A website typically has 10-20 seconds to capture the user’s attention before they quickly hit the back button to return to the many other websites their search query triggered results for. In those quick 10-seconds, consumers are subconsciously searching for the answers to 7 questions. 7 important questions whose answers can make or break their decision to move forward with your product or services. Well, let’s get into it!
Here’s a breakdown:
- What are you selling?
- Why should they care?
- What’s the cost?
- Why You?
- Who Else is Using It/You?
- Can I trust you?
- How easy is it to contact you?
Question #1: What are you selling?
The second a consumer lands on your website, what you sell should be abundantly clear. If your consumer has to guess or flip through pages to understand what they’re spending their money on – you failed.
Question #2: Why should they care?
Great, your consumer has an idea of what you’re selling, but why should they care? They got to your website because they have a pressing concern or need. So how will your product or service improve their lives or help to solve the pain points they’re experiencing?
Question #3: What’s the cost?
Now that you’ve proven your business has a solution the consumer needs, they’re now creating an idea of what they’re willing to pay for this solution. With no price point present, it leaves the consumer with a variety of questions. Including pricing information within one click of the homepage allows the consumer to understand how much they can anticipate spending for your product or service.
Question #4: Why you?
In a saturated market, it’s vital to distinguish yourself from your competitors. How will a consumer choose between two businesses that offer the same products at the same price points? What does your business offer that your competitors do not? Could it be free shipping? A free consultation? Or perhaps your stellar attention to detail and wall of awards are going to make you stand out from the rest!
Remember to keep it short! Your long-winded answer highlighting your business’s qualities and offerings is more appropriate on your about page. Use a call-to-action to send visitors over to that page to learn more about the history, values, and team members of your business.
Question #5: Who else is using it/you?
The key to unlocking (consumer behavior) is creating “FOMO”. Yes, that’s right – Fear of Missing Out. Social proof that others use your product or service and enjoy using it is a psychological hack to influence another person that relates to the characteristics and qualities of those using your business to do the same.
Question #6: Can I trust you?
If there is no trust, there is no business. Consumers are given so much information at a rapid pace that they’ve developed a healthy level of skepticism. With that in mind, developing a baseline of trust right off the bat will allow the consumer’s skepticism to subside and be more open-minded to what you have to offer.
Question #7: How easy is it to contact you?
And at last, perhaps the most important of them all; Is it difficult for a website visitor to get in contact with you or purchase your products/services? Placing a contact section beneath the fold leaves details hidden. Include call-to-actions in your header and throughout each page to make it easy for website visitors to take the next step.
Including a live chat on your site also gives your website visitors immediate access to your team to get any additional questions they may have answered.
Remember, time kills all deals! Don’t assume the contact form is going to be enough to seal the deal with their questions. Just as you shouldn’t assume that your website currently checks off the seven boxes discussed previously. The quicker you can offer a solution to their pain point, the quicker the website visitors turn into a customer. For quick insight into whether your website is doing your business justice, head over to Google Analytics and check out the average session duration. If website visitors are spending less than 20 seconds on your site, you should re-evaluate your home page! Here are some examples of websites we have built for some of our clients.
