My website is all about me, right? That’s why it’s my website. Wrong.
Define your USPs for your website:
What makes you so special that people will bother to even give you a second glance? Web visitors are not polite; they are brutal.
This is what some of my clients have told me when I’ve asked them what is unique about them.
- We’ve been trading for ten years
- I’ve been in the business for over 30 years
- We’ve been established since 1995
Why do they say this?
I think I know. Back in the day, when all business was bricks and mortar if you had a shop or office in a posh part of town and you had been there for some years, it meant you were successful. So, people assume nowadays that longevity in itself counts for more than it actually does.
You are measured by what you can do or have done, not by how long you have been doing it. It’s show don’t tell, even for copywriting.
I came across a designer’s website a few weeks ago. He’s just out of design school, but it knocks spots off some of his well-established competitors.
The web is wonderful – you don’t have to do your usual ten years of proving yourself – some people manage to prove themselves almost straight away. Because, back to my design guy – he can do what the visitor wants – design things well and that’s what interests his customers.
The great Jackie Barrie calls it the ‘so what? test.
Every time a client tells you
“I have a diploma in marketing” you can reply “So what?” OK, it’s a bit rude (and sometimes I rephrase it) but it makes the point. It’s amazing how clients don’t see this. They don’t see their business from their clients’ point of view.
Unless your marketing diploma, ten years in business, being passionate about your product or any of the other ‘USPs’ you come up with is of benefit to your customer, they don’t care. One bit.
So, what is my point this week?
See everything from your clients’ point of view.
My me, me, me moment
In 2012, I spent a miserable, cold week in a mouse-ridden bedsit in Brighton doing my NTCJ sub-editing course. When I passed, I wanted everyone to know and how I’d suffered for my art. But guess what, no one was interested. And all my editors cared about was “if your bum is on that seat, can you do the job?” No backstory please, just yes or no.