Does your website appeal to your target audience?
Every organization has a website, and everyone hopes to convey what they’re all about. Yet, does your website accurately tell your story?
Time and time again, I’ve worked for companies with sites that seem to blather on about how wonderful they are. And many organizations are guilty of this. Their sites aren’t conveying the messages that need to be delivered. Often, “look at how wonderful we are!” is the communication, when it should be “here’s how we can help you and why you should work with us.”
There’s a big difference in those two messages.
- What does your website say about your organization?
- Would a potential customer understand why they should partner with you?
Knowing your Points of Differentiation (POD)
The first step to making your website work for you (and your collateral materials, too!) is to truly understand what products and services you provide – from the customers’ perspective. Gather your colleagues from Marketing, Sales, Operations, Customer Service, and other key departments together and address the following from these perspectives.
Your Customers:
- How do our products/services benefit our customers?
- How would our accounts describe our offerings?
- What do our customers like most about us?
- Would our biggest accounts consider us a partner or a vendor? Why? And what do we need to do to solidify a partner relationship with our customers?
- List the top complaints that your Sales and Customer Service teams hear.
- Why have some accounts left us?
- How can we better service our customers?
- Who do we want to target in the future?
Consider interviewing some of your key accounts. It’s as easy as taking a few of them out for lunch and having an in-depth conversation.
Remember to listen - let them do the talking. They’ll appreciate that you’re interested in hearing their opinions on your organization, the marketplace, their business needs, and the future, and you’ll glean valuable insight … maybe a future testimonial, too.
The Competition
- Who is our competition?
- What are they doing differently from our organization – better, similar, and worse?
- What are our PODs?
The Macro Perspective 
- What market factors are impacting us now and what will in the near future?
- Where is the opportunity for growth?
- What are our weaknesses, and how can we best address them?
- What do we need to adjust in our portfolio to align with these market forces?
The Future
- Where do we want to be in 1 year and in 5 years?
- And how do we get there?
Update Your Messaging
Now, that you’ve gathered the intel, it’s time to synthesize all of those data points and compare that to what you’ve got on your site. Chances are your messaging doesn’t accurately convey:
- Your organization and offerings
- How a customer benefits from working/collaborating with you
After you’ve got the messaging figured out, you’ve got to partner with marketers, copywriters, and/or web developers (internal or external) to succinctly relay that info with text and images – including short videos.
Be sure to circle back to some of those key customers for testimonials to add to your website and materials – and a video testimonial is just golden! Keep in mind, if they consider your organization as a partner (versus a vendor), they are your ideal ambassadors.
Business Strategy
You’re now on your way to outlining your business strategy. Gather those colleagues and ask each member to express their opinion on how each area can help your organization build out its roadmap.
This isn't just up to the marketing department - everyone is responsible for promoting the company ... even if it's just answering calls with a smile 😄
Get Everyone Talking
Once the website is updated, be sure to review all assets for messaging consistency – don’t be surprised if updates are needed. Brand consistency is the key to success, and this article reinforces why that’s the case.
Then, get that info out there in venues that best reach your targets – social media, sales presentations, collateral materials, trade shows booths and materials (if applicable), and publications … all of which will connect them to your website.
Need Help?
While this approach is not rocket science, it’s often like herding cats. Getting your team together and ensuring 100% participation isn’t as easy as it sounds. The goal is to have everyone express their opinions, and you’ll be surprised to hear how your colleagues view your organization.
Outsourcing this process is often the quickest way to collect the info and craft your roadmap/ business strategy … it's often the most cost-effective way to do so, too. How so? Consider the opportunity costs. The faster you can get your messaging in place and your team in synch, then the quicker your organization will be on its way to achieving its goals.
Summary
The big takeaway from this blog is to have a business strategy set and have a very good idea of what needs to be communicated before you start updating your website. This will take dedicated effort from your key players within your organization, as well as insight from your customers. Consider bringing outside experts to help you get your business on the right path quickly.
Comments
Post a Comment