Why should a customer choose your building materials firm over a competitor? Do you have better prices or more suppliers? Do you offer unique services that other firms don't provide?The reality is that even if you outperform your competitors in every aspect, customers will choose you only if you make that information easy to find and comprehend. That's where frequently asked questions (FAQs) come in.Adding an FAQ page to your building materials firm's website is an excellent way to help customers find the information they need to make the best decision. In addition, it can significantly improve your marketing strategy. Not only does it boost your site's visibility on search engines, but it's also a great way to help prospects self-serve until they're ready to speak with you or move further down the sales pipeline.In this article, we’ll explore what an FAQ page is, how it can help building materials firms, what to include in yours, and additional tips to help you make the most of this valuable resource.
What Is an FAQ Page?
An FAQ page is crucial to any company's website because it serves as a knowledge base that addresses commonly asked questions. As more and more people prefer to research and compare companies online before approaching them in person, FAQ pages are increasingly important.FAQs are typically organized in a question-and-answer format, and they can be located on their own dedicated page or integrated into other pages on a site.FAQ pages serve two main purposes:
- They provide an easily readable structure that customers can scan to find the information they need.
- They help save time in regard to customer service. Instead of requiring dedicated responses to the same questions each time, customers can locate the answers themselves.
How Does an FAQ Page Help Building Materials Firms?
FAQs expand your building materials firm's visibility on the internet. For example, suppose Company A uses its website like a directory listing and posts only its products and services. Company B, on the other hand, has an extensive FAQ section that includes detailed information about the specifications of its products, how the company serves customers, a walk-through for the ordering and delivery process, and other common client concerns.Which of these websites is a potential client more likely to spend time exploring? Which one is built to provide value and establish trust? Most likely, the website for Company B.Here are some key ways FAQs can help your building materials firm attract and convert customers.FAQ sections help building materials firms by:
- Establishing credibility and trust with potential customers
- Providing additional content to help boost the site’s keyword rankings
- Improving SEO so qualified clients can find the company more easily
- Providing a place for prospective customers to find information themselves
- Answering preliminary questions about materials, services, delivery times, and more
- Making it convenient for potential clients to access information on their own time
- Minimizing customer service requirements by freeing up the staff from having to answer the same questions over and over by phone or email
- Organizing information effectively and allowing people to find information in a central location even if the same info is repeated on other pages
What to Include in Your FAQ Section
Ultimately, the information you choose to include will depend on your particular products, services, and industry. Look at the customer inquiries you've had in the past and use these conversations to inform your list of FAQs.What questions come up again and again? Where in the customer acquisition process do you spend a lot of time clearing up confusion or explaining unique attributes of your products and services?In addition, you’ll want to include answers to basic questions like how to contact you for quotes or your delivery policies.To help you get started, we’ve listed some questions that often come up for building materials firms below.
General
- Do you have a physical location that is open to the public? (If you have more than one, list them here or link to a separate page containing location details.)
- What days and hours are you open?
- How can visitors make an appointment at your office?
- What areas and regions do you supply?
- What’s the best way for people to contact you?
- What are your customer service hours?
- Do you offer support in multiple languages?
- How can customers obtain a quote?
- How can customers obtain specifications?
- How can customers obtain samples?
Products and Services
- Where are your products or systems made?
- What are your products or systems made of?
- What kind of services does your firm provide?
- What certifications or licenses does your firm or staff hold?
- Do you have any product or system awards or certifications?
- Do your products have a specific fire rating?
- Do your products have a specific climate rating?
- What is the life span of your products or systems?
- What are the finishing and color options?
- Can the products be customized?
- Where can customers find information about changes to product lines? (For example, “Our previous window line, WindowAwesome, has been replaced with WindowBest, which is incompatible with WindowAwesome framing.”)
Project Management
- What types of projects are ideal for your products or systems?
- Are there certain project types, site conditions, or climates that would not be a good fit for your products?
- What is the ordering process?
- What are the delivery options and shipping lead times?
- Can you provide an overview of the installation process?
- Are there any additional products or services that need to be in place for your products or systems to function?
- How can your products or systems help meet project goals like LEED or WELL v2 certification?
- Will ongoing maintenance or periodic service be required?
What Not to Include in Your FAQ Section
While an FAQ page can be a valuable resource, it's important to be strategic about which questions and answers are included. Below are some things to avoid when you’re creating an FAQ page for a building materials firm:
- Don’t include specifications for every product or system. While it may be tempting to include as much information as possible, it’s important to focus on the things that are most relevant to and commonly asked by potential customers.
- Don't just copy and paste content from other pages. If more detailed content is available on another page, simply say that and link to the relevant page.
- Don’t include forms. Place these on dedicated pages so they're easy to find and don't get missed. If you'd like, you can link to them from the FAQ section.
Additional Tips
Here are a few more tips to keep in mind when you’re building out your FAQ section:
- Use "FAQ" in the page or section title. There are better places to get original or creative. The point here is to be direct and make the FAQs easy to find.
- Add the FAQ page to your top-level navigation. If that's not an option, place the FAQ page at most one navigation-level deep. It's also a good idea to link to the FAQ page in your footer.
- Organize the FAQ page into multiple sections. Especially for longer lists, it’s helpful to break up the questions into different categories. Breaking the page up into multiple sections will help your customers easily find the information they’re looking for. In addition, this will help structure your content in a more search-friendly way and boost your SEO ranking.
- Use a conversational tone. The language used on the FAQ page should be friendly and approachable, making visitors feel welcome and comfortable. Keep paragraphs short and sweet, and add bulleted lists for a more scannable format.
- Don't provide vague or incomplete answers. Visitors want clear and concise answers. If the answers are too general or incomplete, they may become frustrated and look for information elsewhere.
- Keep it simple. Fortunately, most people who use the internet know what an FAQ page is and how to use it, so you don't need to complicate the design or layout. Instead, make sure the information itself takes the main stage.
- Research relevant keywords. By doing keyword research, you'll better understand how your customers search for related content. Then, you can build your FAQ section around these keywords and consider expanding the content into other formats, like blog articles.
- Link to other pages on your site. When possible, add internal links that will help your visitors find relevant information and direct them to other pages that can increase your chances of securing conversions.
- Update your FAQ page regularly. Make sure you refresh your FAQs with the most up-to-date and relevant information. If you have links that lead to dead pages or products you no longer sell, this can hurt your credibility and cause customers to look elsewhere.
Key Takeaway
Including an FAQ page on your website can be an effective way to improve your strategy for marketing building products. By providing answers to common questions, building credibility, and improving your SEO efforts, an FAQ section can help you attract and convert potential customers.However, it’s important to be strategic about which questions and answers are included and to follow best practices for organization and language. By following these tips, you can create an FAQ page that is both informative and engaging.
