Your website is (still) the best place to talk product benefits

Ask customers where they want to learn about your product benefits, and the answer is probably your website.

We know because that’s what we see in our own work. And we know because this September, a study asked consumers just that: Where do you go to understand product benefits?

50% said your website. 

Which begs the question: How well is your website showcasing your product?

Here are some questions to help you assess:

1. How quickly can someone find your product when they land on the site?

Are product pages buried deep in your navigation or are they front-and-center? Does your homepage point toward your most important product pages? Is there a clear call to action leading people deeper into the product content? 

53% of mobile users will leave a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. And finding information is a similarly lightning-paced task. If they can’t find what they need, they’re going to peace on out.

2. How conversational are your product pages?

One of our contractors used to be responsible for evaluating and making recommendations on tech products for a large corporation. Ask for her advice on product content, and she’ll tell you this: 

After dozens of evaluations, the last thing she wanted to do was read yet another jargon-filled, self-praising piece of product content. The relief she felt when product pages were simple and jargon-free was immense. Seriously: hallelujah-your-product-just-moved-to-the-front-of-the-line immense. 

She needed the information about what the product could do, whether it met company requirements, etc., but combing through lengthy documentation written by tech dudes made her want to scream into the Icelandic void. 

And she’s not the only one. Studies show that people—including highly educated and tech-savvy people—respond better to simple language. So take a look at your product pages and one-sheets. How easy are they to understand? What grade level is the writing? Are you using jargon when you could use plain language?

3. How clear are your next steps?

Once someone has read your product page, what should they do next? Set up a demo? Set up a call? Give you their phone number so a salesperson can follow up? Start a free trial? Buy now?

Too often, we see product pages that simply…end. No next steps. No link to follow. No free trial button. Nada. 

And phew, if your product pages look like this, it’s one of the quickest, easiest, and most important things you can change. Move people along your funnel. Nudge them past those early research stages and into falling in love with how your product can solve their problems.

4. Are you sharing the right visuals?

Do you have a visually pleasing dashboard in your product? Show it off! Have a process that your competitors do in five steps but your system does in one? Put it front and center!

Understand what problems your customers are trying to solve with your product and what visuals will help them understand instantly that your product solves them. Sometimes this means photos. Sometimes illustrations. Sometimes video. But it almost always includes some kind of visual.

5. What kind of social proof can you offer?

Product decisions are often big commitments, especially in B2B. And when people are making a big decision, they want to hear how it’s worked out for others. So make sure your product pages showcase testimonials, link out to case studies, or otherwise loop in social proof that your product does what you claim and solves the problems plaguing your customers.

And, as always, if you need some help making sure your product pages are knocking your results out of the park—we’re here for it. Contact us anytime to talk strategy.