Writing Too Much Impedes Lead Generation

Anyone who has ever done sales knows that sinking feeling you get in your gut when you talk yourself out of a sale.

Company websites frequently feature content that should leave the sales and marketing teams with that same sinking feeling.

The important thing to remember when writing content for product and service pages is the purpose of that content.

Are you trying to make the content do the selling, or are you trying to generate a lead?

If your purpose is to generate a lead, then too much information can easily turn into too much of a good thing:

• Too much content visually intimidates the user. The user may see a big bunch of words and not bother with reading a single one.
• Too much information, if it is read, may raise an objection in the mind of the user, preventing him/her from inquiring further! For example, maybe the user sees some detail in the specifications that doesn’t fit with his/her application. The user may look for a solution elsewhere, even though you could have easily customized the product if you only had a chance to talk it over.

What generally happens when companies put product and service content together is they lose sight of what they are really trying to do. They fall into the mindset that if they stuff enough benefits and features into the page, users will read something they like and order.

Rarely happens.

A better bet for a page designed to generate leads is to provide just enough information to whet the user’s appetite. Provide just enough detail to make the product or service credible and valuable. Then, make it super-easy for users to phone in or fill out a form to get further information.

This is not to say there is no place on a company website for product and service details. There is! Some users want the details. Some users will read every syllable with profound interest. However, the detailed content should be placed below the lead-generating product/service content so users who don’t have a detail mindset don’t have to wade through tons of details.

Pages that serve more than one purpose are like servants that try to serve two masters — it just doesn’t work. Map out a coherent content strategy that clearly articulates the purpose of the page, and the appropriate content will fall into place.