You’re an entrep. You’ve got a new business running. Everything’s set to go. Except you look at your website and/or blog. It’s empty. You spend hours thinking of new content to write, but to no avail. Sometimes, you do get to write about something, but it still doesn’t work.
So what’s the problem?
A common thing with entreps who just started out is that they don’t think like the customer. Sure everyone thinks OF the customer, but people don’t often think LIKE the customer. More so become the customer. Without knowing how your market works, you just won’t be as efficient as you could be.
Think of how a hunter stalks their prey. They look for anything that could teach them how they act. Footprints, stool, whatever. Then they set traps in the usual paths of the prey, on locations they’d least expect it.
So what is the usual path of a customer? Is there one?
Look at yourself and how you buy things. I assume that first, something makes you realize you have a problem or are missing something. Then you research on all your possible options or if anybody else had it and compare them. And after much though on if it’s worth it or whatever, you make the purchase. Edmund Pelgen calls this the
Buyer’s Journey.
Awareness
The first step is when the customer has an inkling they have a problem. Something bothers them so they check if it bothers anybody else. Is it real? What is it? Before trying to know a solution, people want to know the problem a bit more first.
Target this state by answering these questions. Make the customer aware of the problem, but that there is hope. Make them know that there are a million ways to solve it but you are the most efficient one for them.
Research
When people start the research phase, they come up with search results that most likely are in the awareness phase. Which is nice. You get a vague range of answers which you can use to specify over time. But then you get multiple different ways to do something. I once searched how to reduce the whitening of my glasses, and I got everything from olive oil, to soapy water, to WD40, to clear nail polish.
Then that’s when the true research phase starts. When they want to know what are similar options like it, and if those options really work. When I google for this phase, I type things like “how to” or “alternatives”, or if the problem is extremely specific, I type down the whole question.
Answer this by telling others that your product can solve their problem and how. Do you promote quickness and quality? Type those down.
Comparison
The next step is gathering all the data from multiple sources and comparing them. Naturally, a person would start by comparing the solid, unopinionated numbers that you seemingly can’t cheat. And one usually doesn’t need a blog post for this. You could simply check each individual website and compare.
However, there is always the human aspect to things. Is it easy to use? Does it fit in my budget over time? Is it safe for my kids? These are things you don’t find in a stats page. Things that only come with the experience of others. And because of that, it’s also where you need some outside help. Nobody will ever believe your own weight with others because of bias.
You need a lot of 3rd party things like case studies, testimonials, and comparisons from blogs that matter to you. Find out which blogs talk about things like your products and score great on Google, and send them a trial of your product.
Purchase
Finally, we’re at the last step. But it isn’t over. Even if we’re at the purchasing stage, we’re not done until the transaction is complete. This is something a lot of people tend to forget. Lots of things could go wrong in this step that may turn off your customers.
And you see companies solve this all the time by posting things like FAQ and About Us pages, making their website simpler and more mobile friendly, anything really that makes the process more efficient. The faster the process is, the earlier you get your money and the shorter time the customer can think “No.”
__________
And that’s it. Awareness, research, comparison, and purchase. Use those four steps to find out what content to post. Content that you can easily come up with and content that works well.