Don’t Let Copywriting Kill Your Business

Are your wellness products unique?

No doubt they are - but do your customers get it? Do they truly understand why your products are better than the competitors’ or alternative products out there?

Marketing in today’s world isn’t challenging simply because there are tons of options.

It’s particularly challenging because there is little distinction between the options.

To put it bluntly, we live in a world where products have become highly commoditized. There are of course the select few that have genuine innovation in the form of unique formulas, or feature a proprietary delivery method. But the majority of products within any given category tend to blend in, and are indistinguishable.

Not only is this a problem of capturing your customers’ attention - from a business stand point, it becomes a race to the bottom, with price becoming a bigger driver for purchase decisions.

WHAT ARE CUSTOMERS LOOKING AT?

When it comes to wellness products - where product performance and function matters - customers often find themselves getting engrossed in comparing product descriptions to examine the “features”, or what I might call “specs.”

There are key types of information that customers’ eyes gravitate towards. 
Let’s take a look at a few.

Featured Ingredients:

This could be anything from vitamins and minerals (Vitamin C, B12, iron, etc.) to trending ingredients like goji berries, spirulina, or Himalayan salt - or in the instance of beauty products, you might find featured ingredients like hyaluronic acid or retinol.

Manufacturing Criteria and Seals:

These are key “features” that someone might be looking for that aligns with their lifestyle choices or dietary needs. Think “free of” type of features such as vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, etc. As well as other certifications like organic, kosher, halal, etc.

Dosage/Strength:

This one is straight forward - it may be “500mg tablets”, or for example in the case of a CBD tincture, “50mg per mL” or “250mg per bottle”. Within beauty, familiar examples include “SPF 30” for a sunscreen or “7% concentration” for a product that contains Glycolic acid.

Product Benefits:

Depending on which direction you products skew, you may be subject to more stringent regulation when it comes to claiming product benefits. For example, a dietary supplement might state “Promotes immune health” or “Stimulates collagen growth” - often times with an asterisk, indicating that this claim has not been approved by the FDA. Within beauty, there are also a lot of boundaries, but based on my experience, it is much more forgiving - or perhaps beauty brand regulatory teams are just more lax. Beauty examples include “reduces the appearance of redness” or “visibly lifts skin.”

Now let’s stop.

You get the idea - these are all phrases and product features and benefits that you undoubtedly have had to tackle.

Unfortunately, you kind of have to set these aside.

Because while they can help your customer navigate your product - it can also be extremely detrimental, if you don’t use them in the right way.

HOW DO YOU CAPTURE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ ATTENTION?

This goes without saying, but packaging and design go a long way.

Visual cues can help romanticism your products to evoke emotion with the customers, as well as help you stand out on a retail shelf.  But that will only take you so far.

The key to standing out from the crowd is to craft a distinct brand voice - so that as a brand, you can speak to your products and the customers’ concerns in a consistent yet unique manner.

This DOES NOT mean neglect the “features” language we discussed above. To be clear, these “features” or spec-based language is what your customers will expect, and understand. The important distinction is that you find the right way to incorporate your brand tone of voice through the customer journey to help create a brand experience that transports your customer into your brand “world”.

What this really boils down to is developing a tone of voice that your brand can own.

How have you created unique tone of voice?

What are the primary challenges that your team faces when it comes to product marketing copy?

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