A friend of mine recently spoke at a seminar about websites as a tool for business growth.
But before he could speak about the solution, he had to overcome the shared objection in the audience. That websites don’t work.
You see, almost everyone at the seminar already had a website. And their websites weren’t helping them get new business. That’s why they were there in the first place.
You might have the same problem. Do you think your website doesn’t work? Are you having trouble getting the results you want from it?
You might be right. It might not actually work! But it’s not a universal truth. It doesn’t have to be that way.
This happens because people don’t understand what their website really is. And they might not understand sales and marketing. That’s normal.
Michael Gerber writes in The E-Myth Revisited; a common business mistake is thinking knowing how to deliver a product or service is the same as knowing how to run a business that delivers the product or service.
But it’s not true!
They’re two completely different things.
And the knowledge required to build a website to effectively sell your product or service is not the same knowledge required to deliver your product or service.
If you want sales, make your website about your customer
It’s important to remember that at its core, your website is a communication tool.
To communicate effectively; it should have a goal. It should speak to a specific person—your customer. And every piece of content should help achieve that goal.
Writing all about yourself is a mistake. Your website is not about you and your business. It’s about your customer.
Unfortunately, what people don’t realize is that your website visitors don’t care about you. They care more about themselves and their problems.
It’s not personal. They’re not mean. They’re just people. 🙂
Do you know what everyone’s favorite subject is? Themselves.
Dale Carnegie wrote about that fact almost a hundred years ago in How to Win Friends and Influence People.
When your website doesn’t communicate properly
You make a website that doesn’t communicate properly when you write all about yourself and your business. It seems counterintuitive but it’s true.
Your visitors WANT something from you.
It might be
- To solve a problem
- To learn something
- To hire someone
- To buy something
- To subscribe to a service
- To be entertained
…or anything else.
Regardless of what it is, they want to know if you can deliver. And they want to know it fast.
Do you tell them? Is it obvious what they get by being there?
Until people get to know, like, and trust you; you need to provide value up-front. It’s how you build a relationship with your audience.
So make your website about your customer. Their problems. And what you can do for them. And simplify it by removing everything that doesn’t help achieve that goal.
How to make your website communicate properly
Getting people to know, like, and trust you sounds great. But how do you actually do it?
Know your audience, their problems, and why they’re coming to you.
You have to know your audience first. Because you can’t know what problem you solve if you don’t know who you solve it for, and why.
Once you know your audience and what problem you solve; you can get strategic about your content.
It should do the following things.
- Build trust. Addressing your visitors’ problems and offering solutions shows them you care. It shows empathy. It helps build trust.
- Show Authority. Offering solutions, supporting evidence, and demonstrating your knowledge shows you’re an authority—an important part of building trust.
- Build loyalty. Show up consistently over time and provide value without asking for anything in return.
- Make the sale easy. Don’t assume people are going to look for the buy button, opt-in form, or contact page. They won’t. Put it in front of them and make it obvious.
Conclusion
You can eliminate almost everything from your website that doesn’t support your visitors needs. That will help simplify, and clarify it so it’s more effective at selling for you.