My website needs a new look – I think.

Because we have had so many questions regarding rehabbing websites, this month’s newsletter will be devoted to giving you some ideas of what to be thinking about.  We also have an upcoming seminar in May (see the info in the sidebar to the left) that you can register for.

The goal is to have a site that is unique, not just like the guy down the street.  It makes you stand out and makes the user want to dig deeper into your back pages.  But a great site is not what you like… it is a site that accomplishes your goals and helps your company grow.

Your website is more than just the front door or display window for your business – it should invite the prospective customer inside, welcome them and help them find the solutions that you provide to the problems they have.

So before you go out and hire someone to start coding or re-coding your site, consider the following questions and be sure you can answer them (and if you can’t, we should talk)

Who is your “ideal client”?  It is important for you to look at your site from your ideal client’s perspective.  Do you talk in their language or your businesses jargon?

What problems does your business solve for this ideal customer?  Your visitor should be able to understand that you comprehend their issues and that you know how to solve them.  And that should be clear in your home page and every linked page.  Ultimately, if you can’t show you can help them, the visitor doesn’t care how many years you have been in business or how many awards you’ve won.

What is your “remarkable difference”?  Your site should explain how you do whatever you do differently then your competition.  What makes you the right firm to work with.  It isn’t  great service (You can’t sell on service if they haven’t experienced you and who do you know that markets lousy service?).  And it is not your  “experience”, though it could be that your experience gives you special skills that help you solve their problem – so spell that out clearly.

What do you want them see on your site? Can a prospective client figure out what they get from working with you on the homepage?  Are your navigation buttons the same as everyone else’s or do they make sense to your ideal client? Can they find what they need to learn more and dig deeper easily?  There is nothing worse than going to a website and not being able to find what you want to know.  When that happens, your prospect just goes back to Google and selects the next guy on the list.  (you have roughly 12 seconds to help them find out what they need to know to stay on your site)

What is your call to action?  What do you want them to do to continue to interact with you?  You should have a opt-in to your mailing list on every page of your website.  Do you have some valuable offers they can sign up to download?  Is there a seminar replay they can register for?  Don’t just have a “contact us” button – what happens if they are still early in their buying process and they aren’t ready to contact you yet? 

Finally, try to keep it clean and simple.  While it is your website, it isn’t about you, its about them – what they get and why they should engage.  Don’t try to put everything about your company on it – what is relevant to your ideal customer is what should be there front and center. Its not a bad idea to leave them wanting a bit more and to give them a reason to contact you.

When you get serious about creating an outstanding web presence, remember the Leading Results Core Marketing Mantra – “Don’t talk about the products you sell; talk about the problems you solve.  - Then talk about the remarkably different way that I as a customer will experience working with you as you solve those problems.  -Be sure you tell me what I get; NOT what you do.  Because I don’t have time to figure out if what I need is what you do.”