Does your website follow “the iron law of marketing?”

Many websites inadvertently ignore ‘The Iron Law’ of marketing. They begin by explaining the characteristics of the company, for example, how long they have been in business, what their facilities are like, etc. The truth is, most of your website visitors don’t give a damn about your business features. What they care about primarily is WIIFM.

WIIFM stands for ‘What’s In It For Me’. It is ‘The Iron Law of Marketing’. Unless your website visitors can quickly see what your business can do for them, they will most likely disappear quickly, usually within seconds. Once they are gone, they are gone, probably never to return.

WIIFM – ‘What’s in it for me?’ Are we really that self-centered? Well yes, I’m afraid we are. Please don’t feel guilty, it’s just the way we are programmed. Sure, later on, we care about others. But above all, we are concerned with how we survive and thrive. That is simple evolutionary common sense.

If you want your visitor to stay on your website, you need to pay attention to the ‘Iron Law of Marketing’. You must give your visitors WIIFM – ‘What’s in it for me?’. But the paradox is this: the “me” should not be you (ie your premises, etc.). It should be them, your visitors.

You need to put yourself in the shoes of your visitors and address what interests them, what they might want, how you can help them.

Most companies worry about getting “targeted traffic” (ie potential customers to their sites) through SEO (search engine optimization) and other smart things. And this is important, very important indeed.

But if the majority of your potential customers leave your website within seconds, isn’t that a bit silly? (And we’ve all done it, me too!) Isn’t that like filling a bucket with water … that just comes out of all the holes at the bottom?

It is not an exact science! We simply need to show our website visitors the benefits of doing business with us. And we have to do it in a fun and interesting way.

If possible, we should pack our websites with ‘FREE gifts’, so that visitors make an immediate profit. One of the most valued gifts is the FREE information you give to your visitors that will help them.

I’m amazed when I see websites created and managed by people ten times smarter than me … but doomed because they broke ‘The Iron Law of Marketing’ – WIIFM, ‘What’s in it for me?’

Often times you just need a change of focus and a few modifications to make your website that much more successful. If you ignore WIIFM, you will become your own worst enemy. If you pay attention to him, he will become your best friend.