Does your small business suffer from expert syndrome?
- If your brand’s messaging is going over your target market’s head, than you just might be. And that means you are missing opportunities to connect with potential customers.
- Expert syndrome is when you are so versed on WHAT YOU DO and HOW IT ALL WORKS and all your specialized, amazing knowledge that you forget that your customers don’t necessarily speak your language. I have worked with many entrepreneurs and small business owners who get in their own way because they speak in the language of their field of expertise, and as a result actually prevent potential customers from learning more. Because why would you want to learn more about something you don’t even understand relates to you?
- The solution is to change how you communicate to your customers- and refocus your marketing message.
Begin with benefits.
- Good marketing starts with relentless focus on the markets you serve. This means that your marketing messaging should emphasize the benefits that you offer. What value does your business deliver? Will it lighten the pressures of everyday life? Will it improve their relationships to others? Add beauty and joy to their lives? This is what your potential consumers need to hear first- not the specifics of your product features or the intricacies of how your business functions. Your product or service attributes are of course what delivers these benefits- and you should definitely provide good evidence of this – but customers can read more about the ingredients, delivery terms or your expertise on your website.
- Translating professional jargon into accessible, benefit-centred language takes some re-thinking of your business offering, but it will help you better connect with people who need your services or products but have no understanding of how much it could benefit them. Pretend you are NOT an expert in what you do. How would you communicate the value of it? Connect the dots for your audience, and help them connect to your business.
- Need some help with your marketing message? Get in touch with me at ericajane.ca
~ by Erica Halvorsen
