There are certain common questions that those who buy advisory services tend to ask themselves. Many are questions they will be too hesitant to ask directly. If you are not addressing these questions in your website, you might want to consider doing so. If you have an editable site built in a CMS like WordPress or Drupal, the fix is easy. Add content that addresses these concerns. One of the first things we do, when evaluating the effectiveness of a potential client’s website, is to ask these questions to determine a list of new content that might need to be developed.
Here they are:
1. Is there anyone I already know who can help me?
This is where your networking pays off. People perceive finding someone to help them to be a separate project in and of itself. So, if they already know you, they often perceive that as a shortcut to a good solution. Ask yourself, does your site tell them where you are located and what circles you serve and travel in? These things can help to make you sound and feel more familiar and known to them.
Try to be warm and personal in the language of your site, not technical or complicated. This is true even if you are an advisor in something highly technical. You sound smarter when you can put things in simple terms and don’t fall back on what we call “weasel words” — terms that try to make things sound more official or important than they really are. The most important things are best referred to simply.
2. What will getting help cost me?
Make certain your site addresses your customers’ cost concerns. You don’t have to include costs, but address the value of what you do the best way you can. That said, be careful not to overstate your value or fall back on clichés. Try to word this part of your site carefully so that you are saying something practical and credible that shows you understand what your target customer is up against. Don’t empathize or pander to their problems, but state clearly what they will get out of what you will do for them. It’s counter-intuitive, but what you write should understate it, not overstate it. People can smell overstatement a mile away.
3. Can I get the information I need on my own to figure it out?
The internet is a magical place, especially when it comes to information. For those who provide advisory services, this creates an enormous amount of competition with other solutions to your clients’ problems. There are so many advisors, who all sound like they know what they’re talking about and all too many who make huge promises. That’s why we push, as noted above, being careful with overstatement. Being credible about what you say and not overstating things is critically important.
Does your site explain clearly the circumstances about which you provide advice? Is it specific enough? We caution you. Most businesses we work with think they are being specific enough when they, in fact, are not. If you aren’t sure, err on the side of being more specific rather than less.
4. How will I know if those I consider for help will do what I need them to?
Customers are concerned with your ability to do what you say you will and they are especially concerned about whether or not what they spend with you will allow their problem to be completely solved. This is a fair concern. Address it in your site copy by being clear about what you will do and how it will benefit them. If you do that properly and are as clear and complete as you can be, you will give them the reassurance they need to move to the next step with you. Make sure you spell out the steps that it will take to accomplish their goal. It will give them reassurance that you know what you are doing and that you will do what you say you will.
5. Do I know what I need? Are there things I’m not thinking of to ask for?
Provide your customers with case studies or project stories about other customers whose problems you’ve solved. And you may want to offer them an evaluation of some sort. Just because a client acknowledges they need your help doesn’t mean they know everything about what you do or the best way you can help them. When you offer them an evaluation first, it assures them you will do your due diligence to uncover what’s going on, so you can be sure to serve them fully and in a truly customized and individual manner.
6. Is there anything I can do in the process to reduce my expenditures?
No one likes to spend more than they need to for outside services. So be honest with your customers if there are parts of the process to which they can contribute. Not all clients want this, but many do and almost all will appreciate the choice to be involved hands-on even if they opt out of it.
7. How fast can I get this done and move on to other things?
It seems these days that no one has the time they’d like to spend on things. Even important things. All you can do to address this for customers is to spell out how long it will take as specifically and clearly as you can. Be optimistic but realistic, and if time frames range, say so. But don’t just say they range, say how much they range — from X to Y.
8. If I can’t afford to do what I want to, are there interim steps I can take?
You may want your customer to commit to your full advisory service, and it may be hard to break out what you do into interim steps. But you should. People differ. Some dive in, some play in the wading pool first. It would be a shame to miss a great long-term opportunity with a customer just because they weren’t inclined to dive in right from the start.
There are certainly more questions customers can ask themselves, but if you anticipate those listed above, and make sure you are addressing them effectively in your website, you should be in pretty good shape.
— Chris Quinn, principal and brand strategist
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