Does this website feel like the product?

Does this website feel like the product? 

Walmart’s website is just like the store. There are signs and categories to find your product, but you have to wade through a maze of upsells, cross-sells, and promotions. Just like the overwhelm of their store. 

A resort website, on the other hand, you can almost smell the ocean air from the pictures, and you can feel the lazy mornings from the simple menus and ample blank space. 

When I was at the Builder Digital Marketer Summit, it took me a second to see the advice through that lens. There are a lot of tools and tactics for builder websites. Chat bots, virtual tours, customizable layouts with pricing, conversion optimization, and there are multiple companies for every feature. On top of that, they are all probably really good companies that produce real results. 

I love technology, and got hyped about all the things, and forgot about the context. Many products for builders are targeting the middle market spec builders. It makes sense that they would tell you about how to solve middle market problems – give people pricing, give them a handful of floor plans, help them figure out monthly payments, and optimize for a high volume of price shoppers. 

I would have a blast implementing all the cool middle market tools, but the website I was there to help isn’t middle market. It’s luxury. 

Imagine walking into a luxury custom home. You drove out to a beautiful piece of land, and the front of the home was unique and cohesive. When you walk in, you don’t need to flip a lightswitch, and the key bowl is made of marble that matches an accent wall. There is no trim, just a perfect corner, which is how the whole house feels. Understated, minimal, but somehow still comforting and full of amenities. 

Just put that into a website! Boom done. 

You don’t find a builder from a Zillow ad. You find the people who created a home that you read about in a local magazine, and don’t mind going out of your way to get to them. Their website feels like your future home. It’s seamless – there’s no trim. Minimal design elements, tasteful calls to action, and a sleek menu. You might have all the amenities, but it is cleanly woven in. There might be a TV in the bathroom, but it’s actually the mirror.

I will be making sure this custom home website reflects the experience of a custom home. When I talk to the web designer, I’m going to explain what it feels like to walk into a luxury custom home, and it’s going to give them practical inspiration. If I do get to pay with any fun tools, I’m going to also set aside a significant amount of effort to weave it into the user experience. 

This is my reminder to myself: Put the context before the tools. What is the product? Who is buying it? What does it feel like? Why do those people like it? Marketing is so fun because you turn amorphous questions into creative ideas and create business solutions. Once I have those priorities, then I can mess around with tools and toys that people are selling.

Your website should feel like your product.