Making the right impression involves more than creating a responsive, engaging, and aesthetically pleasing website. It also needs to be informative, persuasive, and helpful. To make it as helpful as possible, you need to know the questions your website should answer.
Answering Customer Questions through Your Website
In the increasingly vast digital landscape of the 21st century, your website is the most important tool for your business. Websites have long since replaced traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts as the first contact point businesses have with potential customers, so you need to make the right impression.
Remember, a Google search is only a millisecond away for potential customers, and it’s easy for them to click away if they can’t find the information or solution they’re looking for.
Your website should answer these essential questions:
- What problem do you solve or answer?
- How do you solve that problem or answer that need?
- Which of your products or services answer what that need?
- Why are you the best choice to solve your customer’s problem?
1. What problem do you solve or answer?
Your website isn’t about you.
I know—a potentially unpopular opinion.
However, a mistake we often see is businesses only talking about themselves and how great they think they are. Look at our awards! Look at our team!
Okay, your website can be a little about you. But, in reality, it should be mostly about your customers and how you can help them. Your customer doesn’t want to know all about you until they know they are in the right place.
Put another way, think about it like your website is a guidance counselor, and anyone visiting it is looking for serious advice.
Will they trust the more generic site that only pushes a solution to them? Or will they prefer the site that empathizes with their concerns or problems, offers a solution, and explains how that solution is beneficial? We know which one we would choose!
Like most humans, customers, too, want to be heard and seen.
Example
What does this look like?
Consider, for example, Boost. They get it right off the bat. Being sick does suck. They showcase the importance of empathizing with potential customers before they begin their sales pitch.
No one wants to feel they’re only valuable to a company if they spend money. Taking the time to show your customers that you genuinely care about their issues and understand the importance of finding the right solution or answer will enhance users’ trust and confidence in your company.
2. How do you solve that problem or answer that need?
Customers want solutions. And fast. After you’ve shown them you know their problem, explain how you solve it.
Customers don’t want to read a lengthy explanation about how your services or products will improve their lives. Big blocks of text are a major turn-off and the quickest way to lose potential customers’ attention.
Instead, make your explanation both emotionally and aesthetically appealing. Use graphics and images to show rather than tell how your product or services can help. Include well-placed and strategically placed lines of text that explain how you can help in simple and attention-grabbing ways.
Use alliteration, rhyme schemes, and other literary techniques to make your pitch memorable and enjoyable.
Draw on your own experiences. Think about how you felt the last time you sought a new service or product. What encouraged you to make your final decision? How can you use that experience to drive your own conversions?
Example
How would you explain how you can help briefly and accurately to your potential customers?
Boost, again, does this well in seconds. “Boost helps you get sick less.” It’s short, sweet, and to the point. This makes it easy for customers to remember how Boost can solve their problems and lets them decide whether to learn more about the product.
You don’t want to overload users with too much information right up front. Use language that piques their curiosity, empathizes with their needs or concerns, and encourages them to learn more. Once you’ve explained how you can help, you can dive right into a call to action.
3. What products or services answer that need or problem?
This is when you can start listing some of your products or services in a carousel, concisely demonstrating what product might fit them. Create a call to action that uses language that encourages customers to check out your products or services. Remember that this is your opportunity to really hook users.
Give a brief overview of your products or services and their benefits. Always keep it short and easy to remember! This is also the perfect time to make sure you have a web design that’s pleasing to customers.
Is it easy to read and scan? Does it look like information overload or is your page full of well-organized information where every word offers value to users? Something as simple as the layout of your page can make or break a sale!
Example
Sometimes, explaining how you can help also answers which products customers need, like Boost’s vitamin.
For services, Better Help explains how their whole process works. Their website uses a calming color scheme with greens, oranges, and blues to engage with users emotionally. Their layout is simple and easy to navigate, and they list their services front and center.
After showing their services, they explain a bit more about their business, their team, and how many people have benefited from using them.
The site uses plenty of images and a clear step-by-step flow to show potential customers how to access their services. This is an excellent layout to model because it’s helpful, informative, visually appealing, and emotionally engaging.
4. Why are you the best solution to their problems?
Now you can brag about those awards and your awesome team. Since they know you can answer their questions and you’ve given examples of solving their problems, you’ll need to showcase your credibility.
You’ll want a clear about us page to demonstrate exactly who you are and why you’re passionate about your business. This is the perfect place to list your credentials, awards, and anything else that will enhance users’ trust in your products or services- like books you’ve written on the subject or testimonials from previous customers.
Including team photos showcasing a professional and happy team is also helpful. Let your team and their dedication to the business shine through those photos! Add a mission statement to put your best foot forward.
These all answer the question: Why you?
Example
Sneak your accolades like EY.com does, or talk about your history like one of our clients, KEB America.
These are crucial questions your website should answer. Offering users easy access to this information will increase their confidence in your professionalism, encouraging trust and leading to a higher potential of converting the casual user into a long-term paying customer!
Make Finding Answers Easy
Tech-savvy marketers know the benefits of quickly and helpfully answering the most commonly asked questions. Think about your website as if it were a brick-and-mortar store. Customers don’t want to spend ages going up and down the aisles searching for what they want. They want to scan the large signs above the aisles to know where to go.
Similarly, they won’t spend ages clicking around your website to find the answer to a specific question. All they want is a simple FAQ section where they know they’ll find the answer to their question.
Convenience is among the highest factors when customers choose a new product or service. If your website emphasizes convenience as much as responsiveness and helpfulness, you’ll easily draw in users and keep their attention.
If your website doesn’t answer those major questions or offer users an easy and intuitive navigation experience, it’s time to make some changes. Not sure where to start? Reach out to us!