As you review this web-site, you’ll notice a very basic outline. Red headings, white background, and black text. Might you wonder why? After all, where is the flash?
As an entrepreneur, I have been engaged in day-to-day marketing activities for many years. My MBA and doctorate both had marketing specializations, and I’ve taught many marketing courses over the past 17-years. Thousands of hours of my life have been dedicated to the study and practice of marketing. So why a red, white and basic web-site?
The primary reason: I have created a web-site for my clients, and they do not want a lot of fluff. They want simplicity and authenticity.
Here is an important marketing concept to remember: People do not all learn the same way. However, most people (95% according some research) will have primarily auditory or visual learning styles. My legal services –with the exception of hostile workplace actions — target entrepreneurs. Studies show entrepreneurs are predominantly tactile learners.
Entrepreneurs learn by doing. Again, they don’t want fluff. They want want practical content that is user-friendly. Highly visual and auditory content is appropriate for some clientele, but not many of my clients.
A secondary, but equally important, factor is functionality. While the data is still emerging, studies suggest that individuals with dyslexia (and similar neurological processes) are far more likely to choosing entrepreneurial career paths. These individuals benefit greatly when “visual noise” is removed. Simply stated, this web-site is designed with the entrepreneurial mind, well, in-mind.
Do the vast majority of companies consider the needs of those who learn differently in their web-design? Not in my opinion. Those web-sites are designed by marketers for mass marketers. I am a lawyer serving a well defined market segment. If my web-site seems a bit basic by comparison, so be it. My clients will understand and appreciate my efforts…and that’s what truly matters to me.
Effective marketing isn’t about knowing what customers think. It’s about knowing how they think, and why they think a certain way. What I know without question, however: Customers want honesty, simplicity and authenticity. Clients want integrity, competence and qualifications in their service providers. My clients do not want flash, they want value and respect.
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