Why Your Website Is Your Most Valuable Sales Asset

Businesses today live and die by their online presence; however, most companies have messy websites that confuse potential customers and fail to secure a sale.

You know the ones: plenty of family and pet photos and loads of copywriting, but very little information on what they sell (and how to purchase their product).

Quite frankly, it’s a bunch of stuff that says NOTHING.

Here’s the thing: it’s not the business’s fault.

Most likely, that business owner didn’t have any marketing help. There was no specialized sales professional helping them craft the copywriting, brand messaging, and overall website experience.

Done well, a great website could be worth thousands — even millions — of dollars to you and your business.

That’s why, today, I’m going to share with you just how vital your website is to your company — and exactly what you can do to elevate your company’s online presence and grow your business.

When it comes to sales, your website is one of the greatest assets you have. Yet, the more I speak with business owners about their websites, the more I find many have never seen a return on investment.

Nothing kills the momentum of a growing company like an underperforming website.

To help, here are three things every business leader MUST know about their website.

1. Your Website Is Often the First Impression of Your Company (Impress Your Prospects by Positioning Yourself as the Most Valuable Choice in Your Market).

Let’s start with a common myth.

Myth: Your website must have a beautiful design to win business and leave a great first impression.

Truth: Your customers care FAR less about how your website looks than about how you can solve their problems. Their impression of your brand comes down to how clearly you position your value.

Yes, the look and feel of your site matters. But when it comes to your website’s overall form and design, choose clarity over an aesthetically pleasing design to position yourself as the clear choice against your competitors.

There’s a reason why so many gorgeous, heavily funded websites aren’t able to sell anything.

I have a friend whose website looks like it was created in 1998. You know the one: pixelated images, outdated font, below-average layout. The only thing he was missing was a cheesy picture of him pointing at the camera in an oversized brown suit.

Well, that same friend made over $200,000 in sales last year using that same ugly, outdated website.

You’re likely wondering, “How is his ugly website applicable to the importance of making a ‘great first impression’?”

The answer: he knows his customers and their problems intimately.

He targets no-nonsense CFO’s who value brevity and couldn’t care less about aesthetics. His customers simply want solutions, and his website positions him as the most valuable choice in the marketplace by speaking to their needs.

Within seconds of landing on his website, his target audience knows exactly why he is the solution to their problem, proving that he is nailing his first impressions.

Bottom line: Your website is often the very first impression of your business. Impress your prospects with a website that clearly communicates why you’re the best choice in your marketplace.

2. Every single word on your website (copywriting) MUST have a purpose.

“Copywriting is the strategy of creating persuasive content for Marketing and Sales with the purpose of generating conversions and sales.”

Have you ever landed on a business’s website only to close out after 60 seconds with absolutely zero idea as to what they do?

How about scrolling and skimming for minutes to find a single idea of how they can solve your problem?

Here’s the truth: if the words on your website don’t clearly communicate HOW you solve your customer’s problem, you’re going to lose the sale.

More specifically: every single word on your website should position you as the clear choice and drive the customer to make a buying decision.

Leave the funny pet videos, pages of family history, and irrelevant copywriting to your competitors.

Instead, use well-crafted copy that does the following:

1. Speaks to your customer’s pain point
2. Explains how you solve their pain point
3. Directs your customers to the POS (Point of Sale) so they can solve that pain point

Remember my friend with the ugly website?

Despite his visually abhorrent web design, he’s selling products because every word in his copywriting speaks to his target customer’s immediate needs; AKA, their pain points.

Unfortunately, most copy on websites does nothing but distract and confuse site visitors — but yours could be different.

Bottom line: The words on your website must have a purpose. Use your website’s copy to communicate the problem(s) you solve, how you make your customers’ lives easier, and how they can purchase from you.

3. Choose professionals to build and manage your website. (In other words: don’t hire your cousin Larry.)

In my experience, websites that sell are built by a team of marketing experts who each specialize in their craft. This is why hiring an individual with a limited set of skills and experience for your website build will likely leave you with a website that underperforms on multiple fronts.

Sure, there are some websites created by individuals that perform well.

However, to be your customer’s first choice and dominate your market, it’s essential your website is world-class and reflects the professionalism your brand carries.

Here’s the hard truth: a single web designer can’t begin to touch the value delivered by a specialized team of marketing experts. Marketing is a beast and requires multiple skill sets which can each take a lifetime to master.

That’s why trusting your success online to a sole individual is a significant risk.

As a full-service Marketing Agency, we have witnessed our customers breathe a heavy sigh of relief once we’ve taken over and cleaned up their websites. Many of these sites were riddled with inefficiencies, security risks, and ineffective sales messaging.

Bottom line: Instead of leaving your website in the hands of a limited individual, trust an experienced team with seasoned experts in multiple facets of marketing (Copywriting, SEO, Graphic Design, Web Design, Marketing Strategy, Branding, etc.).

Tying it all together

Let’s summarize with an exercise:

To start, picture your website in your mind’s eye. Go ahead; try to think from the perspective of your customer.

Ask yourself, if I was coming to this site as a casual customer, would I do business with this company?

Next, ask yourself these three questions:

• Is it clear how this business can solve my problem?
• Does the site look like a premier brand capable of quality service?
• Does this website function well and is reflective of a world-class company?

If your answer was “no” to any of these, don’t worry – there’s a solution.

More than just another marketing agency

Your business needs more than just a web designer to make it look pretty. Your business needs an executive-level marketing strategist to create (and execute) a killer website plan.

You need shrewd, seasoned copywriters to write your website and help your product connect.

You need an ultra-talented designer to create compelling visual layouts and bring your website to life in 360 degrees.

You need technical specialists to ensure your website is structurally sound, secure, blazing fast, and optimized to dominate Google Search results.

At 8Bend Marketing, we’ve been in the business long enough to know your competitors aren’t willing to ask themselves these hard questions, and they’re most likely overlooking these fundamentals for a website that sells.

This means there is a gap in your industry that you have the chance to fill. Are you going to step up, do the work, and dominate your market?

It’s time to become the clear choice in your marketplace. Turning your website into a sales machine that converts could be what gets you there.

The team at 8Bend Marketing is ready to launch your business into the stratosphere. Call us today to schedule your FREE 30-minute marketing consult and see what’s possible for the future of your business.

Josh Davis is the co-founder and President of 8Bend Marketing. Josh is a skilled marketing strategist, copywriter, and StoryBrand messaging expert who is passionate about helping customers clarify their messaging and stop losing deals they should be winning.