Rob Bunting • May 27, 2020

remember being a teenager back in the 80s and watching TV with my grandmother one day when we happened to come across the tail end of the Hitchcock move The Birds. My grandmother then launched into a short, mild rant in which she complained about how she hated Hitchcock movies because in her opinion they just seemed to end for no apparent reason, without a tidy resolution or conclusion that ended the story in a neat, little package (in other words, a “happy ending”).

My grandmother, may she rest in peace, would probably hate most of the business websites I see today. First, I see websites with no clear theme or overriding message of why customers should choose to work with them. I find myself asking questions like “What are these guys all about?” or “What is the story they are trying to tell me about why they went into business and how I as a potential customer would benefit from working with them?”

Second, there may be a decent amount of informative content on each of the various pages that extols the virtues of the company and their products, but then after a few paragraphs or bullet points…it just stops. No link to relevant content on a following page that continues the sales pitch. No call to action to take the next step of requesting information by submitting the contact form or calling them. No special offer or promotion. Nothing. Just blank space at the bottom of the page.

Don’t leave your website visitors hanging for more information or wondering what to do next when they are on your site! First, design the layout and write the information on your website in such a way that clearly outlines in a logical pattern what your company stands for and what differentiates you from your competition, what us marketers call your “Unique Selling Proposition”.

Next, make sure that each page quickly and succinctly tells the next “chapter of the story” and then at the end of the page directs them where you want them to go next or to do what it is you want them to do. If you want them to a read another page that is the next logical for your story, i.e. your sales pitch, put a link to that page. If you made all of your key points and next want people to pick up the phone and call you, then put your phone number along with the name and extension or email address of the person they should ask for at the bottom of the page along with a link to your website’s contact form so people can submit it after business hours. In other words, “Ask for the sale” and in doing so make it as easy as possible for folks to take the next step to becoming a customer.

Take a look at EVERY webpage and see if it resembles a Hitchcock movie by lacking a clear, easy-to-understand message or a simple call to action. If it does, make changes to it so people will be more likely to take that next step.

Your business website should not be a Hitchcock movie that leaves people lost and confused, it should effectively answer the key questions they have about working with you and generate well-qualified sales leads, and ultimately have a “happy ending” by improving your bottom line. THE END.

Rob Bunting is Czar of the Cincinnati I-marketing Group, an online advertising agency in Ohio serving both B2B & B2C clients. Learn more at http://CallTheCzar.com or contact Rob at 513-549-3882