Does Your Web Site Differentiate You From Your Competition?

We were recently talking with a CPA who expressed excitement over a couple new accounts. Naturally we were curious to find what the CPA thought was the reason for picking up these two new accounts.

Both new clients found him while they were searching the Internet for someone to solve their complex problems.  Based on their search results, they contacted him to discuss their problems. We looked at his website and it did a good job of expressing his competency and personality.  Obviously, it was successful in engaging these prospects and differentiating him from his competition.

So, how well do you differentiate yourself and your practice from your competition?  Addressing the following questions about your site will get you started on generating leads that will be a good fit for your practice:

1. Who are your ideal clients?  What niches do you serve?  Be sure your site identifies and welcomes these individuals and industries through text and use of imagery.
2. What are your specialties and areas of expertise?  Can you present them in terms of clients needs (benefits) rather than just services (features)?
3. Can you present yourself and your staff through the site?  Think of this as the “online dating” portion of lead generation.  Pictures, stories, backgrounds, articles, a blog—all provide the prospect an opportunity to get to know you early in their decision making process.  Work hard to get your personality engrained in the site.
4. What value adds can you build into your site?  Obviously, you can post one of the syndicated newsletters on the latest tax code changes or something similar, but so can your competitor.  So again, think blog or a specific area of knowledge you can share.  There is a level of transparency where you can provide enough to inform prospects without giving away your advantage to your competitors.

Your web site provides you with a great opportunity to make a strong first impression and you cannot beat the price when it comes to direct marketing.  So, take some time to think about what a prospective client will experience when they go to your site.  Most importantly identify your key differentiators and be sure to present them in terms that will resonate with your prospects and your clients.