We’ll be bold and state that every business needs a website. But how can you be sure that your website actually serves as a valuable tool for getting more leads and conversions?
The most prominent error we see in most companies' websites, and yes, we were also guilty of this in the beginning, is that they speak of themselves. They see their website as a sort of gallery where they display their work, speak about how great their products are and hope that people will be enticed into buying what they offer.
What we most wish for companies to understand, and we’re very (not really) sorry to break it to you, is that you are not the hero of your story. The story should not be about you. The next question is, if you’re not the main hero of your own business, then who is? Your customer is the hero. You must serve as the guide who will help the hero solve their problem and win the day.
We are all very much focused on ourselves about 99% of the day. Even if you think you’re doing something good for someone else, chances are, you’re doing it because it gives you a sense of fulfillment which still makes it about you. So when you can tweak your business’s message and make the customer see that you can solve their problems, they are more likely to actually be interested in what you have to give and start listening.
A your website is often the first or second touchpoint a potential customer has with your brand. It’s said that it takes roughly 7-10 touch points before a customer will commit to buying your product, but if at the second touchpoint, on your website, they do not feel that you offer a solution, then that’s another customer that will choose your competition over you.
If, however, your website takes the viewer on a journey through a well-devised sales funnel, then you might have a chance to “take them out on another date” and start building a relationship by having the permission to send some valuable information to their inbox. So let’s take a quick look at a few things you can tweak on your website that will turn things around and start showing you results.
1. Whatever you wrote, delete half of it
We’re so eager to demonstrate our passion and expertise by telling everyone about what we do and what we’ve done that sometimes we can come off as a bit overwhelming. It’s as if we think that we only have one shot to make an impression and if we don’t cram as many words onto the page, telling our whole life story in the first meeting, then we will lose.
The opposite is true. It’s as if you were to go on a date and the other person starts telling you everything about their childhood, their past relationships, what their daily habits are, what they want in the future, and you haven’t even ordered drinks yet. Chill out! If you’re cool, there will be a second and third date, another opportunity. You definitely do not want to come off as desperate, but rather inviting, informative, and caring.
As soon as a viewer comes to your website, they should be able to determine 3 things within the first 10 seconds:
What does your company do?
How will your company solve their problem?
How can they buy what you’re selling?
Someone who is seeing your website for the first time or has never heard of you will not care nearly as much as you do about what you have to say. Revise the text you have on your website and try to make it about solving the customer’s problem. When you use words like I, me, my, us, we, our, you’re usually not telling your customer things that will benefit them, so they won’t care. Replace as many of those words as possible with second person pronouns you, your, and yours.
Make sure the first glance that a viewer has of your website doesn’t make them think, “I don’t have time to read all of this text” and instead is, “This looks easy and interesting.” Use short phrases and experiment with very different size fonts to highlight key elements.
As a viewer scrolls through the website, they should get more information and at the end be invited to exchange their email for more information (a second date) if they are interested. If the first impression of your cluttered website is a turn off, smothering them with more words will be useless.
2. Actually Call People To Action – It shouldn’t be a treasure hunt
If your company’s communication and marketing includes all of the elements of storytelling, and you have clearly demonstrated how your products can benefit their lives on your website, then it is normal that the buyer will be drawn to take action.
Being drawn to action is not enough though. A good call to action clearly lays out the precise steps you want your customers to take.
You can’t be a business and be shy about selling your products. The sleazy salesperson stereotype is only valid if you’re actively trying to rip people off.
Being unclear in your CTA projects to the buyer that you, yourself, aren’t truly convinced that your products and services can solve their problems and change their lives.
If, however, you are certain that you’re adding value to people’s lives, then you can reach what Blair Enns calls the “Double Thank You Moment”: a place where the client says thank you to your company for providing the solution to their problem, and you say thank you to your customer for trusting and investing in your company.
When both parties are equally satisfied, the business transaction has been done correctly and no one feels resentment.
Your Call To Action buttons should be highly visible throughout your website. By repeating it from the top right of the page various times until the bottom, you’re letting the customer know two things:
You're interested in establishing a business relationship
You’d like to solve their problem by selling them something they need
Make it easy for your prospects to take the next step without needing to scroll up or down and you’ll start seeing more conversions.
3. The HVCO – Who doesn’t love free stuff?
The last component that will help you generate more leads is called a High-Value Content Offer (HVCO). It’s exactly what it sounds like. An offering, aka free, of content, like a .pdf or e-book, that offers something of value.
The trick here is to know your audience and know what could be useful to them so they are happy to leave you their email address in exchange for your free HVCO download. If you don’t give them a reason to give you their email, they won’t.
Do some research to find out what you think your potential customers could be interested in reading about and write an article on it. If you prefer, it can also be a short film, a recipe, anything that can be valuable and relevant for your target audience.
Don’t overthink this. The faster you put something out there, the faster you can know whether it’s valuable to others or not. You can always experiment with various mediums and topics until you find one that yields the best results for you.
Your HVCO should be placed at the bottom of your website so it’s crucial that everything that comes before be as polished and scrollable as possible. That way, as your interested prospect is scrolling down and becoming more interested, you’ll delight them with this lovely free piece of content. Winner!
One note of caution: An HVCO is not a piece of content that tries to sell your products or services. If you do that, then your potential customer will feel that you have tricked them into giving you their email and they’ll unsubscribe as soon as they see anything else you send them.
You must honor their inbox. This is purely about giving someone valuable information about a topic they are interested in to start the relationship, build trust, and place yourself as the potential guide that can solve their problem.
While these are 3 quick elements that, if correctly applied, can help you get more leads, there are also many other aspects of a website that are crucial for a company’s success. The tried and tested StoryBrand process that we use will help you clarify your communication. If you’re curious to see how we can help you avoid the common pitfalls, steer clear of the costly mistakes and make sure your website is actually a tool for conversion, just schedule a free call with us. We’d love to get to know what your specific needs are and see if we can be of benefit to you. Why risk website failure when you can use our expertise and proven systems to increase your leads?