The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
There is no doubt that AI is quickly changing the internet and search landscapes. The companies that make money off ads or SEO are suggesting you have to spend more to stay ahead of the competition. Although I agree that times of disruption and uncertainty are best met head-on with better and more targeted marketing, spending more does not always equate to getting more.
I believe that you should redefine the user interface, experience, and expectations to match the winds of change and the direction they are pushing us. AI is about asking questions and getting answers. I am certain that this will continue to shape how and why websites will need to continue to exist. Your customers have questions, and you want to be the go-to place for answers, even if it's one-time and transactional, and not all about repeat business.
In this post, I want to share a project that we worked on and explain why changing the user paradigm will make it more successful. I will also revisit how and why people get to your website. Driving more traffic to a website built to benefit from ads and SEO is the textbook version of insanity—doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
Peaceful Endings
Kari Trotski is a friend but has also been a service provider for me. Kim and I have adopted five dogs over the last few years. The thing about pets is they live an average of 10-15 years. Some of the dogs we adopted were old (Hans, who was 12) and young (Layla, who was 11 months). One thing you know is that at some point, their quality of life makes you have to make the hard decision to help them cross the Rainbow Bridge. Few animals die suddenly (but it happens), so you have a choice: Take the pet to the vet or use an in-home euthanasia service.
Neither is ideal, but from experience, I can assure you that the in-home option is less stressful for both the pet and your family. When your pet is ailing, you feel helpless because it can't communicate if and when it is ready. You can spend years second-guessing yourself. I have let pets go too long in pain to appease the feeling that I did it too soon with others.
The in-home option has one person helping you and your pet without the added distraction of other staff and customers found in a vet's office.
So, how do you serve people best when they are all emotional and trying to get answers to life-altering decisions? I believe the best way is to talk with an empathetic and knowledgeable human. People are hesitant to call since they don't want to be sold, so you have to soften the situation by creating an experience. Kari's goal for the new website was to focus on emotional well-being, which sets them apart from typical veterinary websites that often prioritize procedural details over the emotional needs of both the pets and their owners.
The NEW Website
One of the most challenging things today is getting your questions answered just by visiting a website. If you have used ChatGPT or Perplexity.ai, you'll notice that they prompt you for quality follow-up questions. The more that people use these tools, the more that people will expect that from your website.
Then, people seem to have the attention span of a drunk gnat. It is possible to get people to read a long article or watch a long video, but only after they have answered their essential questions and want to dig deeper. They want simple first and then will decide to make a call or fill out a form.
Speaking of the form, her last form had almost 50 questions. Emotional people don't want to take all that time, nor will most people be comfortable enough at that point to want to share too much personal information. That means the form's job is to get people to fill it out. Then, the associate who responds can gather that information. So the goal is to get people to pick up the phone first and fill out the form second, and since AI is not a cost-effective option at this point, we needed a better way to use a prompt to answer questions to get them to connect with a human.
The Knowledge Base
AI is very powerful but expensive as well, and most systems that offer personal or small business models cost at least $100 a month. That is outside of the comfort zone for small businesses that are skeptical of the effectiveness and ROI of AI. At this time, a few plug-ins will use AI to write for you and create content, but that's also available for much less or free outside of WordPress. Where I think the power lies is in knowing who is on your website. How they got there in the first place is a challenge since cookies have been degraded across the internet.
The Three Questions
When people show up at your website, they are asking themselves three questions:
- Why am I here? – I came to this website for a purpose. Is it to learn something, buy something, or sell something? You need to make it clear why people are there. In the case of Peaceful Endings, people are looking to help their pets. They may or may not be ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge, but how will they know?
- What should I do? – As close as you can above the fold, that information should get them to take action and click deeper into the site. Since they have questions, you want to direct them to the place where they can find answers.
- Why should I do it? – You need to align their needs with their goals. Their goal is not to buy something (usually) at first glance, but you should let them know there is a payoff by taking action. More often than not, people want to talk with a human more than they want to chat with a computer. Let them know humans are at their fingertips.
There are two tools above the fold on the home page that help manage user needs and expectations. The graphic sliders establish that the people at Peaceful Endings provide a humane and emotionally supportive alternative to traditional veterinary office euthanasia. Also, most people are not 100% sure it's time and probably don't know that animal hospice is a thing.
Next, we have a button to talk with a human. This is important because that is a theme throughout the website and the Q&A.
The Knowledge Base plug-in was designed for more of an IT company, but we repurposed it as a Q&A system that mimics where I think AI can and will take websites in the near future. We segmented on the home page with questions for dogs, cats, and other pets. This again helps with what I should do.
Once people click there, it takes them to a Q&A specific to their pet and asks questions like:
- How do I know I’m making the right decision?
- How do I know my dog is in pain?
- What is the process?
- Should my kids be present during euthanasia?
- What happens after euthanasia?
Final Thought
What makes this website tick is the quality instilled into the content creation. Our professional writers were not only pet lovers but were trained in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), which helps them emotionally connect with the customer. Also, our graphic designer used elements that enhance the calming feel while expressing empathy and trust. Our web programmer researched and found the best quality plug-in to replicate the vision of what future AI technology can bring to the web experience.
Peaceful Endings is more than just a website—it’s a lifeline for pet owners navigating one of life’s most difficult decisions. One of the business challenges we had to take head-on was the staff's desire to have as much information as possible before the call and the customer's desire not to share too much. That balance will continue to be a work in progress, but it can be molded as the new site starts to get used.
It's a fine line between weeding out customers who cannot afford the service and making requests from areas in the market to which the company does not send staff. In order to increase sales and the number of people served, you can improve the process by creating a script for phone calls that get some of those answers by asking the right questions upfront.
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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.