The perfect elevator pitch

How to Win Over Your Target Group with the Elevator Pitch on the Website

Shortened attention spans, saturated markets, and competitors only a click away. These are just a few of the problems a well-formulated elevator pitch can help solve.

elevator_pitch_webdesign_overall

Have you ever visited a website that doesn't reveal what the company is actually doing? Here a buzzword, there a phrase - but you're left guessing what the business itself actually does?

There are many websites like that out there on the web, especially among service providers. Of course, the more complex a service is, the greater the need for explanation is. But even complex services also fulfill simple needs, don't they?

What is an elevator pitch?

The core of your performance is the benefit and the added value that your target group gets from it. With the Elevator Pitch you put the focus of your communication exactly on these things. 

The presentation of your added value must be short and precise enough to convince your counterpart during an elevator ride.

The challenge is to express the pitch in such a way that people can't help but read it. To help you reach this, the following article presents my strategy for a successful elevator pitch on your website.

The elevator pitch combines multiple disciplines of business strategy, copywriting, and web design

The elevator pitch is a method to get to the heart of your value proposition in a few sentences. It helps you attract visitors to your website as quickly as possible and filter out the right prospects for your offer. As a rule of thumb, you have 30 seconds to do this offline. As you know, online is different. You only have a few seconds to convince your visitors.

My recommendation is to place your elevator pitch above the fold on your website and to avoid everything that is unnecessarily distracting. So if you've been using sliders or background videos with autoplay up to now, consider whether you really need to keep them.

To create a successful elevator pitch, you need to combine several disciplines:

  • Business strategy: Ideally, you have the strategy, target group and USP of your business clearly in mind.
  • Copywriting: Your elevator pitch needs to be short and snappy, but still include everything important.
  • Design: Your web design should focus on the essentials. Remove anything distracting and make sure the pitch is visible above the fold on all devices.

The elements of the elevator pitch are headline, subline and call-to-actions.

Your elevator pitch ideally consists of the following elements located above the fold on your homepage:

  • Headline
  • Subline
  • 1-2 calls to action

Headline: What do you do for whom with what result?

The headline can be your motto and best represents the added value of your work or your products. Answer the following question with the headline: What do you do for whom with what result?

A simple formula for the headline

I help [target group] through [your performance] [result or added value of your work].

An example with this formula could be:

elevator_pitch_webdesign_headline
The headline reads, I help Shopify owners generate more revenue through conversion optimization.

Of course, this formula isn't set in stone. But it will help you get results down on paper quickly. I always recommend starting with it and then developing your own text as required.

In any case, focus on the added value of your service. Put yourself in the position of a potential customer and think about what they would get out of working with you. Think clearly in benefits and not in features!

By concentrating on the benefits of your performance, you automatically arouse interest in your target group. The right ones are attracted and the wrong ones are blocked! Ideally, you'll receive fewer inquiries but they will offer much more potential.

Subline: Pitch your USP and the added value of your result to your target audience.

Now you've piqued the interest of potential customers with your headline, the next step is to convince them with more information and benefits. This is what you do with the subline. You underline the message of your headline by giving the readers details on the following topics:

  • Your method
  • Your unique selling proposition
  • Your target group
  • Your core service
  • Your specialization

You don't have to include all the points above in the subline and it shouldn't be too long anyway. If you've already mentioned the target group in the headline, for example, you can leave it out of the subline.

An example for the subline

I don't use a formula for building the subline as it's often very individual. It is, however, a good idea to orient yourself towards the points mentioned above. With your subline you want to:

  • arouse further interest in the reader,
  • reassure them that they're at the right place with you,
  • and lead them to your CTAs.
elevator_pitch_webdesign_subline
Subline: I achieve this through innovative A/B testing methods and looking at stores holistically to optimize the user experience.

Call-to-actions: Draw users deeper into your website

Unfortunately, there's no recipe for the right call to action in your elevator pitch. But I can give you a few approaches from which you can develop your own ideas. As a rule of thumb you can say the following: always think about the user intention first when developing CTAs.

Google divides user intentions into four categories:

  1. Visit in Person: As a rule, local businesses are sought.
  2. Website: The user searches for a site , which is already known to him.
  3. Do: The user wants to buy something, for example.
  4. Know: The user is looking for information.

If you know the reasons why potential customers come to your website, you can derive CTAs for your site from it. For more than one intention, focus on either the most urgent calls for action or those that best fit your goals. To satisfy two intentions, for example, you can work with primary and secondary calls to action.

At the end of the day, these are all just guesses. That's why it's best to measure the success of your pitch with Google Analytics or heat maps. If it turns out that few people respond, try double-checking and measuring your changes.

elevator_pitch_webdesign_CTAs
Call-to-Actions: The primary one directs the user to the references and the secondary one allows to arrange an initial meeting.

Practical tips for your Elevator Pitch

Take time to write

Even if it's just 2-4 sentences, formulating your pitch can take several hours. I personally tend to try and put too much information into one sentence. But this quickly makes the sentence too long and complex.

As a result, potential customers may not read or understand sentences completely. So focus on the essentials to fit everything in your web design.

Don't start with the door

Let's assume you run an online marketing agency. Then you want to attract as many new customers as possible via your website. Is it then the best tactic to jump right in and place the request "Request a quote now" directly in the header of your home page? That would be like getting down on one knee and pulling out the ring on a first date...

Have a look at Google Analytics to see which pages are the most visited after the landing page. Can anything be deduced from this finding?

If visitors frequently go to your benefits page from your landing page, for example, try placing a CTA that links to it there. You can then advertise a free phone consultation from your benefits page.

Measure your successes

Flying blind rarely ends well. That's why you should measure the success of your elevator pitch. Does anything change in the bounce rate? How many people click on the CTA? Think about whether and how you can measure the frequency of new customer requests.

With Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, you can quickly set up event tracking and targets to measure the performance of your pitch.

Other sources

Want to learn more about the perfect elevator pitch for your website? Then listen to my podcast episode on the topic and get even more inspiration.

What is your opinion about the Elevator Pitch? What questions do you have for Felix? Feel free to use the comment function. You want to be informed about new articles on online marketing for agencies and freelancers? Then follow us on Twitter, Facebook or via our newsletter.

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An Comment on "How to win over your target audience with your website elevator pitch"

  1. „How to Win Over Your Target Group with the Elevator Pitch on the Website“ offers valuable insights into the art of crafting a compelling elevator pitch for your website. In today’s fast-paced digital world, capturing the attention of your target audience is crucial, and a well-crafted elevator pitch can make a significant impact. This article provides practical tips and strategies to effectively communicate your value proposition, engage visitors, and drive conversions. By distilling your message into a concise and persuasive pitch, you can quickly convey the unique benefits of your product or service. Implementing these techniques can help you create a captivating website experience that resonates with your target group and compels them to take action. Mastering the elevator pitch on your website is a key skill in capturing and retaining the interest of your audience in an increasingly competitive online landscape.

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