How to Get Ready to Buy Customers Instead of Price Shoppers
If you want high value ready to buy customers and you’re tired of getting price shoppers, you need to change the way you approach your market. It's fine to target classic keywords based on your product/service or industry. Just realize that everybody in your industry (not just your area) is competing for those same keywords. Here's a secret that can get you more high value customers who are ready to pay you right now while not worrying about dealing with price shoppers.
People don't want you, they want results
In this example we'll use a plumber and a new home owner named Bill whose bathroom sink is gushing water. Bill doesn’t want a plumber and Bill doesn’t know yet he needs a new faucet. Right now Bill and his new bride Stephanie just want the water to stop running into the hallway.
Comparing “stop water leak” to “plumber” in number of searches is apples & oranges. People search for a plumber when they are shopping around for price. There is little or no urgency there.
Because there's no urgency and it's a part of the shopping process, you'll find more people searching for plumber. These are the “tire kickers” who more often than not are only a waste of your time.
It pays to be narrow minded!
Why would you want something so narrowly focused like “stop bathroom sink leaking?” Much less creating a page specifically addressing it? If you want to avoid competing on price, this is a great way to differentiate your business from the competition.
Why create a page?
Because a young and new homeowner (ideal target market) does not have a plumber's number saved in their phone. Bill is not going to look for the yellow pages Stephanie used as a door stop in the basement. And they're not even going to go to their computer. Bill is going to pull his phone out of his pocket and look up “how do I stop sink from leaking.” A page dedicated to that one specific purpose is more useful to search engines and Bill so it will rank higher.
How do I stop my website from leaking?
Conversion is critical if you want your website to bring you customers. That’s really why you’re creating a single focused page. I said it has to be useful to Bill. Your user needs to be satisfied for this to work.
That’s where quality information comes in. Especially in a situation like this, Bill has no time for fluff. He doesn’t need to know how the valves are made, just how they work. He doesn’t even need to know how to turn them on, this is focused on turning off. Provide just what Bill is looking for and Bill stops searching. That’s how the search engines know you have good content and send more people like Bill your way.
Why people like Bill and Stephanie?
If you want to stay in business, you need repeat business. Trying to make a living from entirely fresh clientele is unnecessarily hard. And when you realize a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by as much as 95%, it becomes clear that you want customers who maximize the opportunity for repeat business. Would you say that a young couple who just bought a house fits the bill?
Why this situation?
There's genuine urgency there. Are Bill & Stephanie shopping for price? No. Are they really looking for alternatives? No. Bill and Stephanie are looking for the solution right now and the first person to provide it for them.
How do you think they'll feel about the person who helped them get the water to stop gushing from their sink? That’s right, they will love you. But that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get them as a customer. What comes next bridges the gap between getting a new customer and just letting another great prospect slip away.
Helping them isn’t enough
If you've done it right, you'll have a Call To Action (CTA) at the end of your helpful page. That CTA would be something like “Once you have got the water stopped, call us to fix the problem right.” And you’ll have your phone number big and bold with tap to call enabled!
The principle of reciprocity is what makes them feel indebted to you for helping them. Use that and the other five principles of persuasion to ensure you get to more yes's faster.
So what term can you find for your industry that has urgency to get those right now ready to buy customers?
Rob Calhoun
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