Five key things to avoid when writing product descriptions that convert“If you build it, they will come,” might be true of baseball pitches and long-dead sporting legends, but this far into the twenty-first century it certainly doesn’t apply to websites. And even when you’ve got your potential customers as far as your sales page, you’ve got a tiny window to shift them from “potential” to “actual.” When it comes to online retail, your sales page needs to be working hard if you’re going to make it convert, and a poorly thought out product description can actively harm your bottom line – according to Nielson Norman Group, a massive 20% of lost sales are down to lack of product information. If you’re doing any of the following, it’s probably costing you money. Here’s why. 1. Not knowing your target audience You know what they say – a sale to everyone is a sale to no-one, but this remains one of the biggest fail points in product descriptions: casting too wide a net. I’ve written elsewhere about the danger of trying to be everything to everybody in sales copy, and it’s just as true in a product description as it is in Facebook advertising. The trouble with trying to capture the hearts and minds of a soccer mom in suburban Chicago and a Parisian teenager and a middle-aged bachelor in rural Scotland is that the way you capture those hearts and minds is usually wildly different. Copy that tries to speak to everyone, regardless of interests, life experience, living situation, financial circumstances (and so on) ends up being bland and entirely uninviting, simply because it – by definition – lacks focus. By contrast, when you have a clear idea of who you’re selling to, you can craft your copy in such a way that it feels tailor-made to the people most likely to buy your product. And on that note… When you have a clear idea of who you’re selling to, you can craft your copy in such a way that it feels tailor-made to the people most likely to buy your product 2. Not solving your customer’s problemIf “problem” sounds too negative, then try asking yourself this: what gap in my customer’s life is this product designed to fill? For some descriptions, this may be easier than others: the automatic cat food dispenser keeps your kitties fed when you’re not home, offering you the freedom to be where you need to be along with the peace of mind that your cats aren’t going to starve (or, depending on how melodramatic your cat might be, assume that they’re going to starve when the food doesn’t arrive at 5pm sharp). But why this particular cat food dispenser, though? What problems does it solve that your competitors don’t? And, again, this is where knowing your target audience is vital, especially if you’ve got more than one type of cat food dispenser for sale. Customer A might be looking for something reliable but economical: he doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, but he does love his furbabies and he wants to make sure they’ve got fresh kibble even when he’s on a 12-hour nightshift. Customer B, on the other hand, has an extremely needy tortoiseshell (fellow tortie owners know what I mean), prone to fits of the vapours when she thinks she’s been abandoned, and is prepared to spend a bit more on bells and whistles if it means she can programme a recording of her voice to call Princess Fluffyboots to dinner in absentia. Basic, utilitarian product descriptions might explain the difference between the products, but a bit of well-crafted narrative serves to position the two products definitively as the solution to each customer’s problem. Great sales copy places your product in your customer’s life and says, “See? Aren’t things so much better in this imagined future where you’ve bought this thing?” And, if you’ve correctly identified the problem and crafted copy that speaks to a solution, then your customer is primed to answer, “Yes!” And you’ve got a sale. Great sales copy places your product in your customer’s life and says, “See? Aren’t things so much better in this imagined future where you’ve bought this thing?” 3. Focusing on features rather than benefitsClosely connected to the previous point, this is another common issue with underperforming product descriptions: they simply list out all the things that the product does, without explaining why that’s important. Consider: Women’s light blue cotton t-shirt, hip length. Scoop neck collar, cap sleeves with lace detail along bottom hem. Most likely, you’ve got a clear enough picture in your mind’s eye of what the t-shirt looks like. But does any of that description tell you why you’d want to buy this t-shirt and not the other one that’s 30% cheaper on a competitor’s website? Alternatively: Women’s light blue t-shirt, hip length.
There are lots of different ways to bring out the benefits of your product’s features, but if you’re not at least nodding towards the “why” in the purchase equation, you’re losing out on sales. 4. Forgetting about brand voiceAlso part of the “why” when it comes to the decision to purchase – I’ve written here about the story element of connecting with your customers, and brand voice is a huge part of that. When you’re solving your customer’s problem, you’re telling them a story: the story of how purchasing your product makes their future life better. And by focusing on your brand voice, you’re reminding them that you’re a company that speaks to their identity and their worldview. This is where knowing your target audience really matters, because your brand voice cannot speak to every single customer in the world: a fun, tongue-in-cheek brand voice will appeal to customers who are looking for a product that chimes with those attributes, both in themselves and in the product itself. It will not, for example, appeal to customers seeking a probate solicitor. That brand voice will want to be authoritative, likely quite formal, perhaps scattering in a hint of approachability (but also perhaps not, depending, again, on audience). And if your product description doesn’t match the expectations set up by your brand voice, the effect is jarring – almost as though the product itself is inconsequential. Consider: Pink Robin Stationery asks the important questions like ‘What would happen if you put pink robins on a notebook?’ and ‘What would happen if you put even more pink robins on a bigger notebook?’ We believe in having pretty things to write on, because life’s too short for boring shopping lists. Pink Robin Back-to-School Set
Isn't it like Pink Robin forgot they were supposed to be fun as soon as it was time to actually sell something? The brand voice tells you why you’re going to love the brand and, hopefully, gets you in the door (metaphorically speaking). If that brand voice then disappears when it’s time to make a sale, it’s gives the impression that the brand voice was all for show – like a salesman’s smile that slips just as you’re about to sign on the dotted line. And that's just not a good image for anyone. Your brand voice cannot speak to every single customer in the world 5. Not enough information It should go without saying that a good product description needs to give the customer enough information that they feel confident it’s the product they need, but the question of what constitutes enough information is not always straightforward, especially if you haven’t fully engaged with the question of problem solving as outlined in point 2 above. If, for example, I need to do a bit of bathroom DIY and I need a particular washer for my hot tap, I need a product description that makes it super clear what the difference is between the nylon, fibre, ceramic and rubber varieties. “That’s obvious!” you might think, because you’re a subject matter expert and this sort of thing has been your bread and butter for the past fifteen years, but I’ve never fixed a hot tap before and my head is spinning at the near-infinite array before me. Your product will almost certainly solve my problem, but I can’t tell that from the description because it didn’t give me enough information – and you’ve lost me to a competitor who’s spent a bit more time on making sure their copy was crafted with the customer in mind. Product description seems like it should be straightforward but, as with anything sales related, there’s an art and a science behind it Product description seems like it should be straightforward but, as with anything sales related, there’s an art and a science behind it that, when it's done well, your customers will never notice. If you’ve put in the work, they’ll feel seen and nurtured – hopefully, without even realising it – and it’ll be easy for them to take the next step into making a purchase. If you’ve made any of the mistakes above, they’ll likely navigate away, again without realising why, but they’ll almost certainly remember that your brand didn’t meet their need. If your product descriptions could do with a bit more customer-focus, drop me a line, and together we’ll get to the heart of why your products are exactly what your customers need.
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