Here’s another question I was asked recently:
“I’m about to launch a website selling scotch whisky. Can you offer any advice?”
Hi there,
The main piece of advice I can offer is to put yourself in the shoes of the people who are (or will be) visiting your website.
- Who are they and what do they need?
- Are they looking for a gift for someone they know is a whisky-lover but don’t know where to start?
- Are they whisky experts who are looking for something interesting that they’ve not come across before?
- Are they people wanting to get into whisky, but are a bit intimidated by it all?
Only you can determine what problem you’re trying to solve and for whom, but try not be all things to all people to begin with – apply focus and solve a problem for a specific group of people as best you can.
Once you’ve become adept as serving their needs (which you measure in terms of their success in achieving what they set out to do) you can move on to solve another group’s needs.
But above all, remember that you’re not your customers. The only way to really understand what kinds of people might want to visit your site and what they want from it, is to talk to them. By which I mean LISTEN to them. You’ll learn something from them each time.
Cheers and best of luck,
Jock
