Why is this so dang difficult?The time for companies to try and be all things to all customers is past. Not that it was ever a good idea, but with the power shift to customers going on today, being ambiguous and wishy washy doesn't leave you open for more opportunities, it reduces those willing to give you a shot in the first place.I was looking at a B2B website the other day and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what that company does. Yes, I kept thinking that if I clicked enough times, it would become apparent. I was waiting for that "aha" moment. After 15 minutes I still cannot figure out exactly what they do. My conclusion is that they want to make sure they don't box themselves in by stating something that might limit them.[As a note - I do this type of thing because I'm insanely nuts about analyzing marketing content. Other people won't try this hard-they'll just leave...quickly.]Here's the problem with being a generalist. It's really hard to determine expertise or specialty when there's no concise statement about the value a company brings to their customers.Here are a couple of examples of what I mean:We streamline business processes, increasing your employee productivity.Which employees?Which processes?What do you mean by streamline?What kind of productivity increases?For what type of companies?We help you improve business intelligence for better insights.Better insights into what?What's wrong with my business intelligence?Business intelligence in relation to...??These type of statements make me think the company has no idea about whatever it is they think they're talking about. Companies need to be specific. Your prospects are simply too busy to try and figure out how you might have something they need. Either tell them...or lose them forever.Here are a few tips to consider:Focus your content on business problem and solution scenarios. Define your customers so prospects know if they're in the right place.Show them what types of projects you excel at by including stories in your marketing content.Highlight value you bring which they don't (likely) have access to today.Make sure they know why they should believe you.Remember that status quo is a "known" place to be. To change it is considered risky. For a prospect to agree to evaluate options means there has to be a big payoff for them. Generalists don't deliver big payoffs. They deliver general, run-of-the-mill solutions.Who wants that?When you hire a vendor, I'm guessing that you think you've picked the very best person, or company, for the project. Chances are, that vendor has a well-defined expertise that you don't. So, let's circle back and rewrite those two vague statements into something that defines an expert:Vague:We streamline business processes, increasing your employee productivity.Specific: We help you finely tune your hiring processes to ensure your company engages qualified, highly-motivated salespeople that hit the ground running with minimal ramp time.Would you have gotten that interpretation from the vague statement?Vague:We help you improve business intelligence for better insights.Specific: We help you design evaluation tools to ensure you've got the best insights and coaching options to keep your salespeople on track with your company's selling objectives.Those may not be perfect, as I created them from the ether, but you should get the point. My interpretation could have gone in any direction with the vague statements. But with the specific statements I know for sure if I'm in the right place...or not. But specificity goes farther than that. I'm able to extrapolate additional insights by reading between the lines. The more specific you are, the better able I am to visualize what your company will bring to the project. And, that's a heck of a lot more engaging than leaving me to wonder what your content means for me. Quite frankly, I haven't got the time. A specific answer is right after the next click of my mouse.
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