What clients want to see on your website

Recently, I asked a group of builders what they felt a prospective client wants to see on a builder’s website. They suggested a full range of services, a gallery of past work, references from satisfied customers, awards and memberships, guarantees and more.

When I checked a number of builders’ websites, that’s pretty much what I found – pictures of great-looking houses, the logo and the name of the company, lists of services provided, awards, memberships and guarantees.

While these are great items to have on your website, some important aspects were routinely missing:

1. Customers themselves (aka someone potential customers can relate to)

When looking through family albums, which one do you stop and look at? The one with YOU in it! It’s just how we are. So, think of the internet as a giant photo album, through which your clients are flipping – page after page after page.

Where will they stop? When they get to a page (site) in which they see themselves. Simple but true. Because while looking, they’re asking the question “Could this client be me?”

So, if you want them to stop at your website, just include ‘their’ picture on the front page! It’ll make them stop every time.

The general response I receive when I suggest this to builders is that they don’t know what ‘they’ look like.

That’s often because most websites are trying to attract everyone and anyone. But you can’t supply expert services to everyone – and most clients don’t like to see themselves as just anyone.

So focus your website on your ideal customer (which I discussed in my last article). Think about what they wear, drive, eat, etc. Then review your website graphics with this in mind and make sure your photos are in line with that.

By doing this, when your ideal customer arrives at your website, you can almost hear them exclaim, “That’s me!” or “That’s us!”

2. Customers’ needs

OK, so your ideal customer has arrived at your website and found themselves surrounded by familiar people and things, so they know they are at the right place. Their next question is: “Can you give me what I need?”

Now, the truth is that even though they think they know their needs, they often don’t – they know their wants. For example, your client wants a new executive home, but might not know what s/he needs. For example, they don’t know how big it should be, what kind of roof is best in their setting or which materials to use for the cladding, etc. They may not even be precise about the number of rooms.

You can help them by asking diagnostic questions, such as what kind of houses they prefer, how many people will be living there, does it need to be child-friendly and do you expect to retire here?

“You want your website to start asking the questions that gets your prospective client thinking – then they will call you for answers

This will show them that you want to build a home that’s right for them and demonstrate your ability to help them move from wants to needs. Anyone can simply display heaps of impressive information – the internet’s full of it – but an expert locates the real need, and your customer knows when their real need is being dealt with.

So, review your website content. Does it deliver information, or does it raise expert questions? Consider including questions such as: Do you need a home study capacity for your teenagers? Do you plan to work out of your home? What level of soundproofing do you need? Do you plan to accommodate extended family at any time (number of bathrooms)? What will your family look like five (or ten) years from now?

You want your website to start asking the questions that gets your prospective client thinking. Then they will call you for answers.

3. Customer confidence

Having found the right people (‘people like me’) and the right builder (one who understands my specific needs) your prospective client needs to have confidence in you to provide the solution.

This is where testimonials come into their own, because they provide independent proof from people like them.

Remember, a testimonial is NOT a reference – there is a chalk and cheese difference between the two.

A reference is all about the character of the builder, whereas a testimonial focuses on the client’s needs being met and says very little about the builder. Instead, it tells the story of the client in three parts:

1) their needs and aspirations;

2) what they did to get those needs met; and

3) the results they received.

A testimonial only mentions the builder in passing, focusing instead on the actions the satisfied client took – actions your ideal customers could imitate.

So review your testimonials and make sure they’re not just full of nice things about you. While it’s great for them to hear that you were accommodating and easy to deal with, everyone is different and it’s the actions you take that matter most. Make sure your testimonials include your customers’ needs, what they did about them and how they now feel about the results.

Take the time to review your website, as it’s often your first point of contact with prospective clients. While a number of websites fail to do the trick, many work – especially the ones that meet a prospective customer face-to-face, like a mirror on the wall.

About the Successful Builder

Graeme Owen, based in Auckland, is a builders’ business coach. Since 2006, he has helped builders get off the tools, make decent money, and free up time for family, fishing and enjoying sports. Get his free ebook: 3 Reasons Builders Lose Money and How to Fix Them for High Profits at http://TheSuccessfulBuilder.com