Is Your Agency Site Built For Tactics Or Problem-Solving?

An Adweek article and a conversation about clients who favor tactics versus problem-solving gave me inspiration for this post.

Starting with the article: it’s titled It’s Time for Brands to Go Back to Basics and Entice Consumers With Strong Design and Copy, and it I think most agencies need to read it in order to help their new business program.

Why?  Well, first of all, we’ve said before that your site is a visual elevator pitch.

It’s the first thing your prospects’ see, typically, and while agencies have come a long way, generally speaking, there’s work to be done.

Per the article:

See your site the way shoppers experience a brick-and-mortar grocery store. Without aisle signs guiding them around, visitors are forced to wander until they find what they desire, which is inconvenient. Content that isn’t easy to access or understand makes visitors frustrated; they’ll click off your site in search of another site that gives them what they want.

And another pertinent quote:

To that end, content formatting is critical. If users land on a service page with a wall of text, they are more likely to leave because no one has the time to sift through all that content. When your content is easy to scan with clear headings and sections, users can skim to find what they want rather than bounce.

It’s time to take a look at your site, and before you do, I recommend reading this article fully.  It’s always important to go back to the basics.

And if this is what you do for your clients, you may be thinking, “Yeah, Lee, we’ve got this.” The author has you covered there:

If you’re thinking to yourself that these tips are obvious, think again. Most people who say this are making these exact mistakes on their site. Common sense is not common. Check your site out from an objective perspective and see what can be improved.

Now, on to the conversation I mentioned and how it connects with the article above.

The conversation occurred at one point in a new client kickoff meeting and revolved around the two different types of clients our client tends to work with.

The first client type is focused on tactics and execution. They don’t really care about the strategy behind it, just get it done. (Sound familiar?)

The other, our client described, and the more ideal, are those clients that are problem-driven.  They start with the business challenge and focus on the strategy the client can employ to help solve it.

I know many of you reading can relate, and as you’re thinking about your own agency site, think about these types of clients.

Then ask yourself this: Does your site resonate with the first type of client-all tactics all the time?

Or with the second, a strategic, problem-solving mentality?

If your site language consistently speaks to the tactics you use, that’s how your prospects will perceive you, and you’re putting yourself into that box.

That’s not to say tactics aren’t important of course, but if you prefer the types of engagements that are more strategic, and focused on solving business problems with a more “tactics-agnostic” mentality, include that type of language in your site.

Unless you want that first type of client of course.