Why You Need A Customer Centric Focus

There is nothing worse when you are at a party getting introduced to someone that loves themselves. You know the type of people I am talking about, they can’t stop talking about themselves and no matter what is discussed they have done it better, big, faster and more often, you just can’t wait to get rid of them.

So why then do we do the same thing with our websites and other marketing collateral that we produce for our business?

In the last 2-3 weeks I have had this conversation 4 times (it’s funny how trends like this happen in our line of work) where businesses are looking at developing or re-vamping their websites. I ask them one question are you going to have a “product centric” or “customer centric” website, which will work better for your business? The answer is a blank stare!

The challenge I give my clients is this, I ask them to think of a problem that is really bothering them at the moment and Google that problem. When the search results come through, I challenge them NOT to click on some of the top results that very clearly look as if they have the answer. The reality is they can’t do it, their mind tells them “I have a problem, there is the answer, click on it!”

So why is it then that the vast majority of websites out there are product centric, they are the annoying people at the party that talk about themselves not their clients. These sites are typically set up with the usual tabs across the home page:

Home Page: an introduction about the company (me)
About Us: more information about the company and it’s workers (me)
Products: information about the company’s products (me)
Services: information about the company’s services (me)
Portfolio: more information about what the company has done (me)
Contact: how to contact the company (me)

In this example it’s all about me, me, me, me and there is nothing about the customer.

A customer centric website will still have all the relevant information about the business but the content will be about the customer, it will be about their pain, their problems, their issues which will connect with them on a “need” level and will follow through with potential solutions for them. Think about the following:

Home Page: Talks about the most common problems clients have that the business provides solutions for; this immediately connects with the customer and encourages them to find more information or make contact.
Client Driven Tabs: All businesses have (or should have) a specific type of customer that they provide solutions for, why not change the tabs across the top of the website to reflect those target markets?
When a client clicks on the tab relevant to them the first thing they read should be one or two of the most common problems that they experience (another chance to connect with them) but on this page there is also a potential solution for them to think about.
Once the customer connects and is in no doubt that your business can help them, make it easy for them to contact you.

A customer centric website is all about connecting with the customer’s problems, showing them that you understand what those problems are and that you are able to provide a solution for them. The more client problems you have on your website the more you are likely to be found in the search engine results and in a way that the client can’t do anything but click on your link.