The Secret to Communicating Your Business Effectively

Blind Spots

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Avoid these common website mistakes that keeps your website from communicating effectively.

Too many people have the "reading the label from inside the bottle" mentality when they think about their business. A great article by Todd Follansbee still holds true for all businesses online.

Here are some common mistakes that businesses make about their website:

  1. The user knows something about what your business is.
  2. The user is willing to "work" and dig a little to find out about your business.
  3. The user realizes that your business is special or unique.
  4. The users wants to do business with you.
  5. The user is interested in your business.
  6. The user came as a result of a recommendation or sought you out specifically.
  7. The user knows what you want visitors to do or "get" from your site.
  8. The user understands the unique terminology and nature of your business.

In reality, your business needs your site to:

  1. Explain why your business is special right from the start.
  2. State simply what business you are in -- at first glance, from five feet away!
  3. Provide all the information a user would need to do business with you and, in case need more, offer an extremely simple way to get in touch with someone at your business identified with a name and a picture.
  4. Provide an easy way users can refer the site to a friend, not by just a URL but by directing visitors to a special page (or home page) that explains your business and unique value proposition, that is, what makes your business special. You don't want to unintentionally direct someone to a page within the site which fails to present your business at its best (such as a sign-up page).
  5. Give users a reason to act now.
  6. Eliminate all anxieties by clearly reassuring users that you won't misuse any personal information, that you offer secure transactions, and are trustworthy.
  7. Make sure, by testing new users, that your site works properly, is laid out sensibly, and delivers information in an intelligent way that leads to a lead or a sale.

Only by assuming that your users know nothing about your site will you convert the most visitors. The best part is that people who come to your site already motivated and with some awareness about you, will also find the site easy to navigate and respect your business sense even more.






Blind Spots

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