Recently, I caught one of my favorite movies Joe Dirt on Comedy Central. Not sure why I like this movie (not a huge David Spade fan), but something about this movie; maybe it's the the story, or the music, Joe's wicked mullet, Kid Rock's character, Brandy, or just a nice combination of it all?While I have seen this movie many, many times; this time around I realized that Joe Dirt provides us with some basic, but important information for anyone trying to run a website. Specifically, I am referring to the clip below.
Did You Catch That?
Right there at the end? It is not what YOU like, but the consumer.
Think about everything you are doing in regards to your website strategy. Despite what you think or what all the guides, webinars, best practices, bloggers, etc. say; it really comes down to what the consumer likes, not what YOU like. Just because you like the way something looks or even the way something is worded, does not mean it will be well accepted by the consumer.
Think Like A Consumer
If you were a potential consumer of your business, what would you hope to accomplish by visiting the website? Would you be interested in understanding what the differences are between the various product offerings? Maybe learning how your business stacks up against the competitors? Most importantly, you might be interested in understanding how the product or service would benefit your company? How will it save time and/or money?
Many business owners get so tied up in their business, when it comes to their website strategy they often approach it with their own biased opinion of what it should be like. Usually, you will see these sites with convoluted navigation/user experiences, corporate jargon and acronyms, and product pages that make no sense to the common person. Typically you will see their pages simply list features of a product or service, but not how it benefits the consumer. Therefore, it is important you should think like a consumer.
Take The Joe Dirt Approach
By taking the Joe Dirt approach, you can create a website strategy that will enhance the customer experience and ultimately lead to more sales/conversions. When you make decisions based on consumer needs rather than your own opinion, you will be setting your website up for success.
What are you doing to to think like a consumer? Do you already take the "Joe Dirt approach"? Let me know in the comments below.
