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Communication Coach: Does your website design represent your company’s brand?

October 26, 2022 -  By Jeff Korhan

I haven’t met a landscape professional who would not willingly help a neighbor if asked for advice. Some problems are more complicated than others, but as leaders in our communities, we find a way to lend a hand.

Let’s assume the challenge is tackling the landscaping renovation of a newly purchased home and that your company’s capabilities are suited for it. How would you communicate the best course of action for potentially working together to resolve the problem?  

As an acquaintance and possibly a friend, most of us would suggest a casual conversation to learn more. If appropriate, you might ask a design or sales team member to join you. In this hypothetical scenario, it turns out everyone had time to meet the following afternoon, and everything went well.

Let’s recap what happened. You listened and assessed the situation and gained valuable insights on desired outcomes and budgets. Your neighbor also has a better understanding of the situation and is considering your company for the project.

How does this series of events reconcile with your website’s home page?

• Is it receptive to listening?
• Does it project interest and empathy?
• Is the tone of voice casual or formal?
• Are common problems probed?
• Is a path to customer success suggested?
• Does it make clear calls to action?

Let’s be clear that website design is part art and science. There are standard practices, but how they are employed is greatly influenced by many factors, including the type of buyer and the ideal experience that will persuade them to take mutually beneficial actions.

It stands to reason that the website experience must be representative of the company brand. A corporate website will usually reflect its brand’s formal relationship with buyers. Yet, for most landscape service companies, one would expect greater personalization, presumably the same as they would receive if they already had a relationship with the company.

Share how your company makes people’s lives better

It’s not easy being the same in our marketing as we are in person. It’s challenging just to get the message right, but even that can fall flat if the tone of voice is slightly off. This is why experts recommend creating ideal buyer personas and marketing only to that singular persona.

This honors ideal buyers by revealing in words and a familiar voice that you see them as people first. One predictable way of doing this is leading with the common landscape problems they may be experiencing.  

“Do these problems sound familiar?”

Once that line of inquiry is opened, buyers are more receptive to learning about the products and services that are the solution to their problems. Keep in mind that websites measure attention levels in minutes. Rather than focusing too much on services, reveal how they make people’s lives better. This can be done with testimonials from real customers whose words often resonate better than yours.

Now describe how buyers can go about acquiring those benefits. Lay out a clear path to customer success, revealing how your company makes everything easy and predictable.

Nothing happens without a call to action, so make it clear and specific. Avoid the rookie mistake of inviting website visitors to learn more. Instead, make targeted calls to action that lead to the one outcome that is best for everyone concerned.