Far too often when designing client websites, I run into the challenge of trying to help our clients avoid the challenge of “looking” like everyone else. The messages across the industry generally do not vary tremendously from the “top quality”, “great service”, “great people” and “guarantees” which everyone tries to use as their differentiators. My challenge is to try to harness the power of the key value words and show that visually through imagery. I usually try to keep a finger on the pulse of what some of the larger national staffing agencies may be doing to try and set themselves apart from the pack.
Below is an example of images from across numerous top national staffing agencies.
I was somewhat surprised that there was no major difference across the major agencies with the main imagery they used on their homepages. Nothing to visually support their message, or even worse, to distinguish one from another. Granted, that upon all of their homepages, there was copy to help try to convey their unique differentiators but I would like to challenge owners to do more. Be different. Take a chance visually with something that may be unexpected.
This is definitely an ideal time to try to set yourself apart from the competition. Thinking of visitors to the example websites from above…how does one distinguish one from another? Does this lead us as an industry down the path to being viewed as a commodity where everyone looks the same? If everyone appears to be the same, can you afford to compete against the national franchises upon price alone?
Using imagery creatively is an opportunity to help set yourself apart from the rest of the crowd. It can help establish your company’s brand or message. From my perspective, I find it very rewarding coming up with an original piece of artwork for a client’s website rather than a cookie-cutter stock imagery. The chances are far greater that your site will be unique and different from your competition..thus giving you a better chance of being remembered. So, I call out a challenge to staffing owners to take a chance with your creative. If you’re ready to take this chance, please feel free to drop me a line at kcassidy@haleymarketing.com.