You Have Five Seconds To Impress Me. Go.
You have a business that brings value to your prospects and customers.
So have your competitors.
You’ve invested in a web presence for your business.
So have your competitors.
You have a professional website that’s technically sound, loads fast, and looks beautiful.
So have your competitors.
When a stranger or prospect is looking for the products and services your business provides, of course, she’s going to whip out a cell phone or laptop and search for you on the internet.
She’s likely pressed for time… but she wants to get it right… so she might quickly look at 2-3 websites (the first ones she comes across) before deciding whom to call or visit.
Will you get her business?
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Other things being equal, that will depend on how clearly and quickly your site can get your business’ message across.
Brands X, Y, and Z hope to win her business, too. But you can beat them to the business with a winning message. A message that can attract the customer quickly.
Aim for “Five Second Clarity” of your business’ unique proposition!
“You’ve Come To The Right Place”
Your first goal is to make sure your prospect knows she’s come to the right place by pulling up your business’ website.
Your firm offers exactly what she’s looking for.
Do your site’s keywords, headlines, visuals, and top content make this clear?
Your prospect will undoubtedly come across websites that don’t really mention what exactly they do until well down the page.
If Brand X has such a site, you’ve eliminated one competitor if you have a clear, conscise, “you’ve come to the right place” message at the very top of your site.
“You’ve Come To The Best Place”
What’s unique, or special, about your business? What’s something you can quickly tout that your competitors’ businesses don’t offer?
Are you the area’s largest? Is your turn-around the quickest? Inventory/selection greatest? Do you have better service levels, more durable products, or celebrity endorsements?
Whatever you can quickly trumpet to your prospect – whatever your competitors can’t say – is a good feature to move high on your page.
Once she knows she’s come to the right place, you need to start convincing her she’s come to the best place for what she’s seeking.
Have a catchy tag-line, a powerful single-phrase customer testimonial, or a strong claim (as long as you can back it up) right up-front.
If Brand Y looks like a generic vendor without any real unique offerings, well… there goes one more competitor!
“You’ve Come To The ONLY Place!”
Brand Z is still lurking out there, also claiming to be the right place and the best place for your prospect’s business.
Whoever that main competitor is, you need to emphasize in your selling messages the most important (to customers) things that differentiate yourself from him.
You do this by studying your competitor’s site, and looking for what marketers call “the sweet spot.”
The sweet spot is the overlap of three groups of things: things your customers want or need, things you’re great at, and things your key competitor has as weaknesses.
You may offer a dozen or more really-great features… strong enticements for any consumer. Your site will mention them all, of course. But start with whatever’s in the sweet spot.
Take that, Brand Z! Better luck next time.
(Not really.)
You have five seconds to get these points across.
That might seem tough – but remember, the clock is ticking on your competitors’ sites, too. With the right approach – with “Five Second Clarity” of your business’ best messages – you can beat your competitors to the business. And if you are the best at what you do, that’s a great service to your customers.