I Don’t Want to Hear About You – Talk About ME!

How many times have you looked at a website and thought “What are they talking about?” or “Why am I even reading this?” It’s clear that the website was designed and written with the business owner in mind, not the audience.

As a business owner, of course you want to tell everyone all about your one-of-a-kind products, award-winning customer service, and family-owned company. But the thing is that talking about yourself isn’t going to impress anyone.  Instead, potential customers want you to talk about them.

Yesterday, I met with Kim to discuss her new website. It didn’t go so well. “What do you mean, I shouldn’t talk so much about myself? It’s MY website!” OK, back to square one…

Separate Your Ego from Your Business Goals

First things first – what’s the purpose of your website? If you’re like most business owners, your goal is to get people to visit your site (or read your blog) and then take whatever action you want them to take (like buying your product, visiting your store, or leaving a comment).  The more people who come to your site and take action, the better your business will do. It’s a pretty simple equation.

So where in that equation does “tell readers how wonderful I am” come into play?  Will it bring more visitors to your site? Ummm, no. Because readers want to read about themselves, not about you. It’s human nature to be attracted to what we know best. And what we know is the problems we’re facing, our dreams in life, what we do and don’t like. So if you talk to people about their problems and dreams, if you share their likes and dislikes, if you show that you really understand them, they’ll stick with you. They’ll read your blog. They’ll buy your product.

6 Ways to Talk About Your Customers on Your Website

1. Tell stories about your customers (positive stories!)
2. Talk about how you’ve dealt with the kinds of problems your customers face (and if that means using one of your products, even better!)
3. Include customer testimonials showing how they’ve used your products or services (not just talking about how great you are!)
4. Ask them about their biggest problems and issues, or about what they need from you (online polls, email surveys, and asking questions directly are all good ways to do this)
5. Refer to readers/customers as “you,” not “our customers” (sound like you’re having a conversation with them, not writing a corporate brochure)
6. Include a customer comment area on your website and respond to their comments ASAP

What about you – what ways have you found to talk with your customers on your website?