Selling High-Tech Products to Non-Technical Buyers

Penny-pinchers. Tightwads.Cost-cutters.  

Not very attractive descriptions, are they? Rather reminiscent of Scrooge in an overcoat and muffler, counting up his fortune by candlelight, perhaps?  

But these words take on a new, positive meaning when you're talking about energy savings these days. It's not just the "tightwads" who are setting their thermostats to lower temperatures and adding layers of clothes, or rolling low-wattage space heaters from room to room.  

As Benjamin Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." And negawatts - the energy not consumed, resulting in the dollars not spent - are the hottest new income stream. The question of the day is - how can I get the greatest value from the lowest energy expenditure?  

Problem is - this is bordering on the territory of engineers, where jargon and technical specifications can confound the average consumer.  

Are You Selling What Your Customers Want To Buy?  

When you're a green company targeting a shivering clientele - whether you're selling pellet stoves, biobased insulation, or tankless water heaters - the key to your success is simple: How well are you communicating the benefits of your product?  

Floor-walking sales staff have known for years - sell the benefits, don't drone on about the specs. Educate customers through the buying process, making sure they have all the information they need to make a good decision.  

But how do you translate this to online shopping? The concepts are very much the same.  

How Will Your Product Make a Difference In Their Lives?   

Most online shoppers don't want to be immediately confronted with a long sales page that overwhelms them with industry jargon, long lists of features or specifications ...or even technical terms. What's a BTU? How does it relate to a watt? How do you figure BTUs per square foot? How (yes, really) do you figure the number of square feet to a room or home?  

Sure, you'll always get a few informed buyers who have done their homework and want to skip right away to compare product features. But for many consumers, the question is - how much value will this product give me for the money I'm putting out? And specifically - how fast will it pay for itself in energy savings? Compared to this, everything else is embellishment. They're looking for the big picture, the concepts, not the details yet.  

Answer The Important Questions First, Then Give The Details  

So give the big picture first. Load your product page with the benefits - the practical impact on the buyer's life - not features. If the product will keep them warm for pennies per day, say so! Describe its energy consumption with easy comparisons: for example, "hour for hour, equivalent to running a ceiling fan." Communicate in ordinary, conversational terms...the language your customers speak.  

List the features and specs? Of course - but not on the first page your prospect sees. Make them easily available, but not intiimidating. Think of the first questions your customers ask, and put those answers at the top: the product's Energy Star rating, for example.  

Make It Easy and Convenient  

Don't assume anything. Make the process as convenient as possible. Even if a consumer knows how to figure the number of square feet per room or watts per BTU, for example, you'll win points if you provide a  handy online calculator that will keep them from reaching for the pencil and paper.  

Include customer ratings and reviews for the product, if possible, as well as text fields where new buyers can give their own feedback, and/or ask questions. Realize that most consumers shop around, visiting several websites before they settle on one vendor. Make it easy for them to come back to you with a bookmark or a wish-list email.  

Be The Expert Resource They Can Trust  

Most important: demonstrate that you understand their comparison shopping. Offer your visitors a free report listing, say, the 10 questions they need to ask to get the best product for their needs. Make it an incentive to opt into your email list, and be sure to check in with them a few days later, to offer further information or support if they need it.  

The less you assume, the more you educate, the more your clients will trust you. Help them to understand the high value of your product with high-value content.

Customers Buy Green When They're Involved in the Outcome

"First they laugh at you, then they ignore you, then they fight with you, then you win." That was Gandhi's description of India's path to freedom against the British.

What he didn't say, however, was that ultimately the response to your message depends on how well you engage with each individual in your audience to demonstrate the value of your offering.

Instead, that was consultant Melissa Schweisguth's conclusion in her article Engaging Consumers to Green Up Their Act, based on the latest series of studies about the average American consumer's path to greening.

This gradual culture shift is a topic of endless fascination to marketing statisticians as businesses try to track why consumers do - or don't - buy green. And in the past four years, at least, the numbers - or the interpretations? - have wiggled a little from one side to another, but the core message remains the same:

There is still a gulf between the passionate and informed uber-green consumers -- those who know how to recognize truly sustainable products and are willing to pay more for them -- and those who are progressively less aware and committed.

For example, 95 percent of the consumers in one study said they were interested in buying green, but only 63 percent actually looked for green products when shopping.

Why? When consumers are less informed and committed, they're also often confused about environmental issues and data. And as a result, the economic value -- the price -- of green (or greenwashed) products and services often trumps their actual sustainability-based value.

So how to overcome this confusion?

According to Schweisguth's interpretation, the answer is information and an invitation to action. Educating the consumer and inviting him or her to engage with your company, products and services.

Or as the Cluetrain Manifesto put it - engaging in a conversation rather than a sales spiel. Content is still the key, but the question is -- how are you using that content?

As Schweisguth says, "The opportunity goes beyond selling green products or services to include education on using products more sustainably and tips for reducing one's ecological footprint overall."

So what does this mean for you as you present your products and services to these less-informed consumers?

A quote from master-marketer Perry Marshall comes to mind: "No one ever buys a drill because they want a drill. They buy a drill because they want a hole."

In other words - what is the desired green goal for these consumers? Is it a lower energy bill or water bill, a less toxic indoor environment for their kids, freedom from fear about contamination of their food or water? How does this product or service help to achieve that goal - and how can they achieve the goal in other ways?

When you tie your company, product or service to an environmental issue or goal, you aren't just developing a responsible brand identity and just gain the enthusiasm of consumers who share that concern - you also have the opportunity to inspire them to get involved in environmental action.

So, for example, you could plan a public-service event to promote your green message - and your products. If you were selling green cleaning supplies, say, you could offer an information campaign about the health hazards of chemical cleansers and the risks of unsafe disposal. It would all lead up to a swap-out day for your customers to drop off their toxic chemical cleansers with you for safe disposal at a hazardous waste site, in return for a discount on safe organic cleansers.

Or, if you are marketing items to support waste reduction and recycling, you could sponsor a local stream clean-up and offer free cloth bags and reusable water bottles to participants. The trash they pick up alongside the stream will anchor the importance of using sustainable products.

Bottom line? Don't just sell to your customers...inform them. Not only will you gain their trust and their business, but you'll also give them practical tools to make their lives and homes greener.

Do Your Clients Understand Your Green Business Language?

This is a little bit of a rant, I'm afraid...I just read an article in GreenBiz News about an EcoPinion survey that found "Consumers Don’t Understand Green Terms."

To quote the key paragraphs of the article: "a survey of 1,000 Americans conducted the first week of November, on communications and language commonly used by companies and stakeholders in the energy and environment space. The EcoPinion Survey confirms a green gap exists around terms such as energy efficiency, energy conservation, demand response, smart energy and clean energy, and customers’ understanding, acceptance and perceptions of value around those terms.
The green gap in communications is contributing to a growing misalignment between customers’ stated intentions, e.g., their desire to be more green or frugal with energy consumption, and their actual behavior."

My judgment? It all boils down to something I tell my clients over and over: "Your customers don't care what nifty bells and whistles your products or services have. What they care about is - what difference will those bells and whistles make in their lives, what real benefits do they offer?"

Bottom line - It's not about you! If your customers/clients don't understand why your green services are better - not just how, but why - if the difference is wrapped up in green industry-standard terms that mean nothing to John and Jane Doe - it doesn't matter if you win every eco-award in the book. The customers will sail right past you to the company that speaks their language.

So what can you do to change this? Assume nothing! Start with the idea that visitors to your site have no clue whatsoever about the technologies you use and the standards you work so hard to meet...that the terminology that's so easy and intuitive to you means less than a torrent of Japanese would to a monolingual English speaker.

Assume that they don't know, say, the difference between "green business" and "sustainable business"...that they may or may not recycle their trash, much less know the difference between pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content...that "green building" may signify more about the color of siding on a house than the LEED standards that governed its construction...you get the idea! Define your terms. Explain your concepts. Look at your marketing content with "beginner's eyes" - if you'd seen this when you were first learning about green business, would it have made any sense to you?

It's up to you to pass on this information, share your passion about it - why does it matter, why is it better for your customers and the planet? What is your commitment to improving your customers' lives and changing the world in the process?

And after all, what better way of gaining their interest and trust could you have, than providing the education that turns an incomprehensible wilderness into navigable territory? Create a blog and fill it with key concepts...send out marketing articles to distribution services...write a special report or e-book that introduces key concepts of the work you do...make it your mission to teach the world about your work, so your visitors will share your passion!

Yes - it's a bit more work - but think of the talks you give to the Chamber of Commerce and your professional networking groups. How many more people will your information reach on the Internet?

If you'd like more information on ways of educating your visitors, demonstrating your expertise, and building your business through social networking and information marketing, and why a green copywriter can save you valuable time and money in crafting this information, contact me at phila@your-words-worth.com.

Oh, and if you'd like to check out that article and the study (it's available free of charge), click here.




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Is Green Copywriting Catching On?

Back when I was first starting as a green copywriter, participating in the mastermind groups of marketing gurus like Lorrie Morgan Ferraro and Alexandria Brown, the “green business” niche seemed virtually unknown online…and client demand from green businesses for a copywriter trained in internet marketing was minimal to nil. I found myself doing as much education as marketing, answering questions like: What is green business? Why would greening help your business? and How can a copywriter help you to market your green business?

But in less than two years, how things have changed! With the rise of Web 2.0 and social networking, there is a new awareness and demand for good copy with a green ethos…and a continuing stream of it at that!

And…drumroll, please…I have just been welcomed onto the team of the first client who found me through Web 2.0 means!

History is being made as we watch!



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