Your website sucks. It’s okay to admit it, but I am not sorry that I had to be the one to tell you. It’s 2018, you’re a savvy business person, but you still don’t get any business online. Herein lies the problem, your website sucks. You may spend a lot of time developing good content for social media, sending out email blasts and etc.. but when the user lands back on your website, it doesn’t garner their attention. Your audience is lost. Why is that? Yep, you guessed it, your website sucks.
I am Ben Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer at BamBams, and a 14 year digital marketing and lead generation veteran who’s worked on campaigns for companies like Brooks Brothers, Hilton, The Ad Council, Volkswagen, Marvel, American Express, among many others. Does that qualify me to say your website sucks? I don’t know. I am just a bit ornery and very passionate about online lead generation. So you could say I am here to help.
In my inaugural article on PromoCorner, I am going to cover the first 2 reasons why you’re not getting any leads from your website, or if you are, why they’re not qualified. Why have a website if it’s not converting your traffic into paying clients? In part two, we’ll get into some of the technical details.
Your website is all about you.
I am not saying your website has your life story on the homepage or a dozen pictures of you and your dog. I am saying you probably follow the standard structure of most websites out there that looks a little something like this:
Your site has your logo, a navigation bar with About Us, Services, Our Work, Contact Us, links to your social media pages, photos of your office or products, a paragraph or two about your business, or if you’re really an all-star - your most recent blog posts which are probably also about you. Sound about right?
Ask yourself this question, are you going to be your own client? Obviously, you’re not, and I certainly hope that's not the intention of your website.
You need to identify your audience. Instead of talking about you, what you do, why your business is so much better than the other promotional products distributors in your city, you should be focusing on their problems and providing solutions that you can help them with. Give them a path to greater success.
You must have solution-oriented, compelling content that targets the user’s everyday problems, shows how well you understand them and offers a working solution to them. Just like you would do in a face to face meeting, you’re building a relationship with your users. Would you walk into a meeting and say, “John, I am here because you invited me to your office to discuss that you cannot get 200 t-shirts for your event next week from your current vendor at the quality, price point, and level of creative service you require. Let me tell you how I can help you. I have been in business since 2002, I have a staff of 12 people, we sell promotional products to companies like yours every day, and we make cool designs. Here is a list of products that we can offer you.” NO! You would never do that. So why would you do that on your website?
Connecting with your potential clients and building relationships and trust online is the same process as when you do it in person. Start there.
Your website is a digital impasse.
Here’s the scenario, a user lands on your website, what are they supposed to do next? Click on the services page or products page?
You’re missing the key element to every successful website. A sales funnel. A call to action that is driven by a solution that you’re providing for your potential customer. It could be as simple as an email sign up form for your weekly newsletter called Building Brand Awareness with Promo, or something a little more sophisticated like a checklist that your user can download that provides a solution to their problems and leaves you the all-star that provided it to them. You’re building trust and new leads at the same time.
Once you have that user’s name and email address or cookied them if you’re more technical, you can start emailing them or retargeting them via banners to continue to build your relationship. You now have the opportunity to offer them information about why your business is great and give discounts on products or services. They’re connected to you now - you have shaken hands and introduced yourselves.
This doesn’t mean that every user you’ve begun building a relationship with online is going to sign up and buy from you right away. That’s not the goal, the goal is to build a relationship. Just like you do in face to face selling. It’s consultative, not transactional.
Most decisions people make are emotional. Yes, people weigh the pros and cons, but ultimately, they make their decision based on trust and the relationship you have with them. So stop sucking at digital relationships and start building them by making connections and nurturing them.
If you learned anything reading this article, I hope it is that relationships are the most important thing in your business and that you’re not getting any new relationships online because your website sucks. Treat your website visitors like you would treat a person on a sales call and you’ll be enamored by the results you start to see. I am always available for discussion or support of your website and digital footprint. Comment below to get started.
Ben Taylor serves as the Chief Marketing Officer of BamBams, a leading Promotional Products Supplier, and Private Label supplier. Prior to joining BamBams, Ben served as the Director of Digital Media for Gallup Consulting, Chief Marketing Officer at Tailor Media Group, and Director of Marketing at Zippy Shell USA. Predating his career in marketing, Ben served in the United States Marine Corps. A regular speaker on SEO, Lifestyle Brands, Content Marketing, and Lead Generation, Ben has led digital marketing workshops for the past 10 years at conferences all over North America.