Kim Bischoff: My Top 3 Tips for Creating a Great Company Website
As a sales writer and online marketer, I see a lot of websites. Some websites really connect with customers, drive sales, and keep people coming back.
But too many websites just sit there without generating any interest or sales. Your company website is your 24/7 salesperson, so getting it right is the difference between growing your business… or not.
Here are my top 3 tips for creating websites that connect with your customers, make sales, and keep them coming back for more.
1. Define your audience – and get to REALLY know them
To have a great website, you have to know who your customers are. You probably have a good idea of who you think they are, but don’t just rely on those assumptions – do some research. Talk to your customers. Open ended conversations are best, but surveys are a good start. If you don’t already have customers, do a little competitor research – what are your competitor’s customers saying? What do they like or not like?
Don’t just rely on demographics – age, sex, location, income – start digging into psychographics for your customers. Psychographics focuses on their values, emotions, and how they think. You want to understand their feelings about what you are selling.
To do that, start thinking about who they are and what they are most concerned about. What is their biggest pain point – and why? What can you provide that will ease those concerns and delight them?
For example, if you offer organizing services for busy families, who typically hires you? The mother? Why does Mom want to get organized? So she can keep track of all the kid’s stuff? Why is that important?…
Keep asking “why” until you break through to the emotions. Most people will stop after one round – “Mom wants to get organized because clutter is annoying.” But if you keep digging, you may realize that Mom wants to be organized because it makes her feel like a better, more loving mother to organize and store her kid’s artwork and special toys. And that’s the message that will convince people to buy from you.
It doesn’t matter what you sell, people buy based on emotion and justify it with logic. So figure out what’s going to pull on their heartstrings.
2. Show some personality – And your face
Too many small businesses think they need to look bigger to be taken seriously. That’s how you end up with website copy that’s written in the third person, still & formal, and riddled with industry jargon. Not to mention boring. And what do people do on boring websites? They hit the back button and go somewhere else.
If you are a small business, own it! For many people, being a small business is a very persuasive selling point. People like doing business with people they like. So don’t be afraid to show some personality on your website. Tell people the story of your business – not just what you do, but why you do it and what you love about it.
And please, I’m begging you, put some pictures on your About page! Whether they are headshots or a team photo, let potential customers see you. Seeing someone’s face helps build the know/like/trust factor. Imagine if you went into a store and all the employees had bags over their heads. It wouldn’t matter if they were selling exactly what you wanted, you wouldn’t trust them, right? So don’t hide your humanity on your website – show your smiling face so people can connect with you.
3. Interact – Be Easy to Reach
Everyone says they have great customer service, but it’s paramount for a small business to make good on that promise.
Make it easy for customers to reach you. Whether it’s by phone or email, make your contact info easy to find on your website. If people are filling out an email or form, tell them when they can expect to hear back from you before they hit send. And make sure it’s a quick turnaround – commit to responding within 1 business day.
If you have a social media presence, be sure to check it regularly so you can respond to messages quickly. Social media is a great place to interact with your customers, but don’t make it the only way to contact you. If the social media platform changes its rules or algorithms (which happens fairly often), your customers might not be able to get through to you.
Social media should point people back to your website, because that is where you want people to contact you.
Creating a great company website is simple, it’s not as easy as just tossing off a couple of paragraphs about what you’re selling, but anyone willing to put in a little work to know their customers will stand out from their competitors.
What about you? Is your website working as hard as it could to inspire new customers? What parts can be improved? What do you struggle with?
Kim writes websites, landing pages, and online sales pages to help her clients connect with their target audience, make more sales, and grow their businesses. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her traveling, hiking, baking something…. Or you won’t be able to find her at all because she’s holed up reading a book (she’s an introverted writer, after all). You can find her at www.kimbischoff.com or email at [email protected].
