Doing market research can be a huge time suck and energy-draining exercise. After all, once you create your ideal client profile and take in your product development surveys, what’s left? Well, have you ever thought about taking an in-depth look at what’s working for your competitors; or what’s not if they’re struggling? Yes, one of our favorite market research tips is to ask you to take a long hard look at what “the other gal” is doing and adjust accordingly.

Here are a few ways to get that done:

Checking out the competition

It’s nice to think you have no competition since what you offer is so much better or different than others in your niche. However, that’s just ego talking. We all have competition for the time and dollars of our target audience. With literally billions of websites out there, you are even competing for the attention of your target audience from businesses outside your niche.

So, what does a savvy marketer do? Examine… Compare… React… Create – ECRC.

Obviously, you will have competitors with products similar to yours. When you examine them closely though, you’ll find that they may not compare favorably with what you have to offer. While the differences may be subtle, they could still be significant to your target audience. This is when you can react by stressing the differences in your marketing copy, and/or by creating an entirely new product that will solve the problem more effectively. (What could be simpler?)

Testimonials tell the story

We all love to get testimonials from satisfied clients, don’t we? It can be very satisfying to know that you were able to help them exactly as you hoped to do when you began your business. Yet, your competitors will have happy clients too and, by closely examining the testimonials they receive, you may be able to fine-tune your own offerings.

Again, the differences may seem small but, that person who could have been your client chose someone else for a reason. Whether you’re trying to develop new products or grow your business by selling more of the ones you’ve already developed, understanding the differences in products will help you market yourself more effectively. (That’s a Big Plus in our book!)

Pay closer attention to negative reviews

Your own, and those of your competitors. As we shared in a recent post, knowing where and how your products(s) fall short of client expectations will help you in the long-term, enabling you to refine and improve them. Knowing the same things about your competition could be even more important to both your short and long-term success.

After all, something they’re doing got people to buy from them yet, for some reason, those folks were also unhappy with the experience. Once you examine why and compare your own product to theirs, you can react by creating a solution and marketing directly to the dissatisfied portion of the market. (Easy peasy!)

Finally, compelling sales copy is critical to the success of your business.

Refine Your Sales Copy

We would never advocate that you plagiarize a successful competitor – again, never! But, you can certainly investigate the language they use to sell their product(s) and get a better idea for promoting your own with more compelling sales copy.

With some help from Inc.com, here are some keys to refining your sales copy in ways that will lead to more conversions:

• Focus on benefits, not specifications – Customers only care about specifications and features relative to how those qualities meet their needs. Start with benefits and help the customer feel their needs will be met. After that, you can dip into specs if they seem interested.
•  Focus on value, not price – Cutting prices can result in higher sales, but if you don’t provide a context they may question the value of your offer. Instead, shift your focus onto how the customer can get more, not how they can pay less.
•  Focus on show, not learn – Learn implies the customer has to do some homework. Who likes homework? Show means you’ll help. Customers buy from people who help them.
• Focus on emotions, not reasons – Emotions play a major role in most purchase decisions. Never lose sight of how potential customers want to feel: Safer, healthier, smarter, more attractive. In some cases, your customers may just want to feel good about doing business with you.
• Focus on you, not I – You need revenue. You need to make a sale. Maybe you desperately need to make a sale. The customer doesn’t care; nor should she. While you may desperately need to make a sale, only the customer can choose to buy, so always make the process all about the customer.

Do your competitors use sales copy that is constructed along these guidelines? If they do and you don’t, you’re definitely missing opportunities for more sales. You see, this is the type of sales copy that speaks directly to the needs of just about any target audience, regardless of niche. Why? Because it focuses on human nature and helps build relationships between individuals – you and your prospective client.

Looking for more market research tips, online marketing tips, and email marketing ideas?  Get in touch with the YOMT Team today