5 tips for grabbing prospects’ attention online
Company websites are as essential as business cards or a sign over your door. But to be more than a simple online brochure, a website needs to speak to your prospective customers in a language they'll respond to, and in just three to seven seconds. When you're ready to renovate your site, consider these five key questions to find the right words — and visual elements — that attract and convert new visitors.
1) How are you different?
When you wake up in the morning, what is it about your business that sends you into the office ready to tackle the day's challenges? Do you turn problems inside out to find a new answer? Is your team recognized for exceeding ambitious goals? Does your institution respond to old problems in new ways? Have you expanded the company in an unexpected direction? Think about the last time someone said how surprised they were by something you said or did. In just a few words, describe what you do in non-traditional terms so that you're less easily labeled, and less quickly dismissed as “just like the others.”
2) Why should they care?
Your prospects are less interested in what you know than why you want to be in that space. How did you end up where you are today? Was there a pivotal moment along your career path where you made a life-changing decision? How does your passion for your business affect the way you work with customers? If your website makes it clear how energized you are by your line of work, prospective customers will want to tap into some of that fire.
3) What do you know?
Only after they understand why you do what you do are prospects concerned about your competence. More importantly, how does your expertise meet their needs? Your website should express your depth of knowledge using the simplest language possible. This is not the time for mind-numbing jargon. If prospects feel confused by what they're reading, one click and they're on to the next website.
4) Why do people work with you?
Once a website visitor understands what you do and why you do it, they naturally want to see results. Here's your opportunity to let others speak for you. Ask your best customers for testimonials that give clear examples of how your work made an impact on their business. Create a pipeline of fresh content on your website by requesting feedback as you close out each major transaction or assignment.
5) What’s my next step?
While this may be the fifth question, create the opportunity for your prospect to interact with you as soon as they're ready. But you can't ask them to connect until you've given them a reason to do so. One solution is to have icons for sharing and responding scrolling down each page. Make it clear that you're eager to be in touch. After all, isn't that's why you revamped your site?
Allison Chisolm is founder and principal of Worcester marketing communications firm Choice Words/Chisolm & Co. For more information, visit ChoiceWordsOnline.com.
WBJ Web Partners
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