What’s the first thing people see when they land on your website?
Do they see paragraphs about your business or service and what you can do for them? Or statements that lay out the problem they’re dealing with?
It seems logical to immediately mention who you are and what you offer. But that’s not the best way to connect to your customers.
You have to let them know that you understand the pain they’re going through.
“Pain” isn’t physical pain. It could be something as simple as not being able to get a wine stain out of carpet.
Here’s how you can write your copy to get more prospects converted to customers.
Focus on the Customer’s Problem
Before you talk about yourself, point out what your customers are dealing with. Focus on the reason why they’re on your website. They have a problem or a need they are trying to solve.
Talk about what’s going on in their life that made them come to you in the first place.
Short and Punchy Headlines
Now is not the time to be asking questions.
For example, “Are you struggling with dirty carpets in your office building?” While it is talking about their problem, a more effective headline is, “Get rid of carpet stains.”
It addresses the pain they have (stained carpets) and shows exactly how you can solve their problem. And you didn’t mention yourself at all.
It’s short and sweet. The most effective headlines are the shortest ones.
When it comes to copy, less is always more.
Don’t Instantly Focus on You
It’s a natural inclination to talk about ourselves first. People tend to write copy that’s all about themselves and their business. It seems to make sense to immediately shine the spotlight on what your business offers.
But your prospects don’t really care about you.
What they want to see is that you understand them and their problems.
Here’s another example.
Let’s say you help B2B companies make more sales and generate more leads. Your headline might say, “I help B2B companies improve their sales tactics.” Or “We’ve been teaching B2B companies how to generate more leads for 20 years.”
A stronger headline says, “Make more sales and attract more leads.” This addresses the real problem your prospects are dealing with. (Not making enough sales and leads).
When to Mention Yourself
So, when do you mention who you are and what you do? You may want to say, “We’ve been cleaning carpets since 1985.” Or “I provide high-quality pictures for all your wedding needs.”
There is a place for sentences like these.
Coming back to our stained carpets example, you might say, “I clean carpets for commercial buildings in the Savannah area.”
Otherwise, some sentences would sound awkward. You don’t want to end up with, “Are you a commercial building in the Savannah area? Get clean carpets.”
At certain times, talking about yourself is necessary. Just not right off the bat.
Make Your Customers Feel Understood
This is why you focus on your customer and their pain first.
People want to be understood.
Taking the time to show you understand your customer’s problems will help them see you as a better choice to solve their problems.
If you were dealing with an issue and were searching online for a company to help you out, who would stand out to you more?
The company whose website greeted you by talking about what they offer?
Or the company who instantly made you feel like they knew exactly what you were going through?
Most people resonate with the second company. Even if they both offer the same product or service, you would want to use them because you felt like they understood you.
Show Your Customers You Care
Making that connection is crucial to closing more sales and gaining more leads.
When you focus on your customers, they see you care about them.
People want to feel like they’re the only person in the world you’re talking to. They want to know that you understand the problems in their life and business.
Once that fire is sparked, they feel as if only you know how to best serve them. As if you know how to make their pain go away better than anybody else.
They’re going to be comparing you to several other similar companies. The one who connects with them on the deepest level is almost certainly going to be the one they give their business to.
Next Steps
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and go visit your website.
Take a hard look at your copy. What sort of impression are you making in the first few seconds?
If you’re not focusing on your customer and the problem they’re dealing with, rewrite your copy to reflect that. Move the first mention of yourself down the page.
When a potential customer feels like you understand exactly what they’re dealing with, they trust you. They see you as the expert to fix their problems. And you’ll stand out from the crowd like no other.
