Communicating 3 Core Ideas to Site Visitors

One of the big challenges with marketing is knowing what details to emphasize to new visitors to take them from being mildly interested to pulling out their credit cards.

There are so many things that you can talk about.

Hi, I’m Rishi.

This question of figuring out what I need to communicate to a new visitor is something that I’ve been working on for the last 15 years. I’ve been lucky enough to run experiments on over 400 different DTC websites to understand exactly what the themes are that get someone to make a purchase.

After hundreds of failed and successful experiments, we’ve isolated the three most important details we want to communicate. These are:

1. Price Justification

One of the biggest hurdles in converting new visitors is price.

When a user first lands, the first thing they notice is the price. Your price might be written in font size 12, but to the shopper, it looks like it’s in font size 27.

This is why price justification is critical. You can’t assume visitors will automatically understand the value of your product. You must explain why your price is justified without overwhelming with information.

If your product costs $130 and you’ve spent the last 5 years making enhancements to it, talk about how those enhancements have made the product better.

Talk about how you used customer feedback from earlier versions to develop the super version this visitor is seeing on your site today.

The goal is to have the reader read this information and think:

2. Demonstration of Expertise

We’re living in a world of expertise. Shoppers today aren’t just looking for a running shoe; they’re looking for a running shoe engineered specifically for marathon runners—lightweight, with superior cushioning for long distances, and breathable materials to prevent overheating (think Nike Vaporfly).

You most definitely bring a ton of expertise to the table. The challenge is communicating it to the buyer in the least number of words. Remember, we only have 2 to 3 minutes with this new visitor.

If you need help crafting your expertise pitch, drop me a comment, and I’ll help you.

3. Us vs. Them: Differentiating from Competitors

New visitors know they have options. Even if they haven’t researched your competitors yet, they instinctively know alternatives exist. This creates hesitation—they don’t want to make the wrong choice and be left with buyer’s remorse.

It’s crucial to address this head-on. You need to explain why your product is the better choice. But be strategic. Visitors may discount your credibility if your messaging feels overly biased or hostile toward competitors. Instead, subtly highlight your advantages by focusing on your unique value proposition (check out this implied marketing article). It’s essential that the reader understands that you have studied competitor products.

Sequencing

It’s not just about communicating the three ideas above. The sequence of their communication matters, too.

It’s this:

Price acknowledgment → Demonstration of expertise → Price justification → Us vs. them

Here’s why this sequence works:

When a user first lands, the first thing they notice is the price. Most make their final decision shortly after seeing the price. They’ll experience sticker shock—the price is always more than they hoped to pay. By acknowledging the price, you are telling them, “I see you; I see what your concerns are.”

Price acknowledgment (step 1) prevents exit the moment the user sees the price.

I like to do it with a statement like: $[X] isn’t cheap. So why don’t we charge less? Let me explain.

With this statement, you’ve just bought a few seconds. It’s your opportunity to impress with your demonstration of expertise (step 2). This builds trust and buys you more time.

As the user engages with your demonstration of expertise pitch, they start nodding their head in agreement.

They can see your laser focus and deep understanding of this topic.

Demonstration of expertise establishes credibility, which you use for price justification (step 3).

With the demonstration of expertise and price justification, you’ve built a snowball effect. The reader is now fully locked in.

Now is the time to introduce the us vs. them narrative (step 4). This is where you create a clear contrast between you and the alternatives, thus helping to close the deal.

The sequence matters because it mirrors how buyers naturally think.

A recap:

Price acknowledgment → Demonstration of expertise → Price justification → Us vs. them

Revealing It All

In this article, we talk about the 3 main things you need to communicate to your site visitors, but there are actually 9 things you need to communicate to maximize conversion rates. I mentioned 3 in this article because I wanted you to get familiar with our approach.

If you feel you are ready to see the whole list, click the image below👇🏼