| 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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