In the ever competitive marketplace, the product description should be one that sells the product the best. A conceited effort should be made to give details that are convincing enough to change the choice of the buyer in favor of your product;
The ideal product description should go beyond just reeling out the stats and describing in simple words what the product is about.
In the ever competitive marketplace, the product description should be one that sells the product the best. A conceited effort should be made to give details that are convincing enough to change the choice of the buyer in favor of your product; The secret to achieving this lies with understanding your prospective market and the ability to tailor your piece to engage, persuade and sell to customers in a manner that is convincing and fulfilling.
There are several ways to do this, and I have taken time out to list below some methods to implement when writing your product description.
Methods of Writing effective product descriptions
- Have a focus: In as much as a “one size fits all” product isn’t a bad deal, the description should still find a focus on the ideal buyer. It is bad practice to write vaguely and with no particular buyer in mind, the description to look wishy-washy when it is addressed to no one in particular.
What is ideal is for you to put together your product description in a manner that addresses a particular group of people directly and personally. It should take the form of an engaging communication between two individuals with one speaking passionately about an idea that is real.
For instance, take a look at this product description for the Think Geek led light bulb.
“You know what's sucky about regular flashlights? They only come in two colors: white or that yellowish-white that reminds us of the teeth of an avid coffee drinker. What fun is that kind of flashlight? We'll answer that: NO FUN AT ALL. You know what is fun? Using the Multi-Color LED Flashlight to cast a sickly green glow on your face while telling a zombie story around a campfire. No campfire? Make a fake one with the orange light!”
As you can see from the above, the description sells the product by focusing on a niche, while doing so, try to make it as engaging as possible.
- Be imaginative and appeal to the buyer’s imagination: In some circles, perceptions have been touted as reality; this is a reflection of the power of imagination. People are naturally imaginative, in that light, it will do you well to use your imagination to create a description that appeals to the buyer’s imagination. The longer the buyer holds or stares at the product the, more likely he is to make a purchase.
This example from Think Geek is not far-fetched from the truth.
“There is a person who is the hero of every BBQ or family cookout, and that is the Grill Master. We always looked up to our Mom or Dad as they tended the grill and looked forward to the day when we could be in charge of charring the meat stuff and searing delicious slices of fresh pineapple. Now that we're adults, it's finally our turn and technology has smiled upon us, giving us a tool that is destined to impress.”
You can see from the narrative that you may have already pictured the BBQ grill master doing its thing and you standing by it. Now, that’s the power of imagination.
- Explain, and Explain some more: Please don’t stop at just using superlatives such as “the very best”, “more than outstanding”, when writing your description, but push it a step further and explain why your product deserves the superlative.
Some descriptions I have seen tend to leave it at the point of just being verbose and serenading the reader with big words and superlatives describing the product without the justification of the use of such superlatives.
The buyers are better convinced just as it shows clarity when you go a little further to defend why the purchase of your product is a wise decision.
Take for instance this example from Amazon's paper white description.
You can see from the description that the choice of paper white was explained, reeling out the outstanding quality that sets it apart from the competition.
- Entice with benefits: Man is naturally selfish… that’s the truth and same with most buyers. In as much as you value your product and the enormous benefits it holds for the customer; the average customer will be better enticed when they are made aware of specific benefits that the product offers them.
Let the product speak to their need and you will surely have much less convincing to do.
Take a look at how Method Home describes one of their hand gels.
“Sometimes the scent of seasonal hand wash is all we need to rouse our holiday spirits. Available in an array of festive fragrances, our naturally derived gel hand wash will leave your hands soft, clean and ready to be tucked into a pair of fair isle mittens. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.”
You can see from the above example that the description speaks of how the gel makes the user feel good and better, inciting happy thoughts that often accompanies the holiday season.
Writing a killer product description may seem a little difficult, but the trick is to keep it simple, following some of the tips above as it suits your product. Don’t look to just selling a product alone rather look to selling an experience; let the buyer connect with you and your product, create a positive impression, and leave the buyer looking forward to a purchase with your product description.
The product description can be a veritable marketing tool, if you can only use it wisely.
Join the conversation.