We Versus You in Your Copywriting…
June 3rd, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comIs it Better To Talk To Your Customer Or Talk About Yourself?
Many marketing, copywriting and sales experts will tell you that your marketing copy should talk to your customer as opposed to talking about yourself. They insist that the copy you employ be directed at the customer by using the word “you” throughout. (They call this the second person perspective.)
However, many people feel that using the you approach is too salesman like, and unprofessional. They prefer to talk about their company, their accomplishments and themselves. Copy written in this manner uses the word “we” (or I) over and again (the first person perspective).
So which way is right?
Here’s an argument for using you in your copy. Suppose you’re on a date and the person you’re with won’t stop talking about himself or herself. All night it’s, “I did this and I do that.”
It’s great to hear entertaining stories - but the person on the listening end is bound to feel excluded after a while.
The same idea applies to marketing copy. People want to feel like they’re part of a conversation as opposed to being talked AT. Not to mention - “you” puts the focus on the reader and engages him in the discussion.
But what about the idea that using “you” makes your copy sound too much like a sales pitch?
It’s true that “you” is one of the most powerful words you can use in sales copy, which is why it’s so effective, and used so often. So it’s no wonder that people who want to avoid sounding like a salesperson take the high road, so to speak, and avoid using “you” in their marketing copy.
However, when you think about it, using an exclusive “we” approach comes with its own negative stigma. It can be seen as arrogance - or worse - inadequacy. “I can’t offer anything to you, and I’m not interested in you - so I’ll just talk about myself.”
Talking about yourself indicates an indifference (even if unintentional) toward the customer. In order to effectively talk to the customer, you have to know what their needs are. You must find out what motivates them to buy from your company. This takes work and research, and culminates in a dialogue where you “reach out” to your future customers by literally asking them questions and addressing their pertinent issues - right there in the copy.
Now, this isn’t to say that you can NEVER talk about the awards you’ve won, the many years you’ve been in business or the number of successful projects you’ve completed - you can. But it shouldn’t be the focal point of your marketing copy because it leaves the most important piece of the puzzle out. Namely, the customer.
Your personal highlights and achievements are important, and important to the conversation. But consider using them as anecdotes to enhance the dialogue instead of dominating it.
With the number of corporate scandals, and fly-by-night companies we’ve seen in the past few years, it’s no wonder that people gravitate towards companies, and service providers, who get them and are interested in what they have to say.
Getting to know who your customers are, what they want, and writing to them is a major step towards winning their business.
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