Your businesses website has a number of roles including being a marketing tool and a sales portal as well as being a place for your customers to go when they need information. Because the focus is usually on sales and marketing, the customer relations side of your website can get lost in the rush. But if customer service and retention is a priority for your business, here are 6 things you should include on a customer focused website.
Easy to find contact details
One of the main things people will be looking for on your website are your contact details. Make them easy to find. Including your phone number in the top right of every page and having a dedicated contact us page are great. But don’t forget things like links to your social media profiles and a link to a map with your street address so people can find their way to your store. Note for all of these – only include contact methods you actually monitor. If you don’t answer your phone and never check voicemail, don’t include the phone number. When you only check email once a week, don’t provide an email contact. If you never look at your social media accounts, don’t direct people there.
What you do
It’s important to include detailed information about your products or services. Preferably, in a variety of formats, i.e. use videos for people who prefer videos, but make sure there’s a transcript as well for those who prefer to read. Also, don’t get too caught up with jargon. While I’m sure your competitors will be impressed by your grasp of your industry. If potential customers don’t understand – what’s the point? Clearly list your offerings, in plain english so that customers know what you do, and won’t feel intimidated contacting you. Remember, the aim is a customer focused website so you need to create content with them in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Make a note of frequently asked questions and dedicate a section of your website to answering them. As with the detailed information about your products or services, a variety of formats is good. Use video where necessary, but also step-by-step text instructions, photographs and diagrams. Don’t be limited to questions you actually get asked frequently (although you should definitely include them), but also add in information you wish your clients knew. Then you can start educating them so they have everything they need when they make an enquiry.
Responsive design
An enormous amount of website traffic comes via mobile now. It’s worth checking your analytics to see how most people visit your site, and if you get a large number of mobile visits, make sure you go to extra lengths to have a mobile responsive site. If you don’t have many visitors on mobile, it’s still important to make sure people can still have a great experience on your site if they do arrive on their phone or tablet. It’s also important to know how your clients are finding you. For example, voice search is gaining in popularity. When people search by voice, their terminology is different to the terminology they use when typing in a search bar. So try to cater for both when you’re working on SEO.
Offer some proof
Don’t just tell people to “Buy my stuff” and expect them to do so. Give them some proof of how your products or services work for others. There’s two great ways to do this. Firstly, ask your clients for testimonials. Even better if they’re prepared to do a video testimonial talking about (or showing) what problems you’ve solved for them. Also consider Case Studies where you do a deeper dive into a situation that a client came to you for help with; what you did; and how it solved their issues. A case study combined with a testimonial from a client can be very powerful.
Killer content
Most importantly of all, your website should have great content that’s regularly updated and informs your customers in some way. Whether it’s teaching them how to use something; or how to do something; giving them hints about what they should look for when purchasing in your industry; giving them insider insights about you, your business or your industry; or anything else that will let them feel like an insider when it comes to your company. Killer content is the key to making sure your customers get what they need from your website.
There are 6 things to include when you’re creating a customer focused website and fortunately, most of these will also have a great impact as marketing tools too!
