Have you ever done that thing with a company’s catalogue where you’re flicking backwards and forwards between two products, comparing the data tables in your mind to try to see what the differences are between the two? It’s a nuisance, and you end up thinking: “Why couldn’t they explain the differences somewhere?”
The chances are that you’ve got a website which explains all your company’s products in reasonable detail, possibly even with a page for each model. Whilst that level of detail is certainly a good thing, it really shouldn’t be at the expense of giving prospects an overview of your range. A page which merely lists all your widget models (“click here to see details of our blue widgets”, “click here for red widgets”, etc) and links to their individual pages isn’t good enough. It’s critical that the differences – and varying benefits – of each model are discussed on that page. If you’re skating over that middle level of detail, you’re expecting the visitor to do all the work. And they’re even less likely to do that online than they are with a printed catalogue.