Helping Your Client Find their Website Identity with Imogen Allen
If I asked you to describe what your client’s agency does, would you be able to do it in a way that convinces me to buy what they’re selling? (I’d hope so; it’s typically what they pay us for!)
Now, what if I asked you to do the same, but with your own agency, in three sentences or less? What if you had to ask one of your clients to do the same exercise about you?
It’s imperative that the way an agency presents itself demonstrates identity, values, and services in a clear, authentic way. This is the path of least resistance to both you and your clients generating more leads. Clients who can see exactly what you’re about are more likely to commit to using your services. And your clients who see a rise in transparency with their own clients are likely to stick around for longer.
That’s where Imogen Allen, founder of Umbrella Digital Media and creator of the WIF, comes in. Based out of the UK, Imogen and I met online, and I’ve been so thankful to have her as one of my accountability partners, keeping me to my word from across the pond. The WIF is Imogen’s brainchild, and it’s already started making waves in the industry.
But WTF is the WIF?
WIF stands for “website identity framework”. It’s a process laid out by Imogen to help a client tell you what they’re all about, what they’re trying to do, and where their problem lies. It’s not a short process, but a complete one, and it allows for everyone to transmit their online identities in a straightforward and effective way.
One of the most interesting parts of it all is that WIF doesn’t attempt to start from square one. It actually helps you see, through current clients’ perspectives, where the message that they’re seeing works—and where it’s missing the point.
Imogen is obviously able to explain her own creation in much more detail than I am, so you’d really be missing out if you didn’t watch her demonstration on the video. In the meantime, here are some of the other points I took away from our talk together.
- Being wildly innovative or different doesn’t hold a candle to being authentically yourself.
It was interesting to hear Imogen voicing what I’m sure has been many agency owners’ concern over the years—”Am I unique enough?”. But she really drove home the point that it’s more important to be authentic than be unique.
If you and the clients’ sites you’re working with come off as genuine, there’s going to be a much higher level of impact and draw than from a site that seems performative.
It’s the same idea as meeting people at a party. Would you rather have a conversation with a very genuine person, or with someone who seemed eccentric but very insincere?
- You know what they say about assumptions…
We see our own sites, we know our agency slogan, and we can list our agency’s services off like a restaurant menu—it’s because we live and breathe our agency every day. It leads us to assume that clients can see exactly what we know to be true—an error in thinking that can cost us a lot of leads.
That’s the beauty of WIF—it really pulls the main information out of your clients, so that you can make sure it’s presentable and comprehensible for their prospective clients. But even if you’re still holding out on using WIF, it’s important to make all of the most important details as clear as day on your sites.
- Remember that less is often more.
Imogen made the point of mentioning that sometimes too much choice and visual stimulation in a proposal has the potential to scare clients off, and I couldn’t agree more.
When you’re presenting a proposal, try to give your prospective client limited options and visuals—more focus than flash. Show them who you are and what you can create in digestible quantities.
- Adapt your approach to your client.
As we’ve heard from many of our guests here on Can We Talk, Imogen stresses the fact that WIF in its most technical online format might be the best option for some clients, while being overwhelming for others.
If your client needs a printed-out PDF version of their questions to fill out with a pen, that’s okay! It’s another excellent opportunity to show that your agency is here to help them and their unique needs.
Imogen never ceases to amaze me, and we even saw in our chat how WIF is already helping other agency owners. Don’t hesitate in seeing how WIF could help you and your clients out.
You can get the WIF here. And use coupon code WPROADMAPS50 for a $50 discount off the published price.
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