Have you ever wondered why your website doesn’t bring in much business? Do you find it hard to figure out what to say and get bogged down in the process of creating content for your site, and put it in the too hard basket?
If so the chances are you’re making some, if not all of these common mistakes.
It’s great to be proud of what you have created and what you do. It’s also great to be confident you are the best at what you do and can help your customers more than your competitors.
Just don’t forget about your customers. Many small business sites end up being a shrine to the business and/or the business owner with self serving content that frankly people don’t care about.
Your customers don’t want to see pictures of the front of your office building, or your latest truck/lawn mower or other piece of equipment.
Nor do they really care that you make the best widgets in the world, as everyone says they are the best, right?
They want to know that you understand their problem and can help them solve it.
Your customers want to be able to see their success, not yours. You’re just there to help them achieve it.
Have you ever looked at a business website and wondered “what exactly do these people do”?
Have a look at your own website, is it clear EXACTLY what you do before the visitor starts scrolling? If not, you need to fix it.
People don’t like to read too much these days, they see it as work. So you need to be succinct with your messaging and make it crystal clear exactly how you understand your customers problems and how you can help them overcome that problem.
How often have you seen something like this :
At XYZ company, we are the premier supplier of widgets in <insert region here>.. Through our strategic partnerships and industry alliances, we pride ourselves on outstanding customer service.
What does something like that even mean? If you are proud of your customer service, let your customers speak to that and display some testimonials.
Also avoid terms and phrases that don’t mean anything. Things like ‘helping you live a fulfilling life’ is absolute twaddle and means nothing in isolation. Leave that stuff to the big brands that can afford to spend the big bucks to hammer that kind of message home and stick to simple, clear messaging.
Remember if you confuse your customers you lose your customers.
Imagine walking into a store with no cash register or counter. It would feel weird right?
The same goes for your website. You need to tell people how to buy your product or service.
Whether you want your visitors to “Sign up now”, “contact us”, “call us” or “buy now” these should all be displayed as big prominent buttons throughout the site telling your customers that in no uncertain terms, you are open for business and this is what they need to do to do business with you.
Provide your customers with a clear path on what steps to take to do business with you.