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Homepage for corporate website

by patfl
17 replies
Hi all,

What is a good copy for a company's website selling service to other businesses?

Technically, a homepage is a sales page, but I can't help but think that it would be inappropriate to use a full blown sales page like we see in Internet marketing for example... it pushes too much I think.

On the other hand, most of the companies out there use very shy homepage where they barely talk about their products or service.

Is there a right spot where to put the cursor between those 2 extremes (push too much or not enough)?

Any advice and/or example of a good corporate homepage would be appreciated.

Thanks

Patrice
#business #homepage #service
  • Profile picture of the author Bigsofty
    One simple but powerful tip is to write as the owner.

    "I promise first rate service" for example rather than "Acme Corp promises first rate service..".


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    • Profile picture of the author patfl
      Originally Posted by Bigsofty View Post

      One simple but powerful tip is to write as the owner.

      "I promise first rate service" for example rather than "Acme Corp promises first rate service..".


      B.
      Hi Bigsofty,

      Thanks, it's a good advice and the direction i'm gonna take.

      Patrice
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    I wouldn't pepper "I" throughout the homepage, and "first rate service" is generic nonsense, but it's the right general idea.

    I can't help but think that it would be inappropriate to use a full blown sales page like we see in Internet marketing for example... it pushes too much I think.
    There is an alternative. Why not try good, old fashioned information of value to the potential customer? Unfortunately the corporate drivel approach is every bit as annoying, but the company instead comes across as a sleazy politician rather than a used car salesman.

    How does whatever the company service is benefit the customer? Put the benefits, not features, on the home page.

    You can offer informative white papers, and famous copywriter Bob Bly has a book on writing white papers that are not overly salesy or that peculiar brand of corporate dull.

    Depending on the business, the sales cycle can be quite long. White papers can be designed to generate the advocates within the target company which can steer through a corporate bureaucracy.

    You would have to be a lot more specific about objectives to get good examples -- and that's the problem with the corporate site. Nobody has any purpose or reason for the site, they have excuses like "to enhance our web presence."

    The typical corporate nonsense is why it is so difficult to find a good B2B site.

    Panasonic Toughbooks puts a few too many clicks between the user and the information, but otherwise is informative and sales savvy.


    Related:
    Write Better White Papers With Irresistible "Pass Around Factor"
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    • Profile picture of the author patfl
      Hi John,

      Originally Posted by John_S View Post

      There is an alternative. Why not try good, old fashioned information of value to the potential customer? Unfortunately the corporate drivel approach is every bit as annoying, but the company instead comes across as a sleazy politician rather than a used car salesman.
      ...
      The typical corporate nonsense is why it is so difficult to find a good B2B site.
      That's very true, and this is exactly what I want to avoid.

      How does whatever the company service is benefit the customer? Put the benefits, not features, on the home page.
      Excellent.

      You can offer informative white papers, and famous copywriter Bob Bly has a book on writing white papers that are not overly salesy or that peculiar brand of corporate dull.

      Depending on the business, the sales cycle can be quite long. White papers can be designed to generate the advocates within the target company which can steer through a corporate bureaucracy.
      I'm gonna definitely check this book.


      You would have to be a lot more specific about objectives to get good examples -- and that's the problem with the corporate site. Nobody has any purpose or reason for the site, they have excuses like "to enhance our web presence."
      Another very true comment.

      I'm in the software development business, you can see my main site: PLVSoft.com Software Development Miami - Custom Development Quickbooks Miami - Internet Marketing

      The problem with that site right now is it's too broad, I feel that for conversion purpose, it's not good enough. So, what I'm gonna do is to create several websites, each one targeting a market/technology that I develop on.

      Panasonic Toughbooks puts a few too many clicks between the user and the information, but otherwise is informative and sales savvy.
      I'm gonna check this right now.

      A lot of good info, thanks a lot!

      Patrice
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    Write a whitepaper and make that available.

    If you don't know what a whitepaper is... go find out.
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  • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
    Hi Patrice,

    Loren's suggestion was going to be mine...

    But, I think a good example of a corporate style site is something like this:
    Comodo Hacker Proof Technology

    It has a great layout, has plenty of "clickability", and there's options for people to discover what appeals to them the most.

    There's lots of "teaser" copy to get someone to find out more about a certain aspect of what their offering and then once someone does that there's more of an opportunity to read more about what their interested in.

    Your right...a typical long page style sales letter will not be the most effective choice for a corporate type of site.

    Hopefully all is well on your end!
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  • Profile picture of the author patfl
    Great advice for the whitepaper, now I just need to write it

    Nice example Justin, it's something I'm gonna take some inspiration from.

    Thanks all!

    Patrice
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgeC
    I like the advice Loren shared, write something useful and share it with your prospects and visitors.

    Regards
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    A long sales letter can sell ANYTHING!

    Whatyou must keep in mind is that with a big business, the website
    is only ONE of marketing tools in the draw and it's seldom used to
    sell to the customer. So whereas a 'normal' minisite is used to
    educate the customer and get the sales all in one, the website for
    a big business is just part of a direct mail package that may contain
    several pieces.

    I've seen many people try to copy some other 'guru' who does things
    a little different to what "works" without realizing that BRAN and NAME
    may place you on a platform where you don't NEED certain other good
    things to work in your favor.

    With the kind of PERCENTAGE returns that small online businesses get,
    any big business in a America will be more than happy to get such
    returns.

    So the question to consider is What is the purpose of the home page
    and where does it fit into the sales funnel for this company?

    -Ray Edwards
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    The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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    • Profile picture of the author patfl
      Hi Ray,

      Originally Posted by Raydal View Post

      A long sales letter can sell ANYTHING!

      Whatyou must keep in mind is that with a big business, the website
      is only ONE of marketing tools in the draw and it's seldom used to
      sell to the customer. So whereas a 'normal' minisite is used to
      educate the customer and get the sales all in one, the website for
      a big business is just part of a direct mail package that may contain
      several pieces.

      I've seen many people try to copy some other 'guru' who does things
      a little different to what "works" without realizing that BRAN and NAME
      may place you on a platform where you don't NEED certain other good
      things to work in your favor.

      With the kind of PERCENTAGE returns that small online businesses get,
      any big business in a America will be more than happy to get such
      returns.

      So the question to consider is What is the purpose of the home page
      and where does it fit into the sales funnel for this company?

      -Ray Edwards
      Basically, this homepage is gonna be used to get leads. Traffic will come from 2 sources, PPC and e-mail campaigns (targeted). It's gonna be the only sales funnel for now.

      So if I read you correctly, you seem to recommend a long sales page in my case (small business and no other sales funnel than the website).

      Am I right? If yes, do you think such a sales page could be use in the software industry when my business is to sell service to other companies?

      Thanks

      Patrice
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      • Profile picture of the author Raydal
        Originally Posted by Patrice Le Vexier View Post

        Hi Ray,



        Basically, this homepage is gonna be used to get leads. Traffic will come from 2 sources, PPC and e-mail campaigns (targeted). It's gonna be the only sales funnel for now.

        So if I read you correctly, you seem to recommend a long sales page in my case (small business and no other sales funnel than the website).

        Am I right? If yes, do you think such a sales page could be use in the software industry when my business is to sell service to other companies?

        Thanks

        Patrice
        If this letter is going to carry the weight of your entire sales/marketing
        then you have to give enough information for the prospect to make
        a decision right there and then. Typically the more expensive the
        product the more copy you have to write.

        Of course there is the actual copywriting AND the marketing tactics
        which you'll have to determine for your target audience.

        -Ray Edwards
        Signature
        The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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        • Profile picture of the author Collette
          Patrice - These things make a difference in your approach:

          Who's the company? Is that you? A company with 50 employees? Or is it some Fortune 500? you need to know who you are before you can effectively tell someone who you are.

          Who's the intended target visitor for the web site? Tech supervisors? HR managers? End-users? You need to know who you're talking to before you can talk to them effectively.

          Need to answer these these questions before you can get anything other than very generic answers.

          For example, a whitepaper/special report is a great idea for a lead generator, BUT - it will flop dismally if it is not of interest to the people you need to reach. If, say, you write a whitepaper that would be fascinating to tech geeks, but the person who is surfing for your service/product is the HR Manager... FAIL.

          Everything (copy and design) kicks off from:

          Who am I?
          What am I offering (not 'selling')?
          Who am I (specifically) talking to?

          Get those questions answered, and the rest begins to fall into place.

          P.S.: "we offer first-rate service" is not a benefit. It is corporate drivel.
          Do you 'offer' or 'deliver' 'first-rate service'. I don't care what you 'offer'; as a buyer, I care what you 'deliver'. And what, exactly, do you mean by 'first-rate'?

          Don't be mushy with your copy. If you can deliver software that works flawlessly from Day 1, say so. If you answer the phone by the third ring, say so. If you make service calls within the hour, say so. Be specific about the value you provide.
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  • Profile picture of the author DJ123
    Originally Posted by Patrice Le Vexier View Post


    Any advice and/or example of a good corporate homepage would be appreciated.
    Homepage could just be a homepage and easy and clear enough to deliever your most important message. Try to list your unique selling points and organize them in your homepage. List them as steps like 1,2,3.
    That way any visitor with whatever language background will easily catch your points and go ahead.

    I wouldn't say that my homepage is the best. But I find it highly effective to convert traffics into leads, at a HIGH 90% conversion rate.

    wish you good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author procopywriter
    A traditional "corporate" home page on a multi-page site has two main functions in addition to simply "engaging the reader"...

    1. It must communicate the Core Marketing Message, which consists of three critical elements:
    • Who you are and what you do. (The most basic element.)
    • What benefits you provide to whom. (An extra layer that explicitly or implicitly targets a particular market and communicates benefits that uniquely appeal to that market.)
    • Why they should do business with you. (Your unique selling proposition.)
    2. Turn visitors into leads by directing them to an opt-in page where they can request free information in the form of a report, white paper, catalog, audio, video, webinar, etc.

    This format is very effective at turning visitors into leads and pre-selling the company.

    For example, here is copy I wrote for a company that manufactures high-end black lights for the entertainment industry. It is a B2B manufacturing company:

    www.WildfireFX.com

    (Notice how it satisfies all of the above elements.)

    Also, check out my website/blog link below for another example of this format in action. My site is very effective at generating leads for my business.

    You can't go far wrong by keeping these things in mind.
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    Joshua Aaron Stanley, The 'Spiritual' Copywriter:
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    As far as white papers are concerned, check out the link I provided.

    Also check out The Content-Free Buzzword-Compliant Vocabulary List for how to take the corporate drivel and turn it into benefits.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bigsofty
    "i dont think so. the formal way is a better option. like "we offer" rather than "i offer". it displays professionalism" by "John Smith"

    Then shouldn't that be "we dont think so"?

    Any idea how many electric razors that Victor guy who bought the company sold? How many air tickets Richard Branson sells?

    What's the worse thing about a B2B corporate website? The fact it is a B2B corporate website. Nobody wants to read it or wait for the thing to download, they're not interested in your waffly mission statement or how you strive to be whatever superlative you wish to paste into the boiler plate.

    People buy from people, not websites. If you're the head of a corporation you already ARE professional with nothing to prove there. Instead you need to establish credibility and trust (along with other stuff already mentioned).

    When you're the size of Sony or Honda then sure, be "we" but if it's humanly possible for the CEO to be a human being that other human beings can relate to, that works better.


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  • Profile picture of the author Bigsofty
    Hey, quit with the drivel stuff, was an example OF corporate-speak.

    Sheesh



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