Last month I shared a bit about how I feel the web should be these days. As I pointed out in that post, my “should” is irrelevant. I can push toward that better web to a degree, and I’ll continue to, but I also need to spend most of my time dealing with the web as it is today.
It’s similar to how our customers view our companies. There are reasons that we think they “should” view us, but those reasons don’t matter. In his book “No Bullsh*t Strategy“, author Alex Smith frames it like this:
“In either event, though, a crucial ingredient of any strategic value offering is a deep respect for the consumer – for their time, for their priorities, and even for their biases. What you think they “should” care about is nothing. What they do, in fact, care about is everything. So whatever you do, make sure you operate honestly and realistically within those boundaries.”
There are a lot of things I see companies do that are things that they feel their customers should care about. A big one is longevity, with things like “we’ve been in business for 62 years“. While that might be relevant in deeper conversations, leading with that kind of statement on your website is almost never a good idea.
A great way to uncover the real reasons that customers will care about your company can be uncovered in a solid messaging strategy, which is the main purpose of that kind of work. Uncover the real messages and focus on those first, and once you get to know your potential clients a bit more the things that they “should” care about might start coming to the surface.
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