(published in IRHACE magazine, July/ August 2009)

Improve Your Sales by Communicating Technology Better

How to get your website generating more business in the credit crisis

In the recession, individuals and companies are looking for ever greater value-for-money in their purchases, and thinking more carefully before spending their scarce dollars. It's increasingly common for them to search the Web to research suitable products or services before they commit to purchase. So, it’s really important to reach them effectively on your website.

Being the expert on your business, your ‘DIY’ website text may well cover all your product technical details adequately. But it may lack clarity, professionalism, or attraction for your customers without you realising it, costing you sales.

Text has the final say on your sales

Graphics are important for first impressions but text has the final say on a website’s effectiveness. Bad spelling or grammar, confusing or tedious language, or jargon can put people off, along with company facts dumped in front of them – "we are...we do...our products". Viewers can get tired of wading through all this to find something they need, and give up, moving on with one click. It's not what you want…

Keys for effective website text that draws customers

Here are a few tips to effectively connect with your customers and hold their interest on your website, leading to successful business:

First things first…priorities

It’s important to guide a person’s eye directly to the most vital information first. Many websites hit us with so much information that it’s hard to know where to look first. Put less important details aside in less prominent places. If too many things are highlighted, nothing will get special attention...as they say "too many priorities means no priorities". So, what are the most vital things you need to get across...?

Talk in terms of customer interests, not just product features

The first thing you need to get across after you clearly show what you’re selling is why viewers should buy from you – what’s in it for them. Many Websites have company facts 'dumped' on them and viewers can get tired of wading through all this to find answers to their questions, needs, fears, and dreams. What car buyer cares about double overhead cams unless she knows it means greater fuel efficiency?

The personal touch to build emotional connection

Text written in a personal one-to-one manner, focused on your target customer, can make an effective connection, versus an impersonal ‘broadcast to the masses’ aimed at no-one in particular. Remember the old adage..."people do business with people".

Show your unique value proposition and differentiators

What do you offer that’s different to your competitors? It may be special know-how for customers in a certain industry, longer experience, or just your location. It might be right under your nose and you’ve taken it for granted. Focus on customers that you can offer the greatest value to.

Accurate and realistic claims

Text needs to be truthful and down-to-earth, so any claims you make need to be backed up with facts or figures. Exaggeration or hype like "best offer in town" or "unbeatable value" only raises doubts for increasingly sceptical viewers.

Credentials that build trust – a biggy these days

Trust is becoming more and more of an issue with dodgy operators out there. What evidence can you show your viewers of your trustworthiness and competence to ‘deliver the goods’? Tell them your qualifications, experience, testimonials, industry association memberships, plus any guarantees you offer.

Concise and relevant

Viewers generally browse websites quite impatiently, unlike printed material where they’re happy to relax and take their time. So, to hold attention, website text needs to be concise and to the point – relevant to your readers' interests. This is even more important for email newsletters.

Short versus long?

There’s no point in text dragging out longer than necessary to get the main points across clearly. But in advertising they say “the more you tell, the more you sell”. A contradiction? We’re talking about conveying lots of useful and relevant information, concisely written, to assure people of the credibility and value of your company and products. Long-winded waffle that doesn’t actually say much only bores and loses people.

Scanable – getting the gist at a glance

Meaningful headings and bullet lists are great for viewers to scan your page quickly to get the gist of your message. Most people don’t want to wade through a sea of text to find what they’re looking for, like the old ‘needle in a haystack’. They’ll get impatient and bail out if they can’t see your message clearly and quickly.

Attracting searchers from Google

Optimisation of web pages to attract search engine traffic relies much on the text, requiring key search words and phrases to be weaved into the body text, headings, links, page titles, and meta data. Lots of articles providing useful information on your site can draw strong search engine traffic, if sprinkled with relevant key words and phrases. Links from other websites, especially using those same key words, will raise your site’s profile too.

Clear call to action

You need to be clear on the intended purpose and desired outcomes for your website – whether to sell products, take bookings, get newsletter subscriptions, etc. To this end, the text needs to persuade and give a clear call to action. Make it simple, easy, and attractive for people to do business with you!

Getting it right to harness sales

It seems most business owners struggle to put words together to achieve all the above points. It can also be difficult to coach non-technical marketing people to do it effectively. An objective outsider, with technical nous, can often see things that you can't and write more to your customer’s viewpoint, reaching them more effectively. Good technical sales writing can more than pay for itself through increased sales.

Look at how Spectra-Media can help you increase your online sales...