Build Pages To Target Services or Audiences?

[Mark Laidlaw]

I'm working on a small brochure-style site for a company that does lighting design for a few different industries. Services they offer include:

• Stage lighting for live events
• Permanent art installations
• Lighting for television

Their target audiences are:

• advertising agencies
• museum directors/curators
• bands and band managers
• theater directors

It seems like the best on-site user experience would be to write pages for each audience, but my keyword and audience research has shown that that's not how people search for these services. So I'm not sure if I should do that (create pages for each audience to discover what we can do for them), or write and group pages by the individual services. For example:

• A page for stage lighting for rock concerts
  
• A page for stage lighting for theater
  
• A page for art installations
  

Anybody have any pros or cons that might sway me in either directions?

Thanks!

--Mark

[Eddie VanArsdall]

Hi Mark,

Given that there will be some overlap among segments, I believe that a service-focused site might be the better choice. 

For example, both theater directors and bands/band managers might be interested in stage lighting. And while museum directors/curators are an obvious match for permanent art installations, other entities (e.g., wealthy corporations) are known to buy extravagant art displays that make them look prosperous and powerful. 

Depending on how your platform handles metadata, you could tag content so that it covers both audiences. You could then offer both types of search. You may get your best answer from running some usability tests, if your budget and timeline allow it.

I hope I haven't muddied the waters by thinking out loud. :-) 

Cheers,

Eddie

[Matt Moore]

Mark,

Good on you for doing audience research. I would go with what your
research indicates - which is the services. If that's how people
search then go with that. Esp. if these are "industry standard" ways
of describing things.

However, you could also create some additional pages aimed at those
target audiences - with both basic and advanced information.
Experienced professionals will know the kind of rigs they want (which
is probably what they are searching using more service/product focused
terms). Newbies may not know this and may appreciate some
handholding. The advanced information would be all about cross-selling
to an existing customer base - "you often buy this from us but do you
know that we do this and this and this as well which could be useful
for you?"

N.B. These are just suggestions and may or may not be appropriate to
your actual situation.

Regards,

Matt

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--
Matt Moore
M. +61 (0) 423 784 504
ma...@innotecture.com.au
http://innotecture.com.au/

[Mark Laidlaw]

Thanks Eddie, I appreciate you taking the time to give me your input!

[Mark Laidlaw]

Thanks for your help Matt, it is greatly appreciated!