I have a lot of opinions, especially about communication. And my opinions usually start with me looking at a situation and saying “We should be telling them…” or “We should be posting…” Two things happen after I say those things—1) the thought of taking action makes their eyes glaze over, followed immediately by; 2) my co-workers saying “Yeah, YOU should do that.” Then we all go back to our desks, and I end up with a bit more work than I had going in to that meeting.
Just tell them where to go
Look at it like this—you have a customer and you have a product or service you think they need. You need to know where they are, and then light the way to you. You do this with various communication pieces. The more complicated or expensive the service, the more pieces you’ll need to help them make the decision that your product or service is the right one. I see this in very simple, everyday oversights—a business in a huge cement complex with a huge sign and many doors, yet no communication as to which door is for customers; a website with great information, yet no explicit call to action on what they want the users next step to be.
Assume nothing
It’s okay to take your reader by the hand, and point them to the next step. Assume that it’s not obvious to them to scroll to the bottom of your page to order—you can put an order button in the middle of that webpage to help them out. Describe what you sell and your sales process to a friend. Are the steps obvious to them? No? Make them obvious.
People are bombarded every minute with marketing messages. Once they know what they want or need, they want to get in, get it and get out. Help them figure out if your widget fits their needs, and then help them get it as quickly as possible. The Internet is transforming us into impatient so-and-sos, like it or not. Consumers will follow the best-lit path to the most visible solution—take some time to make sure your communications are lighting the way to your business—and don’t let the prospect of doing it make your eyes glaze over.
Nala