Jay Baer and his crew over at Convince and Convert have unveiled a newly-redesigned website, and I have to commend them on one thing in particular. One thing that’s missing in so much on-line promotion.
Clarity.
So few websites (you can swap in the word “marketing materials”) get right to the point and explain the market position and value in the first few moments. Readers are often left wondering what the company’s differentiating sweet spot (and WIIFM) actually is.
But not in this case. This, my readers, is how it’s done:
The headline gives the company identity in 5 words (1 phrase). The sub-headline gives the promise, in a punchy and aspirational way (1 sentence). And the one-sentence explanatory expansion outlines the specific offerings.
And then right after that? A little “How Can We Help?” call to action. Perfect.
BOOM! In 10 seconds, I know C&C’s sweet spot; and if I want to hear more about it via video, Jay is queued up and waiting.
The “make it clear” approach continues on the About page, where you also get a contrasting “here’s what we’re not” statement:
We are Digital Marketing Advisors.
We are not an agency.
We help you get better at social media and content marketing through audits, creation of strategic plans, workshops and coaching, setting up and configuring metrics and tracking, and ongoing advice and counsel.
We work with leading companies and agencies to take their social media and content marketing prowess from good to outstanding. We’ve completed projects for WalMart, BMC Software, Caterpillar, Columbia Sportswear, Billabong, Visit California, Wyoming Office of Tourism, Petco, Maersk, Allstate, Dole Salads, RCI and many more.
These brands trust us because we provide sound recommendations in a straightforward, hype-free fashion at a reasonable cost, with no drama.
The web design itself, with its information architecture, is quite admirable and effective. But that’s never enough if the message isn’t crystal clear. And in that respect, Convince and Convert nails it.
When people have clarity about what you do, they can quickly decide if they need you. AND – they can much more effectively refer you to others.
Yes, you can learn a lot about content marketing from Convince and Convert. But by seeing what they’ve done here, you can also learn a ton about just plain marketing.
Be Clear.
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Related blog post: Five Steps Toward Finding Your Professional Sweet Spot
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Steve, I am absolutely THRILLED that you like what we’ve done here. I actually had you and your clarity system in mind when I wrote the copy. So, I’m high fiving myself that the clarity we sought worked for you. In fairness, however, I should note that it only took me 5.5 years and four site designs to get it right! Better late than never!
Jay – Ha! It’s quite normal for us to go through a number of evolutions and iterations before we get things distilled to the essence. It is SO rare to see a site (or any marketing endeavor) that gets it right – that’s why your new Convince and Convert site just jumped out at me and made me cheer.