The blokes I saw as a youngster who had outrageous success with the girls were not always the best looking, or the most interesting, or had the best cars (although all these assets did seem to help) they were the ones who were genuinely interested in whoever it was they happened to be talking to at that particular moment in time. They directed all their attention and empathy at their companion of the moment, casual or otherwise.

Why do we think we can be successful digitally with strategies that are second rate in the real world?

Websites are communication tools, they are a digital metaphor for the conversations you have at a party, in a pub, at the office, in private. Nothing more.

So, go to the home page of your site, (or your competitors) and look at it through the eyes of the person you are attempting to communicate with, and:

1. Count how often you talk about yourself, using pronouns like  “we”, “our”, “us”
2. Count how often you talk about the problems your customer has, the ways that you are referencing their needs and challenges
3. Compare the numbers, and in most cases  be amazed at how often you talk about yourself.
4. Repeat for every page on your site,
5. STOP talking about yourself!!
6. Rewrite, and reap the benefits.

Pretty simple formula really, no different to those blokes I was envious of years ago.

Related posts:

7 steps to SME digital effectiveness. 8 factors to ensure your website delivers value 4 simple measures of Digital Marketing Effectiveness for small business 6 steps for lead generation by small business