Let's Get Creative Capturing and Incorporating the Customer Voice in your Ad Copy Charlie Byrne, Peak Ace AG | @charlieebyrne

pa.ag @peakaceag Responsibilities In search marketing since Experience Languages Fun Fact 2 Charlie Byrne PPC Key Account Manager Account management for the largest clients in Peak Ace's Performance Advertising team. 2018 2.5 years at an award-winning digital marketing agency in the UK 1 year at Peak Ace, performance marketing based in Berlin English, German I once broke a world record, as part of the longest conga on ice /charlotte-byrne/ charlieebyrne c.byrne@pa.ag

Agenda 01 What is the 'voice of the customer'? 02 How can you capture the VOC? 03 How can you incorporate VOC into your ad copy? 04 VOC: A client case study 05 What else should you consider?

What is the 'voice of the customer'?

pa.ag @peakaceag 5 Voice of the customer (VOC): refers to what customers are saying about a business, product, or service. It is a term that describes your customer's feedback on their experiences with (and expectations of) your products or services. Source: www.qualtrics.com/uk/experience-management/customer/voice-of-customer/

How can you capture the VOC?

pa.ag 7 Customer interviews In-person surveys Customer service teams Offline Methods Offline methods to capture the voice of your customer

pa.ag 8 Customer reviews Either on-site or across 3rd party review platforms Search query reports Use of 3rd party tools or scripts to identify common terms & themes Social media and social listening Website & CRM data Use GA & form submission data Online Methods Online methods to capture the voice of your customer You can also analyse competitor reviews & social media presence

pa.ag @peakaceag 9 Customer reviews A data-driven method for effective analysis Step 1: Export customer reviews as a text file from your (client's) website or 3rd party review platform Step 3: Add frequently mentioned benefits into your ad copy (or address frequently raised problems) Step 2: Run your text through a text analyser tool. This will highlight the most frequently used words/phrases in the data set

pa.ag @peakaceag 10 Social media And social listening tools ▪ Observe the VOC across multiple platforms ▪ Certain platforms may be more appropriate depending on your brand/product/service ▪ Different platforms have different user demographics; therefore, VOC is also likely to differ between platforms ▪ Social listening tools: e.g, BuzzSumo Hootsuite, Sprout Social

pa.ag @peakaceag 11 Search query reports Reviewing SQRs should be a regular part of ad account health checks ▪ Depending on the size of the account, this can be done manually ▪ For larger or more complex accounts, utilise 3rd party scripts or tools ▪ Pay particular attention to high impression, low CTR terms

pa.ag @peakaceag 12 Website & CRM Data Use Google Analytics to discover what's important to your customers Source: Google Analytics ▪ Behavior flow informs you what pages users navigate to from your landing pages ▪ All Pages report shows where users spend the most time ▪ This could help inform the USPs that you highlight in your ad copy ▪ Exit Pages report shows where most users leave the site ▪ This could provide insights into how you can better manage expectations at the ad level, prior to paying for the click

How can you incorporate VOC into your ad copy?

pa.ag @peakaceag 14 Structure your ad groups for success Recommended ad group set up ▪ ETAs will be phased out at the end of June ▪ Existing best practice: ▪ 1 x RSA ▪ 2 - 4 x ETAs ▪ Future-proof your account: ▪ 1 - 3 x themed RSAs ▪ 2 x high-quality, evergreen ETAs ▪ Review ad extensions too, especially: ▪ Callouts ▪ Structured snippets Campaign RSA ETA ETA Ad Group

pa.ag @peakaceag 15 Capture both sentiment and language What do your customers say and how do they say it? ▪ Sentiment: ▪ Expectations ▪ Preferences ▪ Aversions ▪ Experiences ▪ Etc. ▪ Language: ▪ Incorporate the exact words and phrases that your customers use ▪ Example: When advertising fitness equipment, we changed 'durable' to 'sturdy' and/or 'solid’ after analysing reviews

pa.ag @peakaceag 16 Consider the user journey and different audiences The user journey funnel explained ▪ Customers will have different considerations, depending on their stage in the user journey ▪ Many brands also have products or services that have different target audiences ▪ Consider this when analysing reviews, SQRs, social media, etc. ▪ To target various audiences with bespoke messaging, make use of: ▪ IF function ads ▪ Dedicated RLSA campaigns ▪ Ad groups segmented by audience (within Display and YouTube campaigns) Reach Creating brand awareness Engage Induce buying decision Activate Generating traffic, conversions & leads Nurture Strengthen customer loyalty

VOC: Client Case Study

pa.ag @peakaceag 18 A creative approach to ad copy for a SAAS client Our success was driven by unique value propositions & incorporating user feedback Sources: SEMrush.com; Confidential Information ▪ Our client needed an edge; something to set them apart from the competition ▪ Most competitors claimed to offer the "optimal solution" to improve recruiting ▪ We decided to focus on how our client's software was specifically "fast" and "easy to use" as this was what customers were most interested in

pa.ag @peakaceag 19 Step 1. Listening to happy customers We leveraged their positive feedback on the software's speed and flexibility Sources: Google Ads interface

pa.ag 20 Step 2. Creating trust We tested different trust signals Source: Google Ads interface

pa.ag 21 Step 3. Regional approach Dynamic keyword insertion was used for regional targeting and flexible ads Sources: Google Ads interface

pa.ag @peakaceag 22 Monitoring impact with A/B tests To get the most detailed insights possible, we segmented them by campaign category Competitors Brand Sources: Google Ads Interface, Tests

What else should you consider when using VOC methodology?

pa.ag @peakaceag 24 Don't forget other ad copy best practices VOC should not be your sole strategy ▪ Use compelling CTAs ▪ Reflect your most important keywords in your ads ▪ Incorporate location insertions & ad customisers ▪ Ensure full ad extension coverage ▪ Update ads regularly with respect to: ▪ Seasonality ▪ Trends ▪ Political and socio-economic climate

pa.ag @peakaceag 25 Ads don't exist in a vacuum Remain mindful of brand constraints and other marketing channels ▪ Adhere to brand tone of voice guidelines ▪ Review content & copy: ▪ On the website and landing pages ▪ Across other marketing channels

pa.ag @peakaceag 26 Key takeaways What steps should you take to effectively implement VOC across your ad copy? 1. Utilise both online & offline sources to discover what customers think of your brand 2. Future-proof your ad group set up with a combination of RSAs and ETAs 3. Capture both the sentiment and the language of your customers 4. Test different VOC messaging for different products, audiences and user journey stages 5. Remain mindful of ad copy best practices, other marketing channels and the current climate

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