Do you know what your customers value about you? I’ve proved many clients wrong. Customer insight ensures your message and your language goes right to the heart of your target audience.
If copy were just creative words, life would be easy. But it’s not. If your copy is to do its job properly, you need to be UTTERLY clear on your customer
Customer insight is the process of fully understanding what matters to your customer and therefore, your audience. You need to know what they value most about your products. You might assume you know this. And maybe you know 80%. But I’ve proven time and again the value of discovering the remaining 20%.
Whilst delving, it’s also incredibly valuable to understand the language your customers typically use. We call this voice of customer. For example, phrases they use to describe your product and challenges in their market place. Or words and phrases they use to measure the success of your product in solving their problem.
Why is this important?
Because customer insight and voice of customer feeds directly back into your copy, making it far more engaging. And that means better results.
How it works: writing your customer stories
Proposal
Firstly, we’ll discuss where you’re at so I can scope out a costed project to suit your particular needs.
Discovery
It’s likely that, prior to carrying out customer insight work, I’ll need to understand your business better from your perspective. Costed into the project will be any necessary research and discovery calls with business leaders.
Customer insight (and voice of customer) work
The form your project takes depends on the nature of your business. For some clients, I’ll focus more on existing customer feedback, such as testimonials and online product reviews (good and bad). I’ll also analyse competitor reviews and feedback, should that be available (this is especially useful if your feedback is limited).
For other clients (and particularly in B2B markets), the focus will be on a series of customer calls. I know what I need to gain from these calls and will use broad questions to guide the conversation. I’m interested in both what they say and how they say it.
Report and recommendations
Having completed the insight work, I’ll create a full report and offer recommendations on how to go forward. I leave you much clearer on your core messaging and the importance of particular phrases or language to use within your copy.
Typical pricing
In some ways, I can cut the project to suit your budget. It also depends on the resources available for me to work with. A small amount of insight is better than nothing at all. And a more comprehensive delve will pay dividends. That said, there is a minimum level of work to ensure you get some meaningful results.
My pricing for a customer insight project is from £1,200.00 (+VAT). This can rise depending on the level of work to be carried out.
Want to chat about your customer insight needs?
Questions you might have
How do you decide what feedback to use and calls to make?
Every project is slightly different, which is why I don’t offer a standard package. You might run Feefo on your website and have lots of feedback. Or you might sell on Amazon. Perhaps you’ve collected a bank of testimonials or have ‘thank you’ emails?
I need to assess what you have to decide what to use. And I also need to see what your competitors have too.
For B2B businesses, much tends to rest on a series of customer calls. Again, the ideal number of calls depends on your business. You might sell £200,000 pieces of machinery, in which case half a dozen would be extremely useful. Whereas, if you sell office supplies, you might benefit from more.
How do I ask my customers to take your call?
Loyal customers are usually happy to help. My calls will last from 10 to 20 minutes depending on the nature of your business. On their approval, I’ll initially contact them by email to arrange a convenient time to call. I make it as easy as possible.
Why can’t I do some calls myself?
You can. The problem is, you’re too invested in the company and you don’t know what to look for in the conversation. Plus, I’ve found time and again that customers are more comfortable speaking to a third-party. They can ‘say it how it is’, whereas they might curb their feedback when speaking directly to you.
I think I know my customers well enough. Can you still write my copy?
Of course. As a copywriter, I work with what I can. Just bear in mind the most effective copy needs to REALLY understand where your customers are at, and the value you deliver. Every customer insight project I’ve carried out has added demonstrable value to my client’s copy.
How long will a customer insight project take?
That depends on the size of the project and how easy it is to get hold of your customers (if calls are to be made). My availability will also be a factor to consider. As a rough guide, assume that the work could be completed within a month of agreeing the project and possibly sooner. The most important thing is to get it right.
I’m a new business with no feedback (or customers). Can this still work for me?
Yes, it can. Your competitors can be the source of much insight and you might have some prospective customers who could help you understand the state of your market and what value they’d like to gain from you.
Further resources:
Read my blog: How to know your customers better (and why it matters)