Customers need to be led through your website - are you ready to step up?
Would you stand in the middle of your shop shouting out all your product information at the top of your lungs?
No, you’d go up to a specific customer and ask them how you can help.
Today, we’re going to look at:
how to make your website more customer-friendly.
When you search for something on Google, what do you type in?
1. Maybe you have a cold and want recommended medicine, so you type “best cold medicine”
2. Or maybe that pain in your knee is still there after two weeks, so you want to find out what it is; “knee pain causes”.
These are two very different types of searches. In the first
search, you identified a problem (your cold), and searched for a recommended
solution (medicine). In the second search, you had a problem and just wanted
more information on the problem; you didn’t require a solution just yet.
Your customers are doing this right now.
Let’s imagine that you own a herbal remedies shop, and also
sell online. People will be coming to your website for a wide variety of
reasons! If three customers walked into your shop with different problems, would
you talk to them all the same way?
If you start pitching WonderHerb to the confused Customer 1
with stomach pains, they would probably just leave – it might not even treat
stomach issues!
If you start bombarding Customer 2 with all the information
you have on varieties of herbal solutions to stomach pains, when they have
specifically asked for herbal headache pills, they wouldn’t hang around either.
This is where the idea of the Awareness Ladder comes in. It
was first introduced in a 1966 book called Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene
Schwartz, and was later built upon by Ben Hunt in his 2011 book Convert, so is
a well-established approach to marketing. In the above situation, you would have different landing pages set up for each of those customer types; possibly a page talking about specific products, a page on stomach pain solutions, and a page on headache solutions. In this way, you welcome them onto your website, and guide them through the pages you have prepared for them.
So what is the
Awareness Ladder?
Essentially, it describes the stage your customer is at, so
that you know what approach to take with them. There are 6 stages, ranging from people who don’t even know they have a
problem that they need solved, to people ready to purchase a specific solution that just need
pointed in the right direction.
It can provide valuable insight into the mind of your customers, allowing you to
tailor your website to target the
types of customer you want. Some people just divide customers into “browsers”
who are only looking, and “shoppers” who will make a purchase, but there is
much more to it!
Let’s take a quick
look at each stage…
Ben Hunt emphasises that at some point, everyone starts at
stage 0. For example, at some point you realised your business wasn’t online,
and identified that as a problem! Furthermore, in order to make a sale, you
need to guide the customer from stage 0 through to stage 5, and they must progress one step at a time…
 |
| Step by step by step.... |
Stage 0 – No Problem
This is perhaps the least tapped group of customers. People
in this group are not aware that they
need anything, so they aren’t actively searching Google for solutions.
Since they aren’t searching, you need to go and find them.
Here’s an example; Mary is a 65 year old woman and has had
sore eyes for a few weeks, but hasn’t really thought about it. In order to
reach out to Mary, you have to go where
she is. So you’re going to start frequenting forums and blogs that Mary
visits, and start getting your business out there as a brand. To target someone
like Mary in particular, you might consider advertising on a forum aimed at
older people, and say something like; “Is your eyesight the best it could be?
Get in touch for a quick checkup!” Mary sees this, and realises her eyesight
has in fact been bothering her, and it might be time to do something about it!
Stage 1 – Problem
Mary is now at stage 1; aware
that she has a problem, but unaware
if there is a solution. This group is much more accessible, because they’ll
now actively be searching the internet for their symptoms and suggested
solutions. They want to know more, and are open to suggestion. Google Adwords will come in handy for
customers at Stage 1, as you can specify that every time someone searches “sore
head solutions”, your Herbal Remedy shop will be advertised, mentioning your
various headache solutions!
Stage 2 – Solutions Exist
Customers at stage 2 are slightly more specific than stage
1; so instead of searching “sore head solutions”, they might search for “best
headache medicine online”. These customers are more informed. In order to target them specifically, you just need
to anticipate what they’re looking for and create web pages that address their
issues. These customers know solutions
exist, so they’re looking for recommendations and comparisons in order to
sway them towards a certain website. They might get this push from looking at reviews of your Herbal
Remedies website (hopefully they’re positive!)
Stage 3 – Your
solution
Now the customers are aware that there is a
MyHerbalWebsite.com (there isn’t really..), they have seen your website mentioned on forums, maybe Google Adwords have
shown them adverts for your online shop, but they still need convincing. Why should they choose your shop? What do
you do that makes you better than the other online herbal remedy shops?
You need to determine what customers at this level will be
searching for online, e.g. is MyHerbalWebsite.com any good? Creating a page on your website that
lays out the benefits of shopping
with you could be beneficial at this stage. You need to reassure these
potential customers that you are the
right choice.
Stage 4 – Benefits
The customer is now aware
of the benefits of shopping on your website for the product they want; free
shipping, fast service, great customer support. However, they aren’t yet
convinced. This stage requires some persuasive
content that focusses on how much better the customer’s life will be once
they make the purchase. They’ll receive their product, but what do they gain
from shopping with you specifically?
Join our mailing list to
receive our member-only offers of up to 20% off!
We offer tracked delivery so
you’ll never lose a parcel again!
You get the idea!
Stage 5 – Convinced
This is where you want your customers to be. At this point,
Mary has decided MyHerbalWebsite.com is the one for her; she has identified her
problem, researched solutions, chosen your website because of the benefits, and
is making her purchase as we speak.
Good job!
So what do I need to
do to my website?
The Awareness Ladder is something we consider when building
and optimising your website. If a lot of people are landing on your “What are
herbal remedies” page, then we can determine that they’re likely at stage 1, so
they’re aware they have a problem and are searching for solutions. These
customers are looking for information, they want to know more, so it would be useful for us to include some more informative pages on your website. This also means more stage 1 customers will be directed to your site because you
now provide the answers they need.
When you are thinking about getting a website for your business, one of your first considerations should be your goal. And then you should consider your customers; how they’re finding your
website, what they’re looking for, and how you can make the whole process
easier for them.
A customer-friendly website is always going to get better
results than a website overloaded with information.
Make your website customer-friendly today,
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