When you begin crafting a website, you need to make many decisions, decisions that are not unlike the ones you make when writing a novel. You need to determine who you are writing for, what themes will interest them, what the gist of the story will be, what major conflicts are likely to arise, how can they be resolved, and how you, the narrator, will be characterized. In both cases, taking time to lay the groundwork is essential to your success.
Character
Every good story begins with people. Who are the characters? Where do they live? What do they do? What problems do they face? Buyer personas are like characters in a novel. They are modeled after your ideal customers and clearly-defined through market research. It is important to describe as many characteristics as possible. Why? If you were to strike up a conversation with a 50-year-old elementary school teacher who lives in the South, wouldn’t it be different than a conversation with a 35-year-old New York stockbroker? While your business objective might be the same for both, these two characters have very different wants and needs. Tapering your website design, and all of your marketing, for your personas will greatly increase your chances for success.
Theme
The look at feel of good website design involves typefaces, colors, images, and layout that complement one another to form an overall impression. Like the theme of a novel, the theme sets the mood to ensure your website visitors feel welcome.
With the help of web design experts, you can develop a creative web design that provides visitors with valuable information, explains how your offerings can ease their troubles and invites them to engage – ultimately converting them from visitors to leads, and then customers.
Point-of-View
Once you understand the qualities of your personas, you can create content that speaks to them. It is important to use vocabulary that is familiar to them, to address their needs as quickly as possible, and to craft the content so that it will be easily accessed on every device.
Setting
Where do your clients spend their time? Are they sitting in an office all day, traveling from one city to another, navigating a construction site, or working from home? Understanding the work environments of your personas helps you develop content that is relevant to their daily lives. Beyond the scope of their job descriptions, successful marketing will also touch on the personal aspects of their lives.
Plot
Like a novel, a website needs a roadmap. What are the likely scenarios that will bring a visitor to your website? What can you offer to address their needs? What next steps do you recommend? Each of these questions will be answered with your personas in mind. For example, you may have three descriptions on your homepage that visitors can quickly use to identify themselves and be led to related content. For best results, the buyer’s journey needs to feel like a natural progression.
Conflict
Just when things seemed to have settled down… Conflict is a constant in literature and in life. By demonstrating your understanding of your personas’ common obstacles, you build trust and open doors for engagement. Providing a steady flow of resources on your website helps you gain greater exposure and top-of-mind presence that will prove to be valuable when buying decisions are made.
And they lived happily ever after
With a successful web design that addresses the needs and desires of the personas in your target audience, you are well on your way to reaping the benefits of an effective marketing tool. Be sure to keep an eye on which elements attract the most attention, and tweak your strategies accordingly.
To learn more about how 3D Studios can help you publish a masterpiece, take advantage of our free branding assessment.
We Can Help
3D Studios helps businesses grow their influence and their brands. As a boutique brand management agency, we begin with a thorough analysis of your needs and partner with you to develop and execute a marketing plan that will help you take your business to the next level. To learn more about how 3D Studios can help you, visit us at www.3Dstudios.net or call 914-304-4229.
