“Why am I here?” I asked myself. I had a vague recollection of standing, walking, turning, stopping… but I found myself standing at the kitchen sink without a clue as to why I had come. Food? Beverage? What?
Come on, you’ve done it, too.
Between my desk and my destination, a dozen distractions make me forget why I came here in the first place. (Men, you’ll just have to take my word on this. This is how Ms. Jones thinks.) “The blinds need straightened. My friend sat in that chair last week, I wonder how she’s doing? There’s the book I’m reading, I wonder what happens next. Is it overdue from the library? When I go downtown to renew it I should stop at the post office and get stamps to mail my grandmother’s birthday card…” Is it any wonder I forget why I went to the kitchen?
When Ms. Jones sits down at her computer, she might have a clear objective and an obvious mission. She may have just seen your television commercial, heard you on the radio, or flipped through your flyer. But here in her online world, you might as well forget “dozens of distractions” – there are millions of megabytes competing for her attention. By the time she gets past the fancy flash on her home page and types in her query, we’re lucky if she remembers what she was looking for in the first place.
How can you make it easier for her?
First, be findable. Is your website optimized so the search engines can find it fast and first? (You do have a website, right?) Just like you pay to be above the fold, you can also pay to get on Page 1 of Ms. Jones’ search results. It might be time you brought your advertising budget into the digital 21st century. I’m just sayin’…
Second, be consistent. Your online message should match your offline message. If you’re talking about tables on TV, your website should show tables. You spent a lot of money on that offline marketing. Are you maximizing it online? Your image should also be consistent: If your TV ads are classy then your website should be classy – just like your store should be classy.
Ms. Jones mind has been compared to a plate of spaghetti. Each thought crosses over and under and around many others as she processes information and makes a decision. Your job is to be findable and logical once she remembers why she’s standing at the kitchen sink.
