BRANDON ACKER, CEO of Titan Abrasive, acquired the company from his uncle, who started Titan in his backyard shed in the 1960s. Although the Titan name and products were well-known in the industry, Brandon wanted to take the business to a whole new level.
To get there, he and his team were re-engineering all the products. But Brandon also knew that to increase sales, he needed a completely redesigned website.
One problem he wanted to fix was reducing the amount of time he and his team spent telling people how to find information on the website.
He also couldn’t figure out why the “factory direct” message wasn’t resonating. He concluded that “factory direct” was used more on TV or radio commercials for consumer items sold on the cheap.
What he really wanted to say was that companies needing rugged blast equipment could purchase directly from Titan, rather than through a distributor – and thus save a lot of time and money.
The solution was pretty straight-forward: Communicate this message in plain English – on the home page and throughout the website – using copy and design.
For example, instead of making the words a standard headline directly above the block of copy on the Home page, the message is set off to the left in bold, black, capital letters:
Titan Abrasive home page
A subtle change, but effective.
The copy then explains the cost savings of working directly with Titan Abrasive.
Website messaging is something that can take a while to perfect. It requires listening to your customers’ feedback and testing different concepts.
Most important, however, it’s about letting your customers know why they should do business with you — rather than making them work it out for themselves.
View the Titan Abrasive website.
