Is Your Web Site Too Internally Focused?

Article: Is Your Web Site Too Internally Focused?
By Julie Friedman Bacchini

The single most important word in marketing is “you.” Marketing is all about telling your customer:

You are important.
You have needs.
This product will help you meet your needs.
This product will give you the benefits you want.

It’s all about “you.”

Unfortunately, too many web sites are all about “we,” the company:

We are the best.
We have these products and services.
We think that you’ll like this stuff.
We think you should buy from us.

And the customer, the “you” you have ignored, yawns and asks, “What’s in it for me?” Then clicks to another site. One that is focused on “you,” and not on “we.”

So how can you tell if your site is “we”-focused instead of “you”-focused?

First, get an opinion from an objective person (preferably from several people) outside your company. The very fact that it is your company means that you have a certain amount of myopia. You can’t help it. You see things through the lens of what you know – through your years of experience with the people, products, and profits of your business. You need to get an outsider’s perspective to tell you whether your site tells the story your customers will think is important … or whether it is only telling the story you think is important.
Second, review your site for jargon and wordiness. An aspect of internal myopia is that we speak a private language our customers don’t understand, and we give them information they don’t care about. You need to determine who your customers are, how they speak, and what they want … and then craft your site according to those guidelines.
Third, study your competition’s web sites. How are they phrasing things? How are their sites set up? What kind of graphics are they using? What kind of interaction are they encouraging? What type of atmosphere or online culture are they creating? What are they saying about their business, products, and services? What aren’t they saying? And finally – how does your site compare to theirs?
Fourth, be ruthless. How much of your web site was set up to meet the arbitrary demands or egos of some of your power players? What pages or paragraphs exist because “Well, I didn’t think it made sense, but he/she insisted that we include it…” Did you bow to the often fatal “decision by committee” and end up losing sight of your customer in the process? Did you take the “let’s throw in everything including the kitchen sink” approach?

Remember: everyone’s favorite radio station is “WIIFM” – “What’s in it for me?” You will not be successful if your site is internally focused: you must be customer-focused. Your customers have to recognize themselves in your site. They have to see their needs and pain clearly. They need to understand immediately the benefits your products or services offer. You must make their course of action obvious and easy.

If you don’t engage them immediately, the can always find an attractive alternative … one click away.

You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links and copyright information. This article is not to be sold or included with anything that is sold.

About the Author:

Julie Friedman Bacchini is President of Neptune Moon Design (www.NeptuneMoon.com), a full-service agency providing businesses and non-profit organizations with custom web designs, web site marketing plans, and strategic search engine optimization (SEO), all designed to build brand recognition, increase site traffic, and generate leads, clients, and revenue. Be sure to visit NeptuneMoon.com to read additional articles that will help you reach your business goals!