How well are you communicating with your customers?
Do your potential customers understand you?
You’ve made your business plan, created your website, and made your social media accounts. Your business is ready to go, but where are your customers?
It can be frustrating to feel like you have done all the work but still can’t gain customers.
Here’s the secret not many people know: the reason you’re not gaining customers, is because people don’t understand you.
I can relate, One of my best friends loves superhero movies, I’m talking first in line at the midnight premier loves them. While I can enjoy them, I don’t feel the same passion for them. So when she starts talking about them, I tend to zone out.
It’s not because I don’t want to listen, it is because I don’t understand her.
Customers have lots of options when it comes to buying. They’re not going to listen to the person who is confusing or boring them.
They will go find the website or person who is making more sense to them.
Let me show you 3 easy ways to communicate better with customers so they can listen and understand exactly what you’re saying.
Here are 3 easy steps to communicate better with your customers.
1. Avoid industry speak
Industry speak might make you feel like a professional, but it is confusing to those on the outside. Think about watching a doctor show on TV. You don’t know what they’re talking about with those acronyms or medical terms.
You know what is happening because you see if on-screen. But in writing, there isn’t a screen to help your readers out.
Here’s how to fix it: Talk to a friend about what you are writing. Make sure this friend is not familiar with what you will be talking about. If they look confused, ask them where they got lost. This way you know exactly where you are likely to lose customers and can change it.
Communicating in the simplest and clearest way makes you sound like an authority. This works way better than using confusing jargon. Only people who’ve truly mastered a concept can make it simple enough for outsiders to understand.
In your business, you want to welcome your customers. The language you use when speaking to them is a great way to do that.
2. Don’t be condescending
Most of us have a story about when we were talking to someone and they started to be rude or a jerk.
Here’s mine, it starts with the fact I know very little about cars. I can drive them but most of the mechanics go over my head. But I do know a few small facts.
So, I was talking with a friend and I said one of the car facts I do know and it made sense. The friend I was talking to said “Wow you actually do know something!”.
How rude is that? He sounded like a jerk so I left the conversation.
Unfortunately for all of us, it can be easy to slip into a condescending tone when we’re talking about something we know a lot about. Even if it’s an accident, it can still have a detrimental impact on your ability to build a relationship with a potential customer.
Have a coworker review your work to make sure it sounds right. You can also use the tone detection feature in Grammarly.
A clear message makes it easy for the customer to understand your point. So keep your message concise and your tone pleasant.
3. Don’t overload on cutesy speak
Overloading on cutesy vocabulary or cliche sayings can make writing sound unprofessional and undermine your authority.
Puns, cliches, or sarcasm don’t translate well into writing. They can be confusing to read and take away from the overall message you’re sending.
There are ways to make your writing have humor, just like in one of our earliest blogs. But make sure it is still contributing to your point. Not confusing people.
Conveying your authority while also sounding welcoming and approachable helps customers feel drawn to you. They can trust what you’re saying but not feel put off by your verbiage.
Sometimes it can feel like you’re still not gaining customers. If it feels like you can shout from the mountain tops and still be ignored, it might be time to check out your writing.
See if your writing includes too much industry speak that confuses your customers. If that’s not the case, check on your tones. Are they condescending?
If your writing turns your customers away, it will be a struggle to get anyone to listen to what you have to say. Which means no one will buy from you.
Having a clear message with good information is a great way to get readers engaged with your content. They will keep coming back to you for more because they know you’re the person who they can understand.
Morgan Trzcienski
Copywriter
