Why do clients hire you? Why do customers purchase from you? Because you solve a problem or fill a need for them, but are your brand visuals communicating what you can actually do for them?
The number one thing you can do for your business is to keep sight of your customers and their needs.
Listing out your services or features of your product doesn’t tell potential clients how you solve their problem.
This is where the importance of knowing your customers and what they struggle with comes in.
One part of my design process is the discovery phase.
I use a detailed questionnaire where I ask questions about not only my clients’ businesses but who their customers are. Ultimately the goal as a small business owner is to not only appeal to your customers but to also fill your customers’ needs.
A recent client of mine did this very well.
He built a dojo at his house and has extensive training in Traditional Japanese Martial Arts. As I was talking to him, I’m asking about group classes and women’s self-defense. He immediately said he mostly wanted to work one-on-one with adults who’re interested in specialized martial arts training, rather than generalized karate classes for kids. He travels to Japan several times a year to continue his training, so he has a very specific niche and knows who his ideal client is.
I went on to design branding and a website to specifically appeal to his future students looking for this kind of training. We used photography that showed only adults being trained by him in the dojo and clear calls to action for class times, pricing, and how to sign up. You can view the final project here.
Want To Improve Sales? Make Sure Your Website Answers These 3 Questions.
By answering these 3 questions, you’ll better understand how to create effective branding visuals that attract your ideal clients!
What problem or pain point is your customer experiencing?
Identifying what your customer is struggling with and what problems they have is the first step in learning how you can help them. When I’m looking online for a product or service to solve a problem I’m having, I see so many websites that get this first question wrong. I get frustrated if I can’t quickly determine what the business offers and what it can do for me. More than likely I’ll leave the site and move on to another site that answers my questions and offers a solution.
Sometimes, as a business owner, it’s difficult to step outside your own struggles and really see what your customers need from you. One of the best ways is to simply ask! Setting up a survey or asking your circle of friends and professional contacts what they’re looking for in the type of product or service your business offers is a great way to gain insight.Appeal to your customer’s greed. What can you DO FOR THEM?
When a customer is looking to buy, they want to know how it’s going to benefit THEM. Once you’ve identified your customer’s struggles, you can get to work in showing them how YOU can SOLVE their problem. How does your product or service add value to your customers’ lives?
On your website it’s essential to clearly communicate HOW you can solve your customer’s problem, and make their lives easier. This can be done visually with photography, a video tutorial, or simply using icons to separate out information.
Using visuals that show HOW your product or service can make your customers’ lives better will go a long way in helping you attract the right customers and make the sale.How Easy is it for customers to work with you or purchase from you? Do you have an easy to navigate intake and purchase system?
Don’t make your customers have to search your site for what your product or service can do for them. Immediately outline their pain point or problem you’ve identified and how you can solve it for them. Make your message and service immediately clear and then tell your customer what you want them to do. A bold call to action telling your potential customer how to work with or purchase from you gives them direction.
Once you can clearly answer these questions, you’ll have a better perspective on how to visually communicate with your customers. If you’re hiring a designer, being able to provide them with these details will go a long way developing not only beautiful but effective brand visuals.
Take the time to evaluate how you’re communicating with your customers, and don’t forget to also check your website’s functionality. My post on How To Spring Clean Your Website provides some more valuable advice to keep your website in tip-top shape to attract those ideal customers.
