Roadblocks and Solutions for Communicating with Your Foodservice Buyer Personas

Let’s be honest. Though brands and product lines are important, potential buyers care more about what innovative foodservice equipment can do for them than they do about your company or story. No offense, but they really don't give a shit.

In today’s ever-stretched world where people don’t have time to spare, the benefits matter more than the features. People want to know right from the get-go what’s in it for them, how fast you can do it, and how much it will cost. If you like to talk about yourself, do it in a chat room. If you want to earn new customers and increase the scope of your foodservice or hospitality business, tell your audience how their lives will improve from using the equipment or food products you sell.

Here Are the Roadblocks:

1) Ignoring the audience. There are two common roadblocks when writing for results. The first is ignoring the needs of your buyer personas by focusing on yourself. Talk to what the audience cares about, not your own resume. Make sure everything you do relates to their concerns.

2) Ignoring the goals. The second mistake is to use the wrong kind of language all together. Do you want copy that sounds snappy and “wows” creatives, or do you want content that achieves results for executives? I believe it’s always better to win new customers for the company than to win personal awards for the work.

Here Are the Solutions:

1) Benefits, not features. People don’t have much time and want to know, “What’s in it for me?” The WIIFM philosophy is easy to dismiss because many people think the notion of About Me is really “about me.” It’s not. You have to turn your features into benefits for your customers. Example:

“Offering tea from the world’s best source means selling at higher profit margins.”
not
“We have tea from the world’s the best source.”

2) “You” not “I.” One of the easiest ways to remember your buyer personas is to address them directly. Focus on using the right pronouns, and you will succeed in shifting the focus in the right direction. Talk about them, not you. Example:

“You will learn insider secrets from my 25+ years of experience in the foodservice equipment industry.”
not
“I have been in the foodservice equipment industry for 25+ years.”

3) The right motivation. Hire agencies that have your best interests in mind and understand your buyer personas. Look at their own marketing materials. If an advertising firm spends all its time talking about the different awards they won, question its motivation and its tactics. A brochure that wins an award for them won’t necessarily win new customers for you. Accolades are features of the agency. They have no direct benefit to you. Example:

“We will help you achieve a 20 percent response rate on this back bar refrigeration campaign.”
not
“We won awards for the Acme Bar Equipment campaign, and we believe we can win more with our ideas for your campaign.”

Where do effective content strategies begin?

Effective content strategies always begin with understanding your foodservice buyer personas. Success comes from recognizing where content and context meet, and this always starts with your target audience. Learn more about developing buyer personas for your foodservice business by reading our free buyer persona guide.