Extreme Makeover: Brand + Site Edition (Before & After)
Is it really worth spending ...
the money on picking colors, creating visuals, crafting your messaging and designing the best layout for all this content – all to simply prettify your website?
Hey, it just “looks,” right? Does any of that really matter that much?
An overwhelming: YES
I’m sure you already know first impressions do matter. There have been plenty of studies showing how it take seconds and even milliseconds to form a judgment. Yes, it might sound harsh, but we all do it. For example, you have already made a judgement about me, just now, by reading these first few lines.
And the same goes for your brand and website.
As soon as a potential client lands on your website, they have an impression about you! It can mean a sale or a not a sale, a call or not a call, a sign up or not a sign up…you get the idea.
So we can agree that impressions are made by what we see and read (or hear). And, maybe you’ve asked yourself whether words or visuals matter more. What grabs someone’s attention first?
Again, an overwhelming: YES 😉
Both make up that fantastic content that is needed to grab their attention…to create an experience that will keep them on your site.
But, it’s not enough to get that potential client in the door. As soon as a user lands on your site, you need to make sure you take them where they need to go and give them the information they need, and as you also know in today’s world, you need to do it pretty stinking fast before you lose their attention.
No time to waste
This is where knowing your audience comes in and why I always talk about finding your niche. It’s so important to know specifically who you are serving, which problems they have, what outcome they are looking for and how to solve that for them – and very quickly and efficiently getting that across with the right look, feel and messaging. And, I can almost bet you that you will also have a conversion, because you’ve given them good reason (a great experience) to buy what you sell. Well, isn’t it really all about the experience, at any point of contact?
So, today I like to follow the tip I give my clients; “show don’t tell”. In other words, I thought I would show you how we solved a client’s problem of figuring out who they want to work with and how they want to communicate with them, and of course, presenting all of this in a manner that levels up their actual work quality. The outcome is not only more clients but also a stronger team because they are collectively working towards a clear cohesive vision.
Without further ado...
We recently worked with the Collier team, a financial advisor firm from Denver, Colorado.
When we started out, they had a general idea about who they were serving, although the reason why was also sort of vague. And, it wasn’t really fueling them or their business efforts. They understood how important messaging is but they also knew how difficult it can be to express themselves and get the right words down on a piece of paper, so to speak.
This is where we were able to really help out!
This team is seriously a fun group and this, among other things, needed to come across on their site. You see, having the idea that you need to show up a certain way in order to get business and make people like you is no longer valid. Being you instead of being what you think your audience wants to see, read or experience is what’s right in today’s world of society desiring authenticity and truth.
So, after going through strategy sessions and pivoting a couple of times, we created an experience that is precisely what it would be like to engage and work with Collier in real life. It’s now very clear for the team members and, well, likely for you too as a visitor to their site.
