Sitting in a darkened concert call, a familiar acoustic strum floated out to the audience. The artist was different, so it was an unexpected twist to the evening. Kind of like a 75 degree day in the dead of a Northeast winter.
I was immediately transported back to 1989, in the quad outside my college dorm. The entire quad was packed with kids singing, dancing and playing frisbee in the middle of the night.
Though it was nearly the end of the school year, there were a lot of new friendships being made over that shared rare moment.
I learned something that night that helps me every day as a lawyer.
It’s a long story, but it involves an intramural sporting event and a campus crackdown. And it ends the next morning, the strains of Here Comes The Sun pouring from an open window as the sun rose over the lake.
George Harrison in all his glory. I know it’s a Beatles song, but it’s all George. George walking through Clapton’s garden, strumming and composing quietly. George, escaping the corporate environment that was Apple Records.
Now, over 20 years later, the same strain transports me back. I’m back in the quad, feeling the rays of the rising sun as it appears over the lake. The concert hall fades away.
20 years on, the notes of that song make me feel happy. I sing along and think about my friends.
And I say, it’s alright …
When you put together your website, you want to make it professional. You dress up in a dark suit, stare at the camera and hope for a dignified photo to place in the sidebar.
Blue is the prevalent color of the website, perhaps a dash of grey or brown.
When your visitor arrives, they’re met with nothing for them to remember once they’ve gone. No graphics to catch the eye, no words to trigger a visceral reaction.
And once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. Not because they didn’t like you, but rather because you failed to make an impression.
Consider, instead, your ideal client. The one person you want to connect with, the person you’re looking to help. See your website through that person’s eyes. Give that person what he or she wants.
Make an impact, leave a lasting impression.
I’m not telling you that your website is going to make your visitor smile in 20 years. What I am telling you is that you always want to remember that our memories are emotional first and intellectual later. That’s the George Harrison Effect, pure and simple.
How does your website make your client feel?
About Jay Fleischman
I love the connection you draw here. Any time you can connect art and legal marketing, you have done something extraordinary!
I truly hope that my website creates calm for clients/potential clients that visit. That was the only emotional response I wanted to trigger with visitors.