WIIFM stands for what is in it for me. Meaning what is in it for the customer. Often referred to as the station that your customers are tuning in to (WII-FM). Giving your customers what they want is a key to sales. You would think this would obvious but look around you, how many business are putting flashy advertising, new technology, or just about anything else over their customers? Customer service has taken a dive with the rise of big box stores that work on mass numbers. Who take quantity over quality to the extreme. For smaller businesses to get ahead having a personal connection and good customer service is a must.
To get ahead of the crowd tune yourself into WIIFM and address your customers needs and wants. Always keep everything focused on the customer as they are after all the ones that pay your paycheck. Remember to do this and give value and you put yourself head and shoulders above the competition. It really takes so little to be above average. But it does require knowledge of the basics of running a business and sales. Which the sales 101 series provides. Do the basics well and you will put yourself out in front of the pack.
It’s Not About You
While I argue for putting yourself first in just about every aspect of your life, business is one glaring exception to this. Your business is not about you and if you make it so your business is going to suffer. Your business is about your customers. It’s about the people who put the money in your bank in exchange for your product or service. These are the people you need to serve, not yourself. That is if you want to make money and run a successful business instead of wasting your time away on a hobby.
Focus your writing, your copy, your videos, or whatever it is you do on how you can help the customer. For example when writing copy you should always use the words you and your a lot. Write in the second person. This way the person reading it feels like you are talking directly to them, as they should. This is a key to writing effective copy or doing anything effective business wise. Focus on the customer. Their wants, needs, and desires. Forget about you when it comes to business and focus on them.
WIIFM – What’s In It For The Customer
When a customer comes to your web page or video channel or whatever the first thing they are going to wonder is WIIFM. They are going to wonder “what is in it for me”. Why should I care about this, how is this going to help, put bluntly they are going to ask why should I give a shit. And you need to answer this. You need to address why they should care. What’s in it for them. Address this immediately. That is why I recommend putting the benefit of your article in the article’s headline. Right away the customer knows what they are getting for their time.
Always keep this in mind. What’s in it for the customer. If you must have a sticky note by your computer or wherever it is that you do your work with WIIFM on it. Every time you see it you will be reminded of why you are doing what you are doing. You are doing it to provide value to the customer, not to make money. Making money is a side effect of effective business principles. If all you pursue is money it will elude you. Instead if you pursue the needs, wants, and desires of the customer and address them properly you will have no trouble getting money.
Features Vs. Benefits
Another key to writing good copy that is tuned into WIIFM is to make sure you are putting the benefits of your product in your copy and not just the features. What’s the difference? Features are about your product what can it do, what are the specifications, and so on and so forth. For example saying how much horsepower a motor has or how much memory a computer has. While benefits are the end results that the features is going to do for the customer. For example for a weight loss product instead of it’s been used by pro athletes it would be better to say it’ll get you ripped before spring break. One’s a feature the other a benefit.
One of the key differences between a feature and a benefit is their respective focus. The feature focuses on the product and is more about how impressive your product is. Which isn’t going to do much for the customer other than a “that’s nice” which isn’t going to sell product. Meanwhile the benefit which is tuned into WIIFM and is telling the customer what the product is going to do for them makes a much bigger splash. It’ll make you lose twenty pounds by your wedding, it will increase you monthly income by ten percent, and so on and so forth. Features bore the customer, benefits gets them motivated to buy. Focus on benefits not features.
Summary
So we’ve learned about WIIFM and how essential it is to sales. You must make your business about your customers. Serve them to the best of your ability. Give them value and address their needs. Use second person language when writing and when speaking in your videos. Mean use “you” and “your”, keep the focus on the customer and what it is that you can do for them. Always remember why should the customer spend their time reading or listening to what I’m writing or saying?
Keep WIIFM in the front of your mind. Know that every article, every sentence, every click the customer is going to be wondering WIIFM. Make sure to put the benefits of your product or information so that the customer’s intitial WIIFM is at least partial addressed and then address it fully and completely. Don’t sit and brag about your product tell the customer what it can do for them to meet their needs, wants, and/or desires. Do so and you’ll have successfully tuned in to WIIFM and a great business.
Click here for the rest of the sales 101 series.
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.
-Charles Sledge
