When you read a brand’s content, do you sometimes walk away feeling like you don’t understand a word of it? We do too. We call that alphabet soup, and no, it’s not the kind you eat.
Even if your products are technical, it doesn’t mean your audience understands what you’re saying. In many cases, the business decision maker doesn’t have a technical background. So how do you create content that communicates technical information while being understandable for your target audiences? Here are the top three things to keep in mind:
1. Determine what the audience cares about. Instead of feeding them speeds and feeds about the solution, find out what your customers find important. Is it space savings? Energy efficiency? Faster service? Whatever it may be, keep in mind the things they worry about, and where your product can fit into those problems – how can your solution help them?
For example, let’s say that a company sells telecommunications equipment and one of its target markets is the hospitality industry. A hotel manager probably won’t understand the value of decreased rack units (RU) on equipment. But what they do care about is response times to respond to the requests of hotel guests. Flip that on its head. Illustrate the value of the space savings by articulating the business benefit of re-assigning old tech closets to housekeeping, which allows the hotel’s team members to access and deliver amenities for guests more quickly. This still gets your point across, and illustrates the value of the solution in a way that resonates with the decision maker.
2. Limit industry jargon. While every industry has buzzwords, they may not be familiar to your audience. When you create content, put yourself in the shoes of someone outside of your industry. Will it make sense to them? If it’s full of acronyms and technical information, chances are it won’t. It doesn’t mean you can’t include the information in some form, but take this as an opportunity to educate your audience and explain why it matters to them.
Back to the first example about telecommunications equipment, don’t throw a bunch of industry acronyms out there as if hotel managers know what they mean. If you want to appeal to both the technology and business buyer, use only the must-know acronyms and teach the reader enough about them so they are prepared to evaluate the technology.
3. Provide real-world examples. According to a study by Marketing Charts, 61% of business-to-business buyers accept a meeting with a vendor because they saw client case studies or success stories.1 Customers want to see how your products helped other businesses like theirs. This allows your audience to connect the dots and understand the value of your products. By shifting the way content is written, your audiences can read stories quickly and easily, and absorb information about your solutions in a way that resonates. Real-world customer stories are a powerful tool to help to break down barriers and change perceptions about a brand or its products.
When you’re engaging with your target customers, never assume they have context or understand everything about your industry. Take the chance to educate them, and show them why it matters and most importantly, do your research to understand what it is they care about most. If your content looks like alphabet soup, target customers will probably walk away without understanding your brand’s value.
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[1] https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/business-to-business-82347