My parents owned a house in Belleville, Ontario, where my father grew up.  It passed on to my father when my grandmother passed away. I loved that old house.  It was a heritage home, Victorian with gables on the roof peaks, wooden shutters, and bay windows that defined the beauty of its glory days post turn of the 20^th century.

As my parents aged, and after my uncle who had lived there went into a retirement home, the home was sold.  It was a sad point in time to see the house leave our hands and then torn down to make way for 3 townhomes.

But time moves on and the house had needed too many repairs to make it practical to keep.  And the new owner could make more money on 3 townhomes rather than 1 large old-fashioned house. The beauty of many old homes is inspiring. The intricate woodwork, latticing often seen inside to separate areas of rooms, large kitchens, and the separate back kitchen where the cooking preparation was done.

There was a lot not to admire too when you look at today’s standards.  No dishwasher, and only minimalist counter and cabinet space. Drawers did not come customized for spices, cutlery, necessities, or other household items such as foil wrap and lining for baking pans.  Cooking and baking were often all-day events, everyday.

Yet I loved it all and can still picture myself outside, and inside, running from room to room, exploring, discovering, and forming memories. I don’t even need to close my eyes. I still see the crab-apple tree outside the side door, and the rows of raspberries my grandmother picked every year to make jam.

The locals came every summer to buy her raspberry jam. It was delicious.  We often ‘helped’ with the raspberry picking. At least we helped to eat the juicy berries and then ran off to play.

And on the inside of the house one of my favourite spots to sit was a rocking chair that sat in one of the two mini rooms that had bay windows.  I loved the lattice woodwork that hung from the ceiling separating the smaller bay window rooms from the dining and living rooms.  I have one of the lattice pieces in my home now. I asked for it along with a coat rack that I placed on the wall just inside my own front door. I do need to remove the old paint (lead) and it is on my to-do list. One of these days.

Renovating an old home is a challenge that some people do take on. It can be a huge and daunting task, but if you are prepared to invest the time and money, the results are well worth it.

One of the things I love about a re-design of an old homes is the way someone who has the skill set, creative imagination, and an understanding and appreciation of different design periods and a love of history, can recreate the look feel of a given period of time. While not imposing any one period on a house, a talented craftsperson can bring the past to the present, with all the nifty modern amenities blended into unlikely places.

While design is not my thing and my skill with a hammer and saw is minimalist to say the least, I love to read about renovations and hear other peoples’ stories about their own home remodelling and restorations.

Do you have any stories to share about a renovation you undertook or had someone do for you? I would love to hear about it. 

Contact me at info@pathwritewords.com.

She stood compelled to watch in horror.

 It was clear that the young lad was in distress and making his decision moved forward quickly and purposefully.  The ‘station attendant, ‘red vest’, in step with the lad, whether tipped off on the lad’s apparent state of mind, or by experience or training recognizing the danger signs, his radio in one hand, his other hand trying to block access to the tracks.

The train driver and paramedics notified, the ‘red vest’ continued step in step, down the platform with the boy, and the train roared in, bell ringing, lights flashing – telling everyone to clear the way. Then, in that instant the boy jumped and time stood still for just a second, while in an astounding heroic act, the red shirt grabbed the leaping figure mid-air and pulled him in to safety.

Time resumed, passengers scurried off and on the train.  The world carried on.  But for the young boy, now struggling with paramedics, from his missed opportunity, what next?  What drove him into such utter despair that there was no alternative?  Was there no one to talk to, no family- no friends?

We have not reached all children, and at 15 or 16, still a child, this young person sadly could not face another day of the life he was leading.

Will he get the help he needs?  How do we help someone who has no wish to live?  So many people are trying their best to reach out, provide hope to those who are suffering.  In that short instant, there were people blocking the road to the boy’s self-destruction – the ‘red vest’, the paramedics, and then the doctors and staff in the crisis centre at CHEO where he would have been taken.

Look at the bullying programs, in schools, the national awareness programs, Bell Let’s talk day and other initiatives.  Still children kill themselves.  Is it because these programs are not working. Is it the school, who by some reports don’t really protect the children who are bullied and the ones doing the bullying get away with continuing to torment?  There are other life ordeals that might drive a child to such an action.

It takes support and strength from parents, or mentors, and a solid program in schools, and not just lip service to help those children in need and not all children receive that help. Many children must fend for themselves, the discarded, the lonely, the fragile and the afraid.

As for the young woman watching?  She lies awake some night, jarred by the image of the boy’s face. And thinking of her own children, she wants them to know that they always talk to her, and to their father, and to the devoted family who surrounds them.  If only all children had support.

Sadly, sometimes talking is still not enough, for some children, and as a society we must continue whatever actions and programs it takes to reach out and draw in the young people who believe they have no future.

Reposted from 2020.

Depending upon where you are in your client journey, you will have different ideas on who you identify as your main customer. 

You can determine your ideal client from several perspectives.  If you sell primarily to consumers you may have a cross-section of demographics to appeal to.  Depending on our product line, you may have different campaigns to target each group.

In the B2B world you are probably more focused on how your product or service solves a specific problem for your customers. The problems your customers have in common bring them to your product or service.

Your customer’s experience before and after a sale and how you engage with customers will have a direct bearing on how your customer will feel about your product or service.  These are questions to ask:

• What matters to your customer?
• What problem is your customer trying to solve?
• Does the product or service meet the customer needs?
• Did the product work as expected?  Did you provide excellent service?

There are other things to consider too such as what the experience was like leading up to sale and how you engage with your customer after the sale. Do your customers share any ideas on how to change the product or service for a more desirable outcome?

Group customers into categories – from all categories of information that identifies who your customers are:

• Pain points
• Urgency
• Location of your customers
• Types of customer service interactions
• Social media engagement

You may gather information about your current customers just by speaking with them and asking a few questions.  On a more formal scale, ask them to fill in a survey.  Looking at your sales data is also a key point to find out what your customers have in common.

1. How does your product benefit your customers?
   1. What does your product provide or do that helps your customer?
   1. What is the main problem that your product or services solves for your customers?
2. Who are your main competitors?
   1. How does your product or service match the market they serve?
   1. Is there a void in the market segment that your product or service could fill?
3. What does your sales data tell you about your customers?
   1. What does your customer profile look like as you dig into the information you have?
   1. Where does your customer come from and what does your customer like about your product or service?
   1. What drives your customer?  What is important to them?

Collect as much information as you can so you have a clear picture of your customer.

Knowing your customer is the first step to your marketing plan

The Olympics are fascinating to watch. The concentration in the participants’ eyes.

They come to win. They come to do their best. You can see it at each event start.

The events are thrilling but it is the end that is so wonderful to see. There can be only one gold per event.

As the winner crosses the finish line and the others follow, or when the winner is identified, the competitive focus on their faces lift. Instead, it is followed by congratulations, hugs and genuine comradery.

These athletes often train together and become friends. It doesn’t take away their competitiveness in any way, but they have respect for each other’s abilities.

When the participant is the sole entry from a small country, it is stirring to watch. These athletes must usually leave home to access training in larger countries, often provided through the Olympic committee to level the playing field.

They are unwavering in their belief in themselves and in the goals they have.

This focus and dedication to the love of their sport is as much of an inspiration as watching the events themselves.  It is truly what dreams are made from.

Many of us can use a little of the dedication that the Olympic athletes show. 

Whatever our own goals are and what we dream for our own lives, we can take a page from the Olympics and focus on what we want for ourselves.

Whether you are recreating your brand or updating your current one, there are steps you must do. The first step is to determine if it is a total rebrand, or if an upgrade – a refocus is the way to go.  Perhaps it is more the strategy you are working with that needs the update.

If you are rebranding because you’ve changed your product or service, say from selling your hand-crafted furniture by greeting customers at your door to appealing to shop owners who will now sell your work for you, for a cut, there may be more of a story to adopt. You need to look at your whole setup.

If you are not reaching your target market, you may find that a rebrand will not accomplish what you hope. You need to think more about analysis as to why you are not reaching your desired target.

While a number of the same steps apply, such as doing your market research, and determining the customers you are targeting, there are some differences. An update to your current brand requires an update to your processes and to your marketing strategy. The rebrand involves looking at all your whole picture from logo to fonts and colors and company vision.

Either way, the why of your choice in rebranding or updating is what you need to know, before starting out.  You want to make the right decision.

It is possibly harder to do than starting out on an optimistic journey when first starting out.

You need to be honest about where you stand. Do you see yourself differently from how other people see you? Is it something you said or misspoke about?  A poor web site?  A mashup of ideas on what you do that gets lost in the spoken word?

Any one of these things can miss the mark on potential customers.

According to marketing agencies first impressions are vital although you can make up from initial missteps with some strategic rethinking and focus on relationship building.

What is your version of success?  Who are you appealing to and where are you going with your brand? Take stock before you go all out to make a change.

While it is less expensive to keep your current clients than it is to find new ones, you may only be reaching half your potential. If you are not investing in new clients, you may be shrinking your opportunities.

And who doesn’t want to grow? Or at least maintain your current set of clients, particularly because it is likely that your numbers will decrease with natural occurring changes as clients merge with other businesses, leave or sell the business, or other life events.

What’s the solution? How do you spend the right amount to attract new people?

There are several methods to interest new clients that can work with your current marketing activities and using your web site to attract new prospects and keep your current clients happy too.

People like to look for new things online.  It is easy with search engines to find lists of potential web sites that match your search criteria. 

Sure, SEO plays an important role, and not everyone can be #1.  However, there are several things to bear in mind that connects all your marketing activities so that you can reach potential clients and keep current ones engaged and interested.

Your newsletter

On your web site you may have an invitation to subscribe to your newsletter. Make sure that it is easy for your interested reader on your home page to see your ‘subscribe to’ invitation.

Now you are not done, of course.  What benefits does your newsletter offer? 

• Do you publish regularly?
• Are you including interesting information in your content?
• Do you link to other material on other web sites?

An as an aside, do you respect the individual and promptly remove those who choose to unsubscribe?

Offer an incentive

Who doesn’t like a free sign-up bonus such as an ebook?  You may have things going on in your industry that warrant one.

• Introduce a new product or service
• Explain how to use your product
• Identify key changes in your industry

These topics can interest new prospects in signing up to receive an ebook and become a lead for your business.

Your web site

• Is it up-to-date?
• Do you add new content regularly?
• Is it appealing?
• Are there menus and links to easily find material?
• Have you added video for those who like to view rather than read?

All these things contribute to pages that are easy to navigate to make a determination whether to stay or go and whether the business supports what the viewer is looking for.

A good web site ties in with the first two points and whether or not your prospect will be inclined to click the link and either subscribe to your newsletter or select to download your ebook.

You want readers and visitors to your site to be engaged with your content. It must be useful in some way to them.

Think about your business and introducing some form of an incentive that attracts users to your information.  Help out your readers, your clients and be generous to encourage new clients to come your way. #copywriting #content

Customer storeis or case studies, either way they shine a light on your business and shows the success you have in helping our customers or clients.

You can get caught up in the different types of Case Studies.  Depending upon your area of interest, study or business, what you want from a case study may be different from the discipline next to you.

Here we are focused on the business case study designed to market your business and engage with your customers.  If you are a seasoned case study company, you will already know the value of the customer story and how the case study is part of a B2B buyer story.

Why create a Case Study?

You want to highlight what your product, or service, can do for your customers and potential customers.  It is about success- your success as a business.  You want a showcase for your values as a business with a product or service that you are proud of and want recognition for to increase your sales and leads.

Case studies work.

• According to Hubspot in a 2021 State of Marketing report, more than 30% of marketers use case studies for their primary marketing media
• Surveys consistently show that B2B buyers said they referenced case studies as part of their buying research.

They are an essential part of the buyer journey to find out about a specific product or about a solution to a particular problem the business is experiencing.

Results and the Case Study

It’s all about the data. 

Use the information you have to provide concrete evidence on how your product helped business increase productivity, simplify a process to help with time management, save money, or help with getting a job done.  Showcasing the results of using your product or service promotes trust in your product or service and the benefits in using what you have to offer.

• It’s in the numbers – percentage increases in results
  • Your product helped increase productivity by 11% by simplifying a work process
• Before and after picture
  • From using several different methods in handling documents to one document control system, your product helps companies manage their information more effectively
• Easing  the pain point
  • There is a frustration for business owners when they see a problem, but have no solution until your product or service shows how their business can overcome the pain point with the solution your product provides.  

Note on Design

The case study itself is about words to showcase who you are and how you can help other customers, as the one in your customer story.

Once the case study is written, you will want a designed to help set the tone and show off the words that are written.  Design is like the music flowing with the words in a song.  Together they create the full experience.

Copywriters and designers work together to ensure your case study hits the mark to entice reading or at least scanning the case study.

Focus on Your Customers

Your customers and their experiences are what drive a case study. What problem or challenge did your product or service help your customer overcome?

You want to be sensitive to your customer’s privacy and any concerns they have about being part of a case study. It is a win-win because of the benefit of highlighting the value and offering of both companies in the case study.  

Key Points to writing a Case Study

• Determine what problem your product or service solves that you want to highlight
• Identify customers who purchased your product to solve that problem
• Determine a list of questions to ask your customer that will create a story about the customer journey
• Ask for the interview
• Focus your case study on how your product solved the problem
• Be mindful of sharing only what the customer agrees to and review with your customer
• The end of the case study is where you bring it back to your company and how you can help other customers with their own journey
• Publish on your web page

The process to create a customer story moves from your product or service to your customers and back to you. Don’t forget to include the call to action at the end.

Jane McGuire is a copywriter who can be reached at write@pathlightcommunications.com

This article was first published on LinkedIn.

What is the purpose of your website and what do you want to communicate to your customers?

How you present your information and what your content looks like depends very much upon the purpose of your website and the customers you want to reach.

Very often you will want to appeal to a range of customers, your current customer base, and new ones. How you present this information to appeal to a cross section is important. 

When you first create a site, you may have grand plans and you want to share your information about your product and services. It is very exciting to be starting out but even existing websites need re-evaluating to ensure it is as productive and as optimized for meeting your customers on your web pages.

But what exactly are you presenting?

• Are you an ecommerce site?  What product do you have to sell?
• Do you provide a service?  Are you prepared to explain your services?
• If you are new to a website you will have information from the early stages of your product or service
• If you have been around a while you will still need introductory information as well as topics that provide advanced information to your customers.

Focus on these points:

• Determine your business priorities
• Have a clear understanding of who your customers are
• Decide on the purpose of your website pages

Your plan for your website should reflect the answers. And if someone else is doing your website, you want to be sure they are asking questions to provide the right information and approach for your website.

You want to build and tell a story about you and your company that defines your goals and communicates with your customers.

Determining Business Priorities for Your Website

What do you need to think of when determining business priorities for your website?

• You may be interested in sharing case studies to tell customer stories about their experience with your product or service
• Perhaps your product has many facets and you want to share how-to information to help enable  a positive customer experience
• Your product may be new to the market and requires some explanation to introduce and broaden the customer knowledge about your product

While it may be tempting to look at building your brand, it may be best to focus on the product or service and introduce the branding as you build and expand your website.

Knowing Your Customers

You will know your customer base and what it is that they want from your product or service.

It is always good to review and reaffirm your customer profile and where you should concentrate your marketing and information efforts for your website content.

• What industry are you focused on
• What pain points do your customers or clients experience that your product or service can help with
• What budget concerns do your customers have that you will want to address
• Consider a survey for your customers to help understand their needs

Understanding your customer base is a first step in determining what content you will need for your website.

Use information effectively to encourage visitors and optimize your website and to ensure your customers are kept current and are provided with the right information.

If you would like to discuss your website goals contact me at write@pathlightcommunications.com