Ever gone out shopping and looked until you found everything that fit perfectly? You walked into that store expecting them to have everything on your list just the way you wanted it, right? This is exactly what your audience looks forward to when they come to your website; that you have exactly what they want.
When your customer visits your website, they are looking for a solution to a problem they have, and they need that solution fast. Is your website going to be the answer to their questions?
As we explain in our tip, Is your website too colorful?, your website shouldn’t be too colorful or have too much content. In fact, the simpler the better.
Making Your Website Customer-Centric
There are a number of elements on your website that you can work on to make it feel like a welcoming, informative destination for your audience. If you focus on these elements, you will make it as customer-centric as your audience needs it to be. Here are some elements to get you started:
Design
The way you design your website will help to build trust and credibility for your business. A potential customer wants to find a website with an easy flow from one page to the next and seamless transition, along with being maintained and looking great.
The design should also be such that between when your customer logs on and when they find the information they came looking for is not more than 3 clicks. Map your customer’s journey such that they go through the shortest distance to fulfillment.
Get Into a Consumer Mindset
You need to shift your perspective from “I don’t like this” to “my customer doesn’t like this”. The website is really for your customer to find what they are looking for and in the way they want it. Try your best to get into your customer’s shoes. Pretend you are them and walk through your website. Do you like the experience? If you had a problem, has going through the website given you a solution?
Be Unique
You know that there are other websites out there that likely have almost the same information (and business solutions) as yours does. So what makes yours worthwhile? What extra value are you offering your customers over what your competition is? Make their journey through your website memorable!
Control Your Message
When we are in distress and need a problem solved we tend to look for someone that understands our situation and knows exactly what we need. Have you addressed their pain point(s) on your website? Does it engage and meet their emotional need? Have you used words that make your customer feel safe, like they came to the right place? Like their problems are solved? How is your message packaged?
Your website is the channel where you have the most control over messaging and the user experience. Make sure your customer feel like they are the hero in your story, the only focus for your website. They should know that your business (website) is dedicated purely to providing solutions to their problems.
Share Social Proof
Do you have reviews and/or testimonials from previous customers? This is the quickest way for you to build customer confidence, especially among new customers. Everyone likes to know that whatever product or service they are looking for from your business is tried and tested and has been given the big thumbs up by other customers. They want to know that someone had a problem just like the one they have and it got solved by your product and service. To make your customers comfortable, make sure you have social proof displayed where they can clearly see it (and even verify, if need be).
Happy Visitors = Sales
Having an effective customer-centric website requires that you put yourself in the customer’s place to develop a site that is user-friendly, while providing all the information that they need to make a purchasing decision.
It goes without saying that a happy visitor is an asset to your business as they are close to making a purchase. Who knows, they could even recommend your business to someone else! So how about you make your website an ideal spot for your customers?
Your Online Partner… for Success
As you’ve read through the tips on making your website customer-centric, would you like to have experienced eyes take a look as well? Take advantage of a free 30-minute session with Christy. There’s no sales pitch, just a seasoned expert in the field sharing tips to help you improve your site.