Is Your Website Too Stiff? It May Need A Heart Transplant

As a marketer, you need to know what visitors really think when they land on your company or brand website. More often than not, these people go there looking for something, usually a solution for their problems or something else they haven’t figured out yet.

But one thing is for sure: they’re not always there to get your product or service.

It’s like going into a barber shop. You’re not there to take a look at their scissors or their combs or shampoos.  You’re there because you need a haircut. Or maybe you need to chat with the barber. It’s the emotional need of the customers that must be addressed, and if your site doesn’t manifest emotions, then it needs a working heart.

Be results-based, not features-based

When we arrive at a website, we typically see a list of amazing information about the brand. If you’re on the landing page of, say, a website for a fitness center, you might see something like this:

• Experience our new state-of-the-art treadmills made from Germany, with precision machine rollers and a 7-inch touch-screen interface!
• Work with our professional mentors trained with the most current fitness programs
• Check out our equipment corner and enjoy incredible discounts for members!

While these statements are definitely alluring, they focus more on all the good things about the gym but they do not address the customers’ primary need: to stay fit. The website must display information that encourages them to see the results – things they could benefit from using your product or service.

With the same bullet points, see how they can be rephrased based on results instead of features:

• Make your workout more efficient and fun with our new treadmills sporting precision machine rollers and a 7-inch touch-screen interface!
• Achieve optimum body fitness with the help of our highly-trained and up-to-date mentors!
• Find out how you can bring your workout to your home with our self-help equipment, with great discounts for members!

Now, doesn’t that show more heart?

Use graphics that trigger emotions, not logic

Aside from re-wording some of the words on your site, you can also change the way graphics and other visual aids are presented. Instead of simply relying on charts and infographics, you can also incorporate photos of people actually doing something, like a snapshot of your daily operations, or of people enjoying your product or services.

Doing that makes people think of the very reason they ended up on your website in the first place. Facts and numbers can only do as much as impress them; showing that your company values emotions create longer-lasting impact.