No one gives a crap about your new website.
Really. They don’t.
Recently, a small business client asked me to review a customer email drafted to announce the company’s new and improved web site. “Do not send that email.” Confusion swept across my client’s face as she said “But…creo just designed this awesome site for us…shouldn’t we tell people? It’s kind of a big deal!”
If you’re a small business leader, please remember this: your customers and prospects don’t give a crap about your new website. It’s only a big deal to your internal team. And as excited as your team may be, the launch of a shiny new website, logo or other marketing achievement is not news. So forget the email, social and PR announcements.
Most small businesses want to look bigger than they are. But announcing your ‘brand new thing’ actually backfires because it makes you look like a small company that hasn’t yet grown up enough to realize that the only thing your customers care about is how well you solve their problems. Announcing your marketing achievements implies that you’re more preoccupied with your company’s affairs than your customers’ needs.
My client persisted, “Our new website isn’t just pretty, it also has new features that will make our customers’ lives easier! They need to know, don’t you think?”
She’s right, they do need to know. But be patient and allow customers to discover your improvements on their own time and make their own assessments. Instead of telling them that your website is magnificent, let them tell you. If it solves their problems, inspires them or in some way improves their lives, you’ll find out through positive feedback and increased customer loyalty.
At the end of the day, a good rule of thumb is to make sure that any company news is about how you relieve customer pain points or deliver what they want better than the competition. Because that’s the only thing they really care about. And you’ll be a bigger, wiser company for knowing that.
What about your organization? Is it guilty of announcing its shiny new marketing achievements? Or does it stay focused on customer needs?
