One Website, Two Voices

Most of us know when thinking about our business message, the tone we use is crucial in reaching our target audience. But, what happens when your business offering needs to reach two very distinct, very different audiences?

Your website is an introduction to your business, the first impression your customers, current and potential, have about who you are and what you do. Ensuring your website content is engaging and of course, relevant, presents enough of a challenge. Making that happen for two very different customer groups is even harder. There are many ways you can ensure your website is and effective and informative "shop window". Most importantly, you must know your customer and their intent. Spend time making sure you understand your audience(s) and their requirements. Once you have a clear picture of customer behaviour there are further steps you can take to ensure your website is an effective, multi-tasking tool. Read on for some tips on achieving the best of both worlds:

Two 'Areas' - using two areas

is a great way to direct traffic to the most appropriate place. For example, if you have a customer loyalty program or your clients are a mix of members and visitors, creating a Members or Preferred Clients area will help you to customise your content accordingly.

Clear Sitemap - ensure your site structure is clear. For example, organise page headings carefully, choosing effective keywords to clearly indicate the audience you are writing for. I recently worked with a training company who needed to revamp their web content - they offered both business services to employers (large and small) and training services to individuals returning to work, their content needed to work for both groups. The training company took a simple and direct approach to their headings, labelling each page heading with a simple modifier to indicate whether the page provides information for the 'Employer' of 'Individual'.

Choice of words - Your audiences may be as diverse as the training company I worked with; Teenagers looking for training and a pathway into a future career as well as large, multinational companies looking for consultancy and recruitment services. Each audience wants something different. Using business terminology on pages for a young audience could create a barrier, whereas, using that same terminology on pages targeted at the corporate market will increase your credibility, will help to promote your understanding of their needs.

For more information on how copywriting services can help you reach multiple audiences on one website get in touch stacey@thecontenttank.co.uk