How organisations present themselves is something which has dominated the news in the past few weeks. We can all take away something from their trials and tribulations. What the better politicians prioritise is firstly what they are going to do, and secondly, how they or their parties’ track records support this. What they’ve long understood is that the past matters, but the future is more important.
We may have a low opinion of politicians, but they do know what resonates with people. They need to communicate their relevance, and they do this by showing how they’ll improve our lot.
Compare this to the way many businesses introduce themselves. Instead of focusing on the value they can create for prospects, they just launch into other things: their history, their team, their clients and how their products differ from the competition. All of these are important, but they’re not the primary reason someone visits a website, which is to find out “how can you improve my life, my job or my immediate problem?”
We don’t answer this solely by making ourselves the subject of the conversation. We must try to focus on the prospect’s issue at hand. It’s difficult, when we don’t know anything about them; but the intention should guide everything we write.