The other day, as I was reading through my Google alerts for executive protection, an item grabbed my attention: “Executive Protection company launches new web design.” Since I am in the web business with an security background my curiosity was piqued.
When I got to the business website, I was sorely disappointed. I thought I would write a post about my thoughts on this website. Not to bash, but to use it as a working example to assist other EP businesses.
Design
From a design perspective, the content was organized well, but the design was lacking. Why is it that almost every Bodyguard or EP business thinks a black background is necessary for their website? To me, it says you are hiding something that lessens my trust in what you are trying to tell me in your content, and I’m in the business! Imagine if I was a potential client. This website had a black background with white text, and I had to stop reading after the first paragraph because my eyes hurt. Please, guys and gals, break the stereotypes and eliminate the black background!
Content
There are three simple questions your security business website content has to answer:
- What Do You Do?
- What Qualifies You To Do It?
- Who Have You Done It For?
I think the answer to the first and third questions are pretty easy, it’s the second question where businesses get a little stymied.
What qualifies you to do it?
What qualifies you to offer executive protection or bodyguard services? Does being a sharpshooter and having a concealed weapon license qualify you? Does being a former police officer or having a military background qualify you? Maybe.
In my honest opinion, qualifying means training with significant experience, and if you are offering executive protection services, that means you should be trained in executive protection. Not only training, but certified training.
I searched executive protection companies in Google and randomly sampled those websites on the search results pages. Very few answered the question. Most gave vague sentences like:
- completed training and certification through a recognized and accredited bodyguard school
- Through continuous training, expertise, and extensive experience,
- Our staff of executive protection agents use strategies based on US Secret Service methodology
If you were introduced by someone at a business function, and the person asked “I hear you offer executive protection services, where did you train?” and you answer “at a bodyguard school” or “through my extensive experience” or “US secret service methodology”. What do you think would be the next logical question from this person? Yep, you’re right, “By whom?”
Not one website that I sampled stated who they were trained by. Some companies did their own training but didn’t say who qualified the instructors.
Again, I am not bashing; this is a learning exercise.
What Do You Do?
This should be an easy question for you to answer. Let’s go back to the business function example; the first question a person will ask you is, “What do you do?” You need to answer this in a way that the person will understand. You skip out on the technical information and offer a simple answer. This conversation can be applied to the web.
Be clear on your message. Website visitors decide/judge in just a few seconds whether to stay or go. So your website has to not only look pretty decent, but it needs to communicate your message to a potential customer or client effectively. I find that using images and breaking up the text into short paragraphs works well to get your message across.
Who Have You Done It For?
In my sampling of websites, this question is often answered in vague groups such as VIPs, dignitaries, and celebrities. Understandably, sometimes, it is necessary to be vague for the protection of the protectee. But this doesn’t really tell your web visitors who. In that situation, what I recommend is for you to add company names rather than individuals.
So here are some takeaways from this exercise:
- Take out the guessing game in your content.
- Don’t be vague when it comes to qualifications. List out your qualifications for you and your instructors.
- Write content from a potential client’s point of view. You might understand what’s on your website, but what about the customer? Will he/she understand?
- Use pictures to enhance your message, and be mindful of your market – if your market is corporate protection, don’t put images of you slinging an MP5.
- Break the mold and the stereotypes of all the other bodyguard websites.
