What's a WIIFY? (And why you need a good one.)

I have a good friend who has been interviewing with a very cool start-up company. I'm curious by nature and since it's not a company, or even an industry, I know anything about, I thought I'd take a look at their website. See what I could learn as she seems like the perfect fit for them. (As of this writing she's down to a final interview; fingers crossed for her.)

This particular company has an extremely compelling story, products and processes to bring to market, and what I think will be a HUGE opportunity in the world of recycling & sustainability.

They have a very good website. I like it because it's simple and has great graphics.

Here's the thing though.

↪ Their prospective customers need to know, right from the get-go, why they need this company. What's in it for them, how it will help them, and why that's important. It isn't until the 4th section down that a site visitor would likely think: "Ah, this is very cool!"

↪ That's not good because people often scan the first few sentences of a website to see if it fits with what they need/want. If they scan this site, they're likely going to miss how very cool this WILL be for them.

Soon, this company will have a very smart, savvy sales staff. It will be these folks' job to articulate to prospects the company's What's In It For You (WIIFY, as in 'wiffy') message.

And here's the other thing.

↪ Most likely they'll send prospects to their website first. They'll say something like, "We'd like to schedule a meeting with you to talk about how we can help you with XYZ. In the meantime, take a look at our website."

When the prospect goes to the company site, however, they have to dig around a bit to figure out why they really do want to learn more. What's in it for them. (Does it make their tasks easier? Add to their recycling/sustainability mission? Save them time and money?)

My point (and my professional advice) is this:

Always have your WIIFY statement front and center on your website's homepage. State why the prospect will want to talk to you, what's in it for them, and why they should be intrigued enough to look forward to that first one-on-one conversation.

Example: We help X with Y, so that they can Z.

Boom. Simple and intriguing.

Bottom line: It's worth it to hire an outside consultant to take a quick look at your site from a potential client/customer's viewpoint. It may simply be that you need a bit of content rewriting on your homepage - a better WIIFY statement that is intriguing to the potential client/customer.

Want to talk? I can help you make some changes that will increase your conversion rate and help you grow your client/customer base.