Decide on your brand’s three most important messages before you work with a web designer. The high level goal, the products that achieve that goal (or the method), and the result of the two should be your starting point. Even if they aren’t perfect, it’ll create the foundation for your design to evolve and fine tune your message.
The most common challenge we encounter when working with new clients is a mountain of brand messages, product offerings, and values. These are all good resources to have: every brand needs a message, product, and value. The problem arises when there are too many, and a lack of hierarchy - the result is a confusing message for the people you’re hoping to sell to. And confusion often results in a loss of sales.
Enter, Brand Message Hierarchy
We break down the message of your site - or your offering, into three categories: high level goals, your method, and the result of achieving your high level goal(s). Throughout this blog, I'll use examples from both our own company, Trailblaze Media, and one of our partners: Catalyst Scrubs.
High Level Goal
Your high level goal is the primary takeaway for your customers: what are you trying to achieve with your company? In essence, this is the "why" your company exists (hint: the why doesn't have to do with monetary goals). When we started Trailblaze Media, our goal was to provide new companies and entrepreneurs with a viable alternative to working with low-cost, low-quality, outsourced freelancers.
For Catalyst Scrubs, the goal was simple: make the world a better place without changing much about the things you're already doing.
Your Method
We've become desensitized to grandiose statements made by brands - especially when they not supported by anything we can see. Lead your customers by the hand to show them that the actions of your brand, and the products you sell, reinforce the overall goal of your company.
With Catalyst, change takes place because of the products they sell, and the partnerships they've made to create their product.
The Result
As important as your opening message is ("Instant Clarity Headline"), it's just as important to leave your shoppers with a sense of what their purchases are achieving - either for themselves, or the world beyond their homes.
Wrapping It Up
For a web designer, specifically in the eCommerce / Shopify design space, it's almost always most difficult to figure out how to convey your overall message in a way that feels spot-on with your brand. The next time you set out to redevelop your website, or hire a designer, figure out what your high level goal, your method, and the desired result before you set out. It'll make everything that much easier to communicate, and will let us all spend a bit more time figuring out the technology behind your new store without getting bogged down in why you even have a store to begin with.