This is a Business Website Can’t-Miss-Tip

The website for your business has a BIG job to do for you – I mean it needs to tell your future clients what you do, how you do it – and it has to grow the know, like, and trust factors too. That’s a LOT. And it’s definitely a lot to do as quickly as it needs to do it.

Did you know that your website has literally MILLISECONDS to make a first impression on your future customers? Yeah. It’s THAT fast. People are judgy, what can I say. If you’re going to make that impression… you need to have a website that sells.

But what this all means, is you have to be strategic and intentional about the things you put on your website, and how you use the space you’ve got. I’m not someone who really believes in the whole “if a caveman couldn’t grunt your mission statement from the above the fold section of your homepage it’s too complicated” schtick, but… I do believe there are things your website needs to do so you can leverage that “know, like, and trust” system that helps people connect to your work (no matter what you do).

It Might be Tempting to “Focus on the Customer”

If you’ve read anything online about building an effective website, you’ve probably seen all the info out there about focusing on the customer. Making sure every single thing you put on there is about THEM, not about you. About what they’ll learn (if you’re a teacher), how they’ll be helped (if you’re a service provider), and how your product will change their life (if you’re a product seller). And sometimes these feel a little dramatic, but like, at its core, that’s what those pieces of advice actually mean in practice.

However… when we get stuck in the concept of “focusing on the customer” and making sure we’re speaking directly to them ABOUT them, we sometimes forget what selling ANYthing is actually about. Connection. People buy things from people. Having a website that sells is about showing HUMANITY.

I’m jaded, sure, but I’m not enough of a cynic to think that everyone is just out for themselves all the time. Like, I can’t believe that, or I’d go bonkers. I believe that people buy from people, and at the root of everything we do… there should be connection.

Including Information About You IS “Focusing on the Customer”!

And THAT, my friends, is how you can go from “focusing on the customer” to “focusing on CONNECTING with the customer”. Which I personally believe is how ANY website that sells ANYthing should be designed!

It’s not about disembodied outcomes, or the way your product will help them outside of context. Having a website that sells is also about telling your clients how you got into what you do. Why you do it. How you feel about them. Including this kind of information on your website is still focusing on the customer, it’s just a lot more nuanced. Of course people want to hear about how what you do will change their life, even if you sell I don’t know… fancy vinyl wrapping for kitchen appliances. (And before you laugh… walking into a kitchen you love, or any room you love, for that matter, is ABSOLUTELY a life-changing thing, and I will DIE on this hill!!)

But they also want to connect with YOU, as a PERSON. It’s a big part of what we’ve lost now that we’ve gotten to whatever we want to call our current dystopia. We buy things on the big A-to-Z (you know the one) website, and we never know who’s on the other end. I mean, same for big box stores – any department store… a lot of websites.

Why does this matter? Showing who YOU are helps you stand out from the crowd. It’s not about selling your lifestyle or anything like that, it’s about HUMANITY.

Including Your Professional Headshots on Your Website Builds Connection

Now that we’ve gotten all of the explanation out of the way here, we’ve gotten to the point!! We’ve covered that selling is about connection, and that adding information to your website about you helps build that connection. We’ve covered the fact that focusing on you IS focusing on the customer, because it builds the “know, like, and trust” factors.

And then we talked about how all this helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace, and anything we can do to stand out in our digital age… we should be doing.

So I think you can probably see how this translates to talking about adding your professional headshots to your business’ website, right? If you want a website that sells, you’ve got to show your people who you are! And what better way, than including images of you being you, right?

People Buy From People

As I’ve said, people buy from people. Your customers are much more likely to make the leap and buy (at higher prices, because let’s all be honest here, we know that the A-to-Z site has done to pricing expectations) from you if they know who you are. And you’re much more likely to have a website that sells for you on repeat, if you integrate humanity into the site.

So… when you’re looking at working on your website, updating your pages, that kind of thing – think about this: Where can I add more connection to my website? And where can I put my FACE?

If you’re a product seller, do you have images of yourself using your products? Not just models, YOU. As a PERSON. A real person your customers can SEE, and connect with. If you’re a service provider, can some of your stock images be replaced with images of YOU with your clients? Or you at a desk? Or you doing what you do? Get creative with this, and reach out to a professional branding photographer to help you get what you need, especially if you’re struggling to think of places where you can integrate yourself into your web presence.

Start Building More Connection on Your Website TODAY!

The sooner you start building REAL connection through your website, the sooner you increase your client base. And not only that, but you’ll convert NEW clients, FASTER.

So like I said, go through your website. Look at where you can connect more. Where you WISH you could’ve said something REAL but instead you said whatever your web design guru told you to say. Replace those things. Get REAL. Be authentically YOU. And your people will come.

And of course… if you need images to help support these changes? I’m your girl!! I would LOVE to put together a brand image package that helps you put your own face on your website, whether you’re a product seller, a service provider, or a hybrid of both. Because selling is about CONNECTION. And I want to connect with YOU!