I’m not (like today).

Here, some free advice. We have dozens of channels to communicate with all types of audiences nowadays (email, social media, phones, old-fashioned networking, etc.). Want to find out what your customers want? ASK THEM.

Now, how many of you were nodding your head at what I’ve said? Please, sound off in the comments. Let’s have a minute of shared frustration before we get back to work.

Pardon my temporary soapbox-climb, but I felt compelled to post about this today.

As a web writer – and someone who hasn’t read an actual print newspaper in years – I have a bit of apathy toward print.

However, with the “death of print” hullabaloo all around us like a flock of poisoned crows, I am worried about one thing.

The press, the print industry, the “news media” as it was known for centuries, had another name. The Fourth Estate. Named so by Thomas Carlyle in 1841 (he attributed it to Edmund Burke in 1792), it served as a check against corruption, against crime and against dilution of information.

My worry is this. If the Fourth Estate does die…what then becomes the check against these societal problems?

Right now I don’t think we have a counterpart on the Web. We have the collective blogosphere, and I’ll be the first to admit it’s powerful. But it’s not where it should be to replace the Fourth Estate – to become the Fifth Estate, essentially.

Why? Because the news media could be everywhere at once. TV, print and radio. Its power comes from its ability to activate public awareness even in the far corners of society.

An equal percentage of people get their news from TV (38%) or from the Web (39%). This 2008 Pew Research report tells us that newspaper readership has dropped to a third (34%). Assuming some overlap, print and TV still outpace the Web by a good chunk.

We’re not there yet. We could be soon; I think social media and more real-time advancements will help a lot in the coming years. (Some work hammering out content standards wouldn’t hurt either, but that’s the writer in me talking.)

I’m thrilled we have as many communications channels as we do. We’re in the midst of a huge transition because of them – better news, better marketing, better ways to connect. What we’ll need in the future is some standards for Fourth Estate-level solidarity. And plans for taking action when just talking online isn’t enough.

</off soapbox>

It’s not exactly where I want it yet, but at least the portfolio’s more up-to-date. Still have to sort through some samples, make them PDF-pretty and all. I try to keep all my samples either in PDF or URL-accessible. Easy to see, easy to share.

One thing that’s always amazed me is how many businesses try to treat their audience like it’s one big block. We have segmentation and focus groups and self-selecting markets and opt-in mailing lists so easy a narcoleptic dog could manage it…

Yet we’re still holding onto the “customers as numbers” 50s mass-marketing mindset?

The Web, among many other things, demonstrates that we are all individuals. Millions and millions of individuals in fact. And all these individuals have needs.

What’s fascinating about needs is that each individual has different needs…but they tend to be different combinations of the same types of needs. For example – let’s say I need some information from a client on their new software app, so I can write content for it. Meanwhile, the client’s security consultant needs different information so he can run some tests on the network.

We both need information. From the same person, even. Just different kinds.

Address Different Needs for Different Groups In Your Web Content

The underlying reason for this is that human psychology doesn’t change (much). Treating customers like clones is self-sabotage at its finest. However, by addressing the same needs in different amounts, you can speak to a cluster of individuals at the same time.

(Not everybody, but groups within your audience. Can you name 3 such groups? No? Go back and do more research.)

The point I’m driving for here is that when you’re trying to sell – to individuals – you’re speaking to their needs. These needs may not be what you’re thinking of at the time. But if you consider that we as humans have different types of the same needs, it makes selling a little easier. Because you know what needs they have that you can address.

Since I’m a nice writer, I’ll post a few of the “human needs” to which we all respond, in different combinations. I use these all the time when writing content.

6 Types of Human Need to Address When Selling

• Need to belong in a group
• Need for comfort
• Need to feel safe, protected
• Need to impress others
• Need to help out
• Need to understand

I’ll go into more detail on these need types later. For now, remember when you’re planning your next marketing push to consider the individuals that make up your audience. They may be a likely buyer of your product…but the needs behind those purchases may vary. Speak to them. Sell to them.

Maybe I’m a little off on this one. But according to behavioral research I’ve read, and how much better my content works when I (and my clients) keep this in mind, I believe…

You can’t create need.
You can only be there when need arises.

Think about some of the websites you’ve read. Maybe you found a site that sells a software app. It’s a solid app. You like the look; it has all the capabilities you’ll want; price is reasonable. It’s a good buy.

When you need the app. Which, let’s say, isn’t right now.

So what do you do? You bookmark it for later. Later on when you do need the app, you come back and order it.

Website Content Responds to Need

Did the website do its job? That depends. Was its job to sell the app to you RIGHT NOW no matter what? If so, then no it didn’t.

Was its job to sell the app at all? Then yes, it did.

Because you REMEMBERED it when the need arose.

Good website content is persuasive. But it shouldn’t be “BUY THIS RIGHT NOW DON’T WAIT YOU’LL BE SORRY” persuasive. That’s an ad’s job. Website content works better for forming an impression in the customer’s mind.

Sometimes the need is right away. Other times it’s not. Effective websites are those that realize you can address customer needs now and in the future – without screaming at them in the content.

Take a look at your company’s website. Is it either:
–Trying to force a product/service need into existence?
OR
–Responding to a need that already exists?
(Hint: The second one’s easier.)

In my next post I’ll discuss 6 types of need website content can respond to.

What do you think – could you really create need out of the blue? Leave a comment with your thoughts.