Website content is a dodgy subject – what one person likes, another will detest. But there is a bigger tragedy acting out centre stage when it comes to your website content and that is the stuff that is b-a-d.
There is one huge problem with bad content – it is losing you money.
The Psychology of the Shopper
Like a title from an educational series, we need to look at the psychology of the shopper but, before you navigate away and find an entertainment website to catch up on celebrity gossip, just stick here for a while… there is a whole load of stuff written about how and why shoppers make the decisions that they do.
For example, slightly Americanised but this is a great infographic that shows how shoppers make their judgements and decisions based on offers and information they are given https://www.mycustomer.com/news/psychology-e-commerce-shopper
But we are not going to delve too deep in this article but suffice to say, as shoppers, our decisions are based on emotions.
And, buying online is no different than buying in a shop, supermarket etc. Opting to borrow money to buy a new, reliable family car is an emotional decision; looking to get the best deal on flights for your holiday is an emotional decision; deciding not to trust a website because it is littered with spelling mistakes and looks ‘cheap n’ tacky’ is an emotional decision.
Content must fit your company or business; if you are a hip and trendy local cleaning company, your colours and tone of content should reflect this. If you are a local accountancy firm specialising in tax affairs of the rich and famous, then your content needs to reflect this.
Shoddy content with bouncing 1980s clipart graphics is a sure fire of not only pointing potential customer to the exit, but opening the door for them as well. It is losing you money.
If you haven’t reviewed your content in a while, do it now. If you website is not generating leads, take a look at your content and do it now. Why not engage the services of a mystery online shopper and see what they think of the whole buying experience?
Content travesty is causing financial loss for you and your business.
How to add much-needed sparkle and authority…
Hint no. 1: what you do and what you sell
A local butcher on the high street, with an online e-commerce website. Which do you prefer from the examples below?
We make a range of sausages and home-made burgers, freezer ready and with offers on various packages all of the time, you are sure to find a bargain!
Not bad… but try this:
With a growing range of sausages and burger, all made from the finest local ingredients, you can be sure of great products at great prices;
- Freezer ready packs – just choose the pack that suits you, pick up and freeze
- OR, we can deliver at a time that suits YOU
- Place a regular monthly order and receive 10% off
- Join our ‘savings club’ for those extra special entertaining events
- Organic produce and GSM-free too!
There’s a bit more pizzazz to the second one, displaying a passion for local ingredients that come from responsibly farmed sources. And they are highlighting that shopping with them is just as convenient as shopping at a local major supermarket. As a landing page, this is not too bad.
The moral of this hint: tell the consumer HOW you are different from competitors, without being negative. Remember the unique selling point (USP) that businesses need to create?
Hint no. 2: who you are and not just what you are about
Many companies have websites with an ‘about us’ page and I’m the first to admit, I enjoy a good snoop so always take some time to have a gander at this info. Depending on the value of the purchase in terms of both emotions and price, expectations vary.
A local butcher, similar to the one in the above example, may want to tell people that…
- They are a family run firm and when they were established
- They hold a variety of qualifications and experience
- they have supplied meat and products for some fairly hefty clients and events (adding a bit of kudos…)
- Awards they have won for certain products
- Local farms or suppliers they use
A little bit of history is no bad thing but if a consumer is investing in a larger product, such as needing independent financial advice, they may want to know a little more about qualifications, award and experience and why they are the firm to trust, rather than the last place the receptionist went on holiday (OK, we are being a bit flippant here but we have all read those ‘about us’ pages that map out a person’s life from the cradle to retirement, and all the bits in between).
The moral of this hint is thus – why customers should choose you, over and above everybody else. Appeal to the emotional aspect of the decision. We all like to know that a firm can be trusted…
Hint no 3: And finally, saving the best till last, is your content boring or thought-provoking?
But, when we say thought-provoking, we do not mean stoking the fires of controversy unless you are prepared to field the negativity that will come your way. It may get you noticed, but is this the right impression you really want to create?
Grab attention with great headlines (this is a great piece about headlines and social media but the lesson is there for website content too – great headlines work! https://blog.bufferapp.com/shareable-content-social-media-research)
The content of your website should provoke your reader (that is, potential customer) think about what it is they need, and how you can solve this need ‘issue’.
You want to feed your kids happy, healthy meat, without nasty bits and cereal ‘padding’ – shopping at your local butcher is the answer AND, you are supporting the local economy too; double whammy and the job is done. And, you don’t want to scrabble to the supermarket and buy your meat in vacuumed, plastic packaging – your local butcher can deliver it!
The moral of this hint – the content has identified the issues, layered it on to the consumer’s life and then presented the solutions. Fabulous!
Is your website content a tragedy?
If it is, you need to spend some time and energy creating better content that attracts visitors, maintains their attention and either generates leads or sales for you BUT, in your quest to tidy up your content and create super-duper info, please do not fall into another tragic trap – sell, sell, sell! That is off-putting too.
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