Just because you are a master of getting people on your site doesn’t mean they will want to buy from you or hire you. Customers (either B2C or B2B) want (and expect) more than just a “sales pitch” and One-way conversation of you telling them how great you are.
Attract More of the RIGHT Customers and You'll Get Better Results
Why not focus on attracting fewer visitors…but attracting the right visitors to your site...the ones you truly care about, can speak directly to with your solutions, and you can honestly help improve their lives. Picture yourself at a business gathering where there are all kinds of businesses represented, different position levels, and different sizes. If you are really focused on one certain type of business and your value proposition speaks to a certain level in in the company, you would want to seek out these people. If you tell anyone else about how awesome you are they don't really listen because they really don't care...this isn't "relevant" to them. So you just wasted your time…or the sales pitch on your website.
But when you find the right level person in the right business and have a clearly differentiated and unique value proposition, your message is heard...and they most likely want to know more. So you can engage them in a “Two-way” conversation and "pull" them along through all the different areas because they actually do care and see why this is very "helpful" to them. Now you are in sync with your “right and desired” audience...they are listening because it is something they care about.
Your website and blog (video, audio, or written) should do the same thing. These sites should be so specific that it literally speaks to the right person in the right business with the issues you can address better than anyone else. And it should show them how you can help them as it "pulls" them through your site. If they don't go deeper in the site and they don't stick around for a while, your site isn't connecting to them. And if they are the right people you want to attract, you need to change the messaging on your site so that it supports this strategy of “helping” not “selling.”
Customer Obsessed Companies Understand their Customers at a Much Deeper Level
This is being Customer Obsessed...understanding your customer in such a deep way that you can literally speak to them in a way that they want, need, and understand. And if you aren't offering a variety of ways to "help" them along this "discovery journey" on your site, they will leave because they think all you want to do is "sell" them, not "help" them. Selling and helping are not the same. Everyone on the planet can figure out what you do if it is on your website…there is no magic in this today. They don't need help with this any longer. What they do need is to see how you can "help" them with their needs, solve their problems, understand their situation, and make their life (or business) better.
How well does your site(s) do this today?
Most I visit do a terrible job at this…they are all about selling and trying to get me to buy as soon as possible. They are all “asking” before they have “helped” me do anything. This is out of order…you need to “help first” and “sell after” they have seen how much you can help them. This is the right order in today’s Customer Driven Economy. Or as I affectionately put it, if you are "pimping" before they even know you can “help them” they will leave in the first 7 seconds (which is the average time they spend on your home page). But if they see right away you can help them, they will give you more “clicks” and more “time on site” than your competitors. If they did spend more time, how would that help you as a business?
The Opportunity...
This is where the opportunity lies for those leaders who want to be truly differentiated and build relationships with their audience and customers…they have made the move to becoming Customer Obsessed! These are the sites of Customer Obsessed companies…they are just different.
Take the time to do an honest assessment of your web presence. It is worth the investment to truly understand where you are today. Don’t believe your own internal hype from all your employees telling you how great they think your sites are…ask your customers. Better yet, get someone not a part of your company to ask your customers. I always get different answers when I interview customers for clients than they get when they talk to them about how they feel. Get the real story so you know how you stack up in these areas.
Invest the time to better understand why your customers don’t see (or do see) your sites as different, helpful, and memorable. Learn why they don’t think (or do think) you are helping them improve their lives or their businesses. I can guarantee you it will open your eyes to what you have either chosen to ignore or weren’t aware of with your web presence.
Once you understand, then, and only then, can you begin to put together a strategy to change your sites and start to take advantage of the opportunity that exists in everyone’s marketplace, in every industry. The opportunities are boundless today…but only those who have the foresight and vision will take advantage of them. Are you one of them?
What to do Next?
If you ever have any questions about this or any other aspect of what it’s like to be Customer Obsessed, just ask and I’ll be happy to answer them. Or if you want to understand it in more detail and how you could move your company to becoming more Customer Obsessed, I’d be happy to meet with you (complimentary of course) to discuss it further for your own particular situation. And if you found this helpful and thinking of someone you know who could benefit from this post, please help them out as well and share this with them.
I hope you decide to take advantage of the massive opportunity that awaits you and become Customer Obsessed so you can be known as a company that is memorable, remarkable, incredibly helpful, delivers and unbelievable customer experience, and who keeps their promises 100% of the time. That would be awesome!!
