So, you have a pretty amazing product — it fits into your online niche and the marketing strategy seems great, but what will turn someone who’s just browsing into becoming a buyer?
Yes, sales have been satisfactory, but you need to boost them. Everyone wants to get to the next level.
You may have some impressive images, descriptions, and prices at the right points. Yet, you cannot seem to attract the number of sales you want from your target market.
As an eCommerce store owner, you don’t have the advantage of word-of-mouth explanations. Not like a walk-in business.
There, the seller can explain all of the products’ advantages, point them out, and even give a demo.
All you have is the power of your words. And, if used in the right way, one of the most effective marketing tactics there is.
Maybe all you need to do is tweak one little thing: your product description.
With just a few strategic tweaks, your words can be magical — spinning webs (the good kind) around those who read them.
With the proper tools in hand, you can keep your clients fixated on your website for hours.
We can offer the best advice. With it, you’ll be able to launch an amazing marketing campaign, like those of the pros at eCommerceFuel.
The time to start is now.
Why the Focus on Product Descriptions?
Many shoppers are attracted by images (think Instagram) and price, but if the description doesn’t fit into what they had in mind, they’ll soon lose interest.
Product descriptions are essential to customers’ perceptions, and these perceptions are often very hard to change.
First impressions count even more in the eCommerce arena — with a single click, you can lose a customer.
eCommerceFuel is a meeting point of industry leaders who have succeeded in creating captivating product descriptions through strategic planning.
As you create your own marketing campaign, this community is a great place to seek advice and learn from like-minded individuals — be sure to contact us.
Now, here are the basic characteristics that a good product description should contain:
- Catchy heading — Don’t just list the generic label of the product. Describe it, using expressive words that make the reader want to purchase what they’re looking at.
- Visually pleasing thumbnail image — This is essentially the introduction of your product to your potential customers. Make sure it’s clear and attractive.
- Detailed attributes — Considering your customer will be spending their money on you, it will be necessary to include a carefully detailed list of your product’s features.If they’re looking for a specific feature, they should be able to browse your product description and see if it’s there or not.
- Intriguing visuals and formatting — Most readers skim through a page (often within 5–10 seconds). Visuals will catch their eye, and with that, the placement of the text becomes extremely important. The use of comparison tables or infographics also helps your target audience get the information they’re searching for much faster.
You’ll need to engage your customers with your descriptions to entice them to buy the product — this is what we call a “strategic marketing plan.”
What Makes a Good Product Description?
A well-written product description plays a significant role in any strategic marketing plan.
The product description should be included in the business marketing program and should become part of your overall objectives and marketing tactics.
Here are five tips for making your product descriptions stand out and help your marketing objectives succeed.
Know Your Target Audience
Defining your audience is part of a marketing strategy that’s necessary before you start writing your product descriptions.
Keep the below questions in mind as you create them:
- How did this person or business discover your eCommerce page?
- What are their interests?
- What about your online store attracted them?
- How would the customer or business describe your product to a friend?
- What product features would interest the person or business the most?
A great strategic marketing example is The Salty Lady. They really understand their audience, and this is instantly clear in their product descriptions.
Their strategic marketing is targeting people who want to sleep better and who believe in a holistic way of living. Their audience wants to alleviate headaches and anxiety caused by everyday electronic products.
The Salty Lady has done their research, developed a marketing strategy and included features that matter to their buyer’s persona.
This means you have to put your product benefits front and center.
Here’s how you can do that, and gain a competitive advantage in your marketing.
Focus on Product Benefits
Many business owners think their product features are the best in the market.
Even though product features are key to the description, the buyer wants to know what the product can do for them.
You may have the latest, high-quality features, but most customers won’t really care about those details.
Customers think of what the product will do for them. So, you need to describe what the product does rather than what it is.
“Consumers do not buy the product, they buy product’s benefits.” – David Ogilvy — The ‘Father of Advertising’.
Be it providing convenience, style, or a handy accessory, the purchase has to have a purpose.
The individual characteristics don’t matter as much as the value they can provide the buyer.
Customers buy products for their benefits, so a good description finds the right balance between both.
In this next marketing strategy example, the product description may be a bit lengthy, but the business combines benefits and features perfectly.
It details how the product — glycolic acid cleaner — is an effective exfoliator, and how it removes impurities, oil, and leftover make-up.
These are the top things their target market wants to hear, and the benefits cannot be discounted by anyone.
Make Your Production Descriptions Scannable
A web-usability study found that only 16% of people will read your content word-for-word. In contrast, 79% scan over the page.
You’ve spent time and money creating content, so you’ll need to target that 79%. They’re looking for specific information in the shortest amount of time.
Your product descriptions should:
- Use short sentences: You’re not writing an academic paper, so keep the description concise and easy to read.
- Use bullet points: Choose the benefits you want to showcase and place them in order of importance. This will make sure readers see the primary benefits before they move on.
- Include white-space: Not many people like reading a big chunk of text. Think about your layout, and use lots of white space.
- Invest in short product videos: Studies show that 7 out 10 people view brands more positively after watching a video. They reduce the amount of text required and can provide a lot of information in a few minutes.
Boost Credibility with Social Proof
People are more likely to buy a product if friends or family recommend it in person or through social media. This is fairly simple when shopping in person, but is trickier online.
The International Journal of Information Management states that online product recommendation (OPR) improves customers’ shopping experience.
In addition, it helps foster long-term relationships.
When consumers don’t know what to buy, they’re more likely to choose a product based on the number of positive reviews.
A recent study shows that people read an average of ten reviews — whether on your page or through social media — before considering buying from an online shop. It also states that 73% only pay attention to reviews written within the last month.
Plan your product descriptions and marketing to allow buyers to leave reviews, which will then influence future buyers.
A popular place buyers look to for reviews is Amazon, and eCommerceFuel offers some strategic tips in this podcast about how to get reviews there.
Let’s look at the review page below to see what features to include in your product description.
- Encourage buyers to write reviews.
- The more reviews you have, the more reliable your reviews will be.
- Make sure your reviews are verified to prove their credibility. If in doubt, the web cannot fail — just check through Fakespot.com
- The number of stars you’ve received is an important indication of how happy customers are with your product.
So, How Do You Get Started?
eCommerceFuel is the place to be when looking for guidance, support, and resources — there, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with over 1000 industry leaders.
From live events to podcasts and insightful content, our community aims to make ‘magic happen’ by helping you grow your business and build meaningful relationships through effective strategic marketing.
eCommerceFuel members agree on the marketing tactics they learn from our community. Albie is just one of them:
Create your strategic marketing plan today.
Photo by Rawpixels
