Is Your Web Site Talking to Your Customer?

A while ago one of my clients approached me and mentioned that they were experiencing a serious problem with customer registrations (obtaining customer names and e-mail addresses), on their web site. They still had a lot of traffic, but were finding that the ratio between traffic and registrations had been dropping steadily.

H'mm, click-thru conversion rate I immediately thought, being the clever fellow I am. Or..., maybe product description? Or..., benefits?

Now a little step back: The product this company sells is very popular, especially within the higher middle income bracket and above, in this country. The company decided to also start selling this product on-line a year ago and the web site immediately attracted considerable traffic from inception. The subscription rate was never really a problem as everyone wanted to know when new product ranges were to be released. The Marketing Director was also always very careful to follow the basic rules of internet marketing.

So what had gone wrong ?

Back to the present: I decided to have a quick look at the web site before meeting with the Marketing Director. O, dear: Horror upon horror. The company had gone and changed the copy on the site.

I must say that I was very impressed with the great graphics and graphic functionality on the web site. One could do incredible displays with the product. And the technical descriptions of the product - something to die for! For the first time I now knew precisely what materials were used in the manufacturing process, how long items spent in various stages and that some material originated from space research. Wow, to die for!!!

So what?

Where were the benefits? What was in it for me as a customer?

Worse was still to come:

This web site was boring the heck out of me as a customer!

This web site was talking down to me!

Woe is me! I felt terrible - like an idiot, after working my way through the site (this talking down business really made me feel stupid), but manfully prepared for my meeting with the Marketing Director and sallied forth with my trusted colleagues called What, Who When, Where, How and my trusted right hand Why.

During the meeting it transpired that due to a number of technical queries the company received via the web site, they decided to revamp the site. The new site was to be more technically orientated to cater for the technical customers.

Aha, my trusted colleagues said. And what percentage of your internet customer base is technically orientated. And what are you actually wanting to sell - and to whom - and what do they want. Turned out that the company did not actually know what percentage of their customers wanted technical information. It was not a huge amount of people though. Turned out the company had not done any market research to determine this change. Turned out that someone had had a bright idea and changes were made without any research. Turned out the company tried to tell customers what the customers should want and need. Turned out the company ignored their customer.

H'mm - what did the company and I learn from this... again.

Sell the benefits of the product to the customer. A customer lands on a site - the customer has certain needs, be it hidden or overt. You need to satisfy those needs. This first question a customer asks is: What is in it for me ! Does this satisfy my need(s). What benefits are there for me ?

What my client did was to show the customers how clever the persons in the company is. It is the worst one can do. It talks down to the customer - look how clever I am !!! Let's talk about me, me, me and when you get tired of me, we'll talk about myself and I. What about the customer ? Rather talk about the customer - how this would meet his or her needs. How this product would reward all the hard work, be a status symbol to show off, how this product would save time.

Something else: This web site was downright boring. It did not talk to a person - in fact it was dead. It did not draw attention. Oh, attention - let me go down that track for a second. You want attention - you want a web site that talks to the customer. Ha - that means one has to constantly update content(copy) on a site. That is work that costs money.

Well, well, well, my colleagues say. Are you aware that the typical web customer reads/surfs about 20 to 30 sites per day. Are you aware that when a person is looking for something, they scan through a site. Are you aware that if you do not catch their attention with an attention grabbing headline you are going to lose them. Are you aware that you have between 10 and 20 seconds to grab their attention.

Your site must talk to your customer. Your site must grab the attention of the customer and you have between 10 and 20 seconds to do that. And what about keeping the customer coming back. That is a topic for another time, I think.

Back to my client: We compromised on a site that follows the principals I stated above, but also have a Technical area for those that wanted it. We built the site again with new copy.

Copy that addressed the needs and wants of customers.

Copy that was written from a customer's perspective.

Copy that sold benefits.

Copy that connected to customers as friends.

Copy that emphasized the "you" word and minimised the I/me words.

Copy that talked, connected and made the site talk.

And my client:

They are happy - their web site talks to their customers.

And the conversion rate:

Not going to tell you what it is, but it is high again and higher than before - for the moment, my client loves me.

And what is in this for you, dear reader:

Just one thing: "Make your web site talk to your customer"

Leon Williams runs eBusWiz and is "Actively living his dream". More articles can be found at: http://www.ebuswiz/blog

More information at: http://www.ebuswiz.com

and articles at: http://www.ebuswiz.com/articles

---

5 Tips To Supercharge Your Website Sales Copy

The art of turning website visitors into paying customers depends... Read More

Website Survival Guide

In the big, wide online world there are millions of... Read More

PIM Team Case Study: Creating Text Effects With PHP and GD

See how you can create graphic effects on text with... Read More

Make Your Web Site User-Friendly!

Making a web site is easy. Making a good web... Read More

Server Stats ? Analyzing Traffic To Your Site

Analyzing traffic to a site is a key factor in... Read More

Streamline your Business Website with a Content Management System

I talk with so many people who have small businesses... Read More

Now You Have a Web Site - Have You Ever Heard of Accessibility?

An accessible Web site is easily approached, easily understood, and... Read More

Maintaining Your Business Website

QUESTION: Should I build and maintain my business Web... Read More

Art, Artists and the Web: Part 3--What to Put on an Artist?s Website

What to put your the website if you are an... Read More

Free Webmaster Tools - 7 Things Every Webmaster Needs in Their Toolbox

Webmaster tools are vital to becoming both efficient and effective... Read More

Business Website Building Do?s and Don?ts

First, using a lot of web graphics, flash, banners and... Read More

Website Success is Key

The popular search engine Google indexes over 8 billion websites.... Read More

Flash Deadly Sins (That Can Kill Your Web Business)

Looks like every client wants a Flash site these days... Read More

Do Dancers Need A Website?

Dance is how you pamper your soul and satiate your... Read More

How One Word Or Even One Letter Can Boost Conversion Rates By Over 400%!

Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data... Read More

What is Blogger.com?

In the late 1990's three San Francisco based web developers... Read More

Benefits Of An Accessible Website: Part 2 - The Business Case

The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must... Read More

Beyond Web Usability: Web Credibility

If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past... Read More

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & Web Accessibility

There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced... Read More

7 Profit Producing Reasons Why Every Successful Service Professional Needs A Web Presence

Your business website is a critical aspect of being able... Read More

Art, Artists and the Web: Part 4--What to Do After a Website is Designed

What to do if you are an artist after you... Read More

Tips for Building a Great Business Website

A website is lifeline of internet home business. In order... Read More

Website Sales: 10 Reasons Why People Dont Buy From You

You've put up a website to promote a product or... Read More

12 Essential Tips to a Professional Business Website

1. Choose a big enough font size. A size 12... Read More

Website Value - Whats Your Business Website Worth?

If you were asked to put a value on your... Read More

Let Your Customers Redesign Your Website!

When you purchase a new item from a Yahoo! Store,... Read More

Web Accessibility: The Basics

What is web accessibility & why is it important?Web accessibility... Read More

PHP Redirect

A PHP Redirect automatically transfers a web user from one... Read More

Unlocking the Power of Your Website!

Why do some web sites reap huge benefits while others... Read More

Trust Us! Sending Credible Messages

A company must earn and keep trust or sales don't... Read More

7 Tips to Make Your Order Page Work Harder

So your prospect, Mary, is sitting at the computer reading... Read More

Your Website Should Be Selling

It may come as some surprise to a traditionally off-line... Read More

How Disabled Users Access The Internet

In 1995 a new era of accessibility for disabled people... Read More