3 Things That Keep Your Best Customers from Ever Meeting You

Think of your very best customer or client. The one who is loyal, who always sends the best referrals, and who invariably invests his or her money into your products and services whenever possible. Now, imagine that you never met that customer. That client never walked through your door (if you have a brick-and-mortar business) or clicked on your link for that first time. What if you never met your top five customers? Your top 20?

Would you even be in business today?

The hard truth is that if you have certain invisible problems in your content marketing strategy, you could be missing the opportunity to meet your very best customers every day. Many times, these problems can become pervasive over time and, as a result, business owners often miss them. Take a look into your online metrics to determine if you are falling prey to any (or all) of these three issues that can keep your best customers from every meeting you:

1. You are deflecting visitors

Is your content compelling? “Well, sure! It’s important stuff my clients need to know,” is what we usually hear from business owners. Unfortunately, most content actually “bounces” a substantial portion of potential readers because it is not written to attract and maintain their attention. When someone clicks on your link, then immediately clicks “back” in their browser without spending any time on your site, that is a bounce. It’s a bad, bad thing, and it usually means your introduction to your content is not very good or that your web design is lacking. Find out whether people are sticking around on your website and, if not, then get that fixed fast with intriguing subjects and equally intriguing writing.

2. Readers are giving up on you

If your bounce rate is pretty sound but you still are not getting the conversions you need, your interior content might need a little work. Take a hard look at your posts. Do you need to tell your readers everything that you have included? Studies show too much self-evident information sends readers packing, as does too much information about yourself when they are seeking solutions for themselves. Of course, this is a fine line to walk. A good content strategist can help you figure out where to put different types of content and how to keep your content digestible and relevant.

3. You’re a little too shy

What if your content is compelling, your readers love your stuff, but you’re still not getting any “action” from your posts? Odds are good you are a little too “shy.” To get the response you want from a piece of content, you have to tell the readers what you want them to do. Have you ever heard of the study about cutting in line? A person walks up to a long line of people and tells someone, “Please let me get in front of you because I [insert reason here].” Another person walks up to a different line and says, “Would you mind letting me get in front of you?” The person who makes the demand gets far better results because they are clear about what they want (to cut in line). Your content should work the same way. While the line-cutting example might seem a little rude, you must remain focused on results in this business. Work with your content team to develop a clear, compelling call to action (CTA) that no reader can resist.