As someone who has the responsibility to market a product or service, you’re very close to what you sell. You know everything about it, and you probably can’t remember how it felt not to know.
You might have so much information that you lose sight of the fact that not everyone has the background and knowledge that you possess.
This inclination to assume everyone else knows what you know is natural, but in marketing communications, it’s also damaging. In their book Made to Stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath refer to this tendency as the “curse of knowledge.”
It’s a big reason why sellers lose perspective about what the customer needs to know to have enough information to make a purchase.
That makes it dangerous when the time comes to write marketing copy.
It’s essential to take a step back and look at what you’re selling from the potential customer’s point of view.
A good marketing writer is an advocate for your client. The right questions, posed from your buyer’s point of view, can undo the curse of knowledge and ensure that your clients clearly understand the benefits of your products or services.
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