When you look at as many websites as we do here at H&C Inc. it is easy to identify many kinds of trends. There are, of course, those trends that work to drive leads and those that don’t.
One trend that is hugely popular and has become a staple in website content is the affinity to brag about oneself. This, however, is one of those trends that doesn’t work to gain business.
The argument to include this kind of content on a website is often to show a depth of success and a hard-earned reputation, the problem is boasts don’t solve a visitor's problems, they make the experience about the brand instead of the customer.
Website visitors don’t have a lot of time and quite simply, they are searching for a solution to their problem. If you’re wasting that time by leading your sales pitch with how many years you’ve been in service or how you’ve grown year over year since inception, then they are going to go elsewhere to find someone who is offering a solution.
If you have high bounce rates and low form submissions you might want to ask yourself: does my website tell visitors how my product or service is going to help them meet their needs?
Website content should be approached from a customer-centric position.
The customer’s position is most often that they need a solution to their problem. They could be looking for clothing that makes them feel confident or a patio set that won’t weather in the sun or a mechanic that has their best interest at heart. Customers have all sorts of problems they need solving, does your website and marketing copy provide solutions to those problems?
If not, we recommend working through an exercise where you identify the top two-three problems that your customers are facing (remember you could have multiple types of target customers based on your lines or business). Once you understand your target customers problems continue the exercise by answering how your product or service solves those problems.
Take your answers and massage your solutions into simple and clear statements. You should now have a copy base that communicates how the products or services you offer help customers succeed.
Copy should not only work to provide solutions for potential customers, but it should also be clear, simple, and easy to understand. If your copy causes confusion and leaves a website visitor with more questions you’re going to lose that visitor.
The brand with the simplest and clearest copy that includes the benefits that speak the most directly to a visitor will always get the lead. If it makes sense to the lead, they’ll inquire.