What Vegas Can Teach Your Website
Listening to Kenny Rogers is the closest I usually get to gambling.
But I made an exception this week, and played a dollar at the slots at the Palms in Las Vegas. I was in town with a group of girlfriends from college, for our annual “forget about the boyfriend, husband, and kids and pretend you’re nineteen again” trip.
Sure, I walked away a dollar poorer. But it got me thinking about how Vegas makes its money… and how you can use those same tricks to build a better website.
“Vegas Up” Your Website Trick #1:
Make ‘em feel rich
On the trip this year, my girls & I stayed at the Venetian… and I can’t remember the last time I felt like such royalty!
From the plush towels and the thoughtful architectural touches in our room (curtains with European-style fringe above the beds? Exquisite!), to the doormen who help you into your cab, Vegas has mastered the art of making you feel like a million bucks...
... which, surprise, surprise!, puts you in the mood to spend.
Fifteen dollars for a Manhattan… sure, why not? I’m in Vegas!
When it comes to your website, it’s all about creating this rich Vegas-style enthusiasm. (I feel the same rush of energy when I go to IKEA, too.) You want to make sure that your passion, energy and absolute confidence about your services and programs come across as noticeably as the flowery perfume in the Venetian lobby.
From the moment your audience lays eyes on your homepage, you want to soak them in a rich, energetic, and yes, even sensual experience that conveys you’re the one to help them out of their latest pickle.
Help them feel rich in positive emotions… rich in ideas… rich in possibility… rich in hope… and you'll be the one they want to do business with.
“Vegas Up” Your Website Trick #2:
Big theme, little touches
There are 124,270 hotel rooms in Vegas. If they were all in chains like the Radisson or Ramada, you better believe people would be less likely to return to the Nevada desert, year after year.
By designing hotels around a theme, Vegas hotel kingpins get all kinds of opportunities to differentiate themselves from the competition. To create a “world” around their business and their brand.
And they do this with the little touches. That is, if Vegas did anything in less than size gigantic. Examples: The live lion habitat at MGM Grand. And a “French” all-you-can-eat buffet at Paris, Las Vegas.
(By the way, I lived in France as a kid, and no Frenchman I met would be caught dead eating until exhaustion. The Japanese, on the other hand, have totally embraced the concept in their “tabehodai” joints. But with a twist: there’s a timer on your table. It’s all you can eat… in 90 minutes.)
The point is, what’s true for Vegas hotels holds for your website, too. It can be a benefit – luxury… rock-solid abs... stress-free success… 21st century leadership… or it can be a symbol of something more obscure. Like a dove. Or a magnet. Or, heck, even an orange.
Once you pick a theme, you ride that trusty stallion all the way across the finish. This is where the little touches come in. Who decreed that the tabs on your website must be snoozers?
“Vegas Up” your testimonials by calling them something more sassy. Word on the Street. Love Letters. Shout Outs. Hall of Success. Cat Calls. Sky’s the limit, really. Remember: there’s a hotel in Vegas devoted entirely to pirates.
“Vegas Up” Your Website Trick #3:
Sell by design, not by accident
This one could also be called: “Make it easy to buy.” Vegas has been designed to optimize the opportunities to spend money. Upscale restaurants. Lounges. Cigarette girls. Cocktail waitresses. Shopping malls. Slot machines at the airport.
No cheap restaurants. No parks. No take out menus. No free shows that aren’t linked to a two drink minimum.
You’ve got to admit, a lot of thought went into that.
Make sure you’ve given as much thought to the “pathway” your visitors follow on your website as the casino guys gave to the number of slot machines, craps tables, and snack bars you have to walk past on your way to the bathroom in Vegas. Don’t be shy in creating opportunities for your visitors to interact, get a good taste of your services, or even buy something from you.
However, please note the difference between you and a casino owner:
You don’t run a casino.
For the rest of us, generosity, authenticity, and kindness -- with no strings attached -- still mean a whole lot. Keep that top of mind, and your website is ready to up the ante, Vegas-style.
Let me know how it goes.
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