6 Essential Questions Every Company Should Ask Before Writing Website Content
Creating content for your website isn’t just about listing products or services—it’s about communicating clearly, staying relevant, and addressing the real challenges your audience faces. Too often, businesses jump into content creation without fully understanding their audience or their own messaging. The result? Content that falls flat and fails to connect with potential clients.
To create content that truly resonates, you need to start with empathy. Understand the world your buyers live in—the challenges they face, what they’re trying to achieve, and what they want to avoid. From there, gather insights directly from your customers to learn how they describe your company—in their own words—to themselves and to others.
It’s equally important to understand your own organization: your strengths, weaknesses, and the reasons clients chose you. You may be surprised to find how differently people inside your company describe what you do. Sales, customer service, marketing, and leadership often have varying interpretations of the value your company delivers. These inconsistencies affect how your team communicates with colleagues, prospects and clients.
That’s why it’s critical not only for marketing to establish a cohesive message for perspective buyers, but for everyone—from leadership to the front line—to share a unified understanding of why your company exists and the value it delivers.
Before you start writing a single line of web content, take a moment to answer these six essential questions.
1. Who Is Your Target Audience?
You can’t create effective content if you don’t know who you’re speaking to. Understanding your audience is the foundation of all content creation. To connect, step into their world—see things from their perspective. What are their goals? What challenges keep them up at night? What problems are they trying to solve?
For example, if you provide automation equipment for manufacturing plants, your target audience might include plant managers or operations directors. These decision-makers care about improving productivity, reducing downtime, and cutting costs. Your content should address these concerns directly and offer tangible solutions.
When you write from your audience’s point of view, your content becomes more relatable and impactful. Instead of simply saying what you do, you’ll demonstrate that you understand their challenges—and can help solve them.
2. What Capabilities Do You Offer?
Once you understand your audience, the next step is to clearly communicate what your company can do for them. Don’t just list your services—explain how each one solves specific problems.
For instance, if you offer custom packaging solutions, avoid saying, “We provide packaging.” Instead, describe how your services add value: Do you design custom packaging? Offer high-speed automation? Provide sustainable options? Each capability you describe should tie back to a customer need or benefit.
Don’t assume your audience knows what you do—or remembers all you offer. Even long-term clients may only be aware of the specific services they use. Repetition reinforces awareness and helps you control the narrative. Use simple, straightforward language that explains how your products or services deliver results. Highlight any niche capabilities that competitors may overlook—these details can set you apart and show that you understand your clients’ world.
3. What Makes Your Company Different?
In a competitive market, differentiation is key—not just to stand out, but to avoid vying solely on price. What truly sets your company apart from others in your industry?
Maybe you’ve invested in advanced technology. Maybe you specialize in short-run production or custom design. Or perhaps you’re a family-owned company that prides itself on personalized service and fast decision-making. Whatever your unique advantages are, make sure they’re clearly defined—and always explain how they benefit the client.
Your goal is to help clients understand why they should choose you over a competitor—and to articulate that clearly enough for them to explain it to others in their organization. Whether it’s your expertise, process, or personal approach, connect the dots between your differentiators and the outcomes your clients care about.
4. What Do Your Customers Truly Buy?
Customers rarely buy a product just to own it—they buy a solution. Your content should focus less on what you sell and more on the results your offering provides.
A precision machining company, for instance, isn’t selling parts; it’s helping clients meet quality standards, reduce defects, and stay on budget. A logistics provider isn’t just moving goods; it’s delivering reliability and consistency that prevent costly delays.
Identify what your clients are really buying—peace of mind, efficiency, savings, or reliability—and make sure your content emphasizes those benefits. Real-world examples and case studies are powerful ways to show how your offerings deliver measurable impact.
5. How Would Your Customers Describe You?
Describing your company from your own perspective can be helpful internally, but to truly connect with your audience, you need to understand how your customers perceive you. This requires looking at your company from the outside in.
Find out how your customers describe working with you. Do they see you as responsive, dependable, innovative, or easy to work with?
If you’re unsure, ask. Collect feedback not only from clients, but also from your sales team, account managers, and customer service staff who interact with customers regularly. Both formal and informal feedback are invaluable in shaping your messaging and identifying your strengths. This feedback can also pinpoint what truly sets you apart.
Use these insights to refine your messaging and support it with testimonials and case studies. For example, if clients consistently praise your on-time delivery and high-quality products, showcase those comments on your website. A simple testimonial like:
"XYZ Company has been a key partner in helping us streamline operations and reduce costs. We can always rely on them to deliver quality products on time." can go a long way toward building credibility and trust with potential customers.
6. What Are Your Company’s Weaknesses?
Every business has room for improvement—and acknowledging that can actually strengthen your credibility. The key is framing. Instead of focusing on a shortcoming, explain how you manage or offset it in a way that still adds value for your clients.
For instance, if your company has a single location while competitors have several, you might emphasize that this structure allows for tighter quality control, stronger communication, and a more consistent client experience.
Transparency, when paired with accountability, builds trust. Framing your weaknesses as opportunities for growth or as evidence of focus shows clients that you’re committed to continuous improvement and delivering the best possible results.
Wrapping It All Up
When you take the time to truly understand your company, your customers, and your competitors—and communicate your solutions clearly—your website becomes a powerful sales tool.
By answering the six questions above, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of your strengths, differentiators, and the value you provide, giving you the foundation to communicate more effectively.
Creating great content doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be thoughtful. And if you ever need an outside perspective or a little extra support, the Paradigm team is always here to help.