What's The Point Of Your Website? Why Your Business Should Know The Answer.
You Need Clarity on the Purpose of your Website
Most small business owners would agree that a website is a marketing staple.
You might use other media on and offline, but in today’s world, if your operation doesn’t have a website it might as well not exist. For many of your potential customers, at least.
But if your website is ill-conceived it might be better if it didn’t exist, because first impressions count.
It has been shown that people make their minds up about a new person within 1/10 of a second. This may also be true for your website.
When a visitor arrives on your homepage he is searching for a solution to a problem and if you don’t make that clear within 10 seconds he will bail.
Professional design is important, but only the right words will lure potential customers or clients and hook their attention.
The words are the vehicle for your message. When that message enters their brain via their eyeballs it should set in motion the irresistible urge to read on.
They want to know
If you solve their problem
How you do it
What they have to do
To that end, you need to know the answers to those questions and make it clear through compelling copywriting.
Now what does this have to do with your purpose, you may ask?
Well, it has everything to do with it. Whatever your purpose, whether to generate leads for a service business or sell a product on an e-commerce site, your success always hinges on attracting your ideal audience.
And they will only flock to you if you meet their needs.
You do this by
showing visitors how they benefit from your business
educating with useful and interesting information
delighting through copy that entertains while it informs
offering the promise of a desired transformation
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You need to decide what experience you want them to have when they visit so it’s time to get strategic and focus on what you want your website to achieve.
Keep your goals in mind when planning your website.
What do you want your website to do?
To inform?
To educate?
To promote your service and the industry?
To generate leads?
To showcase samples of your work?
To sell your product or service?
Maybe it’s a combination of the above.
While there is no doubt that these different elements will support each other, it is best to get specific if you want to be effective. So focus on the one that is most relevant to your goals.
And while we are talking about specificity, bear in mind the following points:
Three fundamental strategic options when planning the purpose of your website:
1. To sell products and services – if you have an e-commerce site.
2. To generate leads – for attracting the right prospects to convert to warm leads.
3. To establish credentials – good for local businesses who benefit from word of mouth.
In addition, consider:
1. The nature of your business – how customers find you. Through Google search, for example.
2. Geographic scope – Local businesses might fare well with a credential establishing site, but if you want to broaden your net you will require a website to generate leads.
3. Supporting business structure – There’s no use selling products through your website if the sales team can’t deliver.
This topic deserves more attention than the scope of this post, but I hope you are now well on board with the principle that in order to have a successful website you need to focus on the relationship between:
Your customers goals
Your goals
Be clear on what you want your website to achieve and this will inform your copy writing.