It’s human nature to feel cautious when we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory. When we feel a sense of unease. You’re sure the hotel receptionist told you 2-1-6. But, still you check the welcome card before you swipe the key entry of the room door. Sometimes we just need a little reassurance that where we are, or what we are doing, is the right thing. Then, and only then, can we sit back and relax.
The train on platform 2….
It’s rare that I’m the first to take my seat in the train carriage. For some reason, on this occasion, it made me the assumed authority. I answered a dozen other passengers concerns as they entered the carriage. ‘Was this the train to Manchester?’ ‘Is this the 7:00pm?’ ‘Does this train stop at…’ I was just another passenger, but to them, there was an assumption that I clearly knew I was in the right place…
As consumers…
It’s a feeling you’ll recognise when you find yourself drawn into a website from a quick Google search. You’re confident that the search listing matched what you were looking for. You click. You then find yourself in the middle of a list of products, or a blog article that ‘resembles’ what you were actually looking for. You still need reassurance.
As marketers…
When we create the content for our websites, or decide upon the products we want to push, there’s a tendency to forget that our visitors don’t know what we know. They don’t necessarily have the experience that you do within your field of expertise. Sometimes they simply need a welcoming face, a simple welcoming message, that informs them that they’re on the right path to where they want to go.
Beyond the tagline
That path isn’t always the ‘buyers journey’ or the decision making process. A secondary journey begins when they first land upon your website. The sat nav is off and they’re looking to you to guide their journey through your website. If they ever feel like they’ve taken a wrong turn, you’ve lost them and they’re straight back on the main road. You need to spell out exactly who you are and assure them they’re in safe hands. An introductory sign, a link to a page that delivers more detail about your business and your offering.
There’s one key question being asked, answer it
Provide an answer to the simple question of ‘Hey, is this where I’m supposed to be?’ Always answer that one simple question and make sure your visitors can access it no matter which page of your website they land upon. Your existing ‘About Us’ page may not provide the answer that a large percentage of your site visitors are looking for.
Sometimes you just need to get back to the very basics of what you do, what you offer. What you specialise in and what that outcome means to me, your consumer. As we attempt to differentiate our businesses we sometimes talk in a language that we believe distinguishes our own authority. This may be at the detriment of those who aren’t yet au fait with industry-speak:
- If your design agency produce great work with HTML5, don’t forget you’re in the business of creating websites.
- If you’re focusing on a new software release that allows your clients to upload their monthly sales receipts, don’t forget you’re still an accounting firm to most.
- If your customers are seeing great results riding your new 4-fin 6′ 2″ board, don’t forget you’re still in the business of crafting custom surfboards.
What I’m asking for, is somewhere within easy reach and within your primary site navigation, a page, and that’s all it needs to be, that explains who you are. An introduction to your business… no window dressing, just a welcome and a smile. It may just stop me heading for the exit and on to my next destination, your competitor.
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