How Can Unique Product Descriptions Help You Close More Sales?
It comes down to knowing your customers and showing, not telling.
Product descriptions are incredibly important for e-commerce sites. They provide potential customers with the necessary information to commit to a purchase.
Even the most amazing and high-quality products need a description. How else would customers know that your product is what they’ve been missing all along?
Buyer’s Journey
Before every buying decision, customers go through buyer’s journey. They need to make sure your product is the one they’ve been looking for. This trip for finding the most viable product has three stages:
· Awareness
· Consideration
· Decision
In the Awareness stage, customers go through the regular googling process. Looking around and discovering all the options they have, basically window shopping.
In the Consideration stage, they compare products and brands. They go more in-depth and select a few alternatives.
The Decision stage is pretty clear. You or your competitors charmed them out of their money. Either way, somebody is getting the dough.
Most online shoppers go through this buyer’s journey. According to Major Purchase Shopper Study by GE Capital Retail Bank, 81% of buyers research online before making a big purchase.
What Must Every Product Description Have?
Every product description needs to answer three questions–what, how, and why. The way you answer these questions is what differentiates mediocre from exceptional.
Paint a picture
Dryly listing the features of a wireless headset is not enough. Features are important but communicating what benefits stem from them is crucial.
Benefits > Features, that's entry-level copywriting.
Besides, you can always include those geeky details in the ‘key features’ section. In the description itself, it’s not enough to say that “these headphones have active noise cancellation”.
Instead say: “Thanks to the ANC feature, you’ll be able to fully concentrate on work even if your neighbour is cutting down a tree with a chainsaw.” Make it easy for your customers to imagine themselves using the product.
Highlighting benefits through storytelling is incredibly persuasive. It appeals to emotions and helps create lasting impressions.
Know Your Customers
Effective product descriptions will address your customers’ pain and show them how your product will alleviate that.
To write product descriptions that will make you stand out, you need to know your customers inside out.
· What do my customers value?
· What problems are they dealing with?
· How is my product different from others?
· When and where are they going to use the product?
Knowing the answer to these questions will help you choose the right words, tone of voice and include the right information.
Not only that, but product descriptions written with care make your website look professional and trustworthy.
Implement SEO
SEO should also be part of your strategy. Including keywords is a great opportunity to rank high in Google. However, don’t clutter your descriptions with them. All your texts should flow naturally.
Keep it Short
Occasionally, you can discover long product descriptions that work. Generally, it’s better to keep your descriptions 2–3 paragraphs long.
A lot of e-shops have bland product descriptions. Make yours unique–tell a story, be witty or relatable. However, once you choose your tone of voice, be consistent.
Overview:
· Features should lead to benefits.
· Research your customers and write as if you're talking to them directly.
· Use storytelling.
· Add keywords.
· Don’t over-word your descriptions.
