| You’re
at a networking event. The stranger next to
you strikes up a conversation.
It only takes
a few minutes before you realise: “This
person’s completely self-absorbed.”
No matter how hard you try, every topic leads
back to them. Soon, you find yourself inching
away.
You can find the
same thing on the web. Sites that are egocentric.
More interested in talking about themselves
than solving customer problems. However, unlike
the networking situation, your escape from a
self-absorbed website is quick and painless.
(Although there
are offenders across the board, the biggest
culprits seem to be business-to-business companies
and small- to mid-sized firms.)
To heck with product
benefits or helping prospects and customers
solve their problems – the narcissistic
website dwells on the company’s spectacularly
engineered offerings, their superior manufacturing
techniques, the brilliance of their people,
the company’s offices. Is there a place
for bragging? Sure, but it’s secondary
to the customer’s issues. Too many websites
forget this.
When you consider
that the average visitor has an attention span
measured in seconds, and that he scans the web
instead of reading every word, a narcissistic
website has the same effect as a narcissistic
tablemate: it turns people off.
In contrast, an
intelligent website doesn’t leave a visitor
stranded, searching for the customer benefits
of the company’s products or services.
It:
- Provides clear
statements that are customer benefit oriented
- Supports its claims (often using customer
and third party support)
- Proactively addresses potential objections
- Ushers the visitor into a dialogue
Let’s look
at a very simple before-and-after example.
We’re at
the website of a widget manufacturer. Their
target market? Widget buyers from manufacturing
firms.
The homepage leads
off with:
"Since
1908, Acme Widget has precision-manufactured
more than 10,000 varieties of widgets. What’s
the Acme difference? State-of-the-art technology
– including the latest laser manufacturing
techniques – along with six sigma processes
to ensure the highest quality."
Sound good to
you? Where does the customer fit in?
While prospects
and customers care a lot about the companies
they deal with, they care first and foremost
about their own needs. In this instance: “How
will Acme Widget solve my problems?”
Here’s another
take on the copy:
“Whether
you are looking for red, green, purple or
color matched widgets, no other company offers
a wider selection, faster delivery or more
production-friendly engineered designs than
Acme Widget.
Independent
tests show that using the Acme ViperWidget
can result in improving your production speeds
by as much as 35%, while significantly reducing
defective rates over traditional widgets.
Great selection.
Fast delivery. Increased production speeds
and reduced defectives for lower overall manufacturing
costs. One name. Acme.
Download
our free white paper, ‘Increasing Your
Production Speed while Lowering Defectives
with Better Engineered Widgets,” highlighting
the recent tests of more than five hundred
widgets conducted by independent testing laboratory,
International Widget Laboratories."
This time, the
copy speaks to the interests of the customer.
Customer problems – and Acme’s solution
– stand front and centre. Note, I still
referred to the Acme's engineering abilities.
The difference here is that the reference to
engineering is now linked to customer benefits.
Imagine a widget
buyer visiting two sites: one with the first
copy, the other with the second.
- With the first
site, the buyer learns a little about the company,
but not enough to differentiate it from the
competition. And not nearly enough to understand,
and appreciate, the benefits of doing business
with the firm.
- At the second
site, the buyer learns about the company’s
wide selection, fast delivery, exceptional production
speeds and lower defect rates. All strengths
she can quickly grasp. What’s more, the
white paper provides third-party support –
validation – for the company’s claims.
The underlying
concept is simple and an underlying marketing
communications truth. The most effective marketing
communications puts your customers and prospects
first, not your company. By focusing on customer
and prospect needs, you are more likely to fulfill
your company's needs.
As obvious as
this statement would appear, it is similarly
obvious that many marketers don't really follow
it.
A Quick
Check-up to Find if Your Company Website is
a Narcissist
Pretend you are
a customer visiting your company's website for
the first time. Write down five key concerns
you have related to purchasing these kinds of
products or services or choosing a company that
you feel (or marketing research indicates) reflects
the key concerns of your target market when
researching companies like yours. Spend up to
one minute at your website. Close the browser.
How many of your five key concerns were addressed?
How well did they address your concerns? A brief
amount of copy addressing a key concern and
a link to more detail is fine; no mention of
these concerns is not.
Did the web page
copy get to the heart of your concern or was
it focused on the itself instead of the prospects
needs? Use what you have learned to further
test your website in front of real prospects
and customers. Find out their most important
problems they are hoping your website will help
them answer and re-design your website around
helping them.
It’s your
choice: propaganda that only ends up stroking
your company's ego or profits.
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