| |
| |
|
How Your Business Can Win Online
There are lots of websites out there that do little to encourage their customers to stick around or buy their products from them. In this article i'm going to show you a typical example of where a small company has gone wrong with its website. Company X is a small family run roofing company. They repair, install and insulate roofs. They spend a lot of time and money advertising in the press and exhibiting at consumer shows and events to attract new customers. They are visibly committed to their customers and their needs. They do it well and reap the rewards. They are succeeding offline. A potential customer sees them at a show they are exhibiting at. She has a brief but informative conversation about her roof with a company representative and takes away some literature to read. She leaves with a highly positive impression of the company and its employees. When she reads the literature she notices that the company has a web site and visits it. Their site looks professional. She looks deeper into the site by clicking a few links. It only takes a few clicks for her to realise that the website is very thin on content. There's little text and the text that is present is incredibly dull and uninformative. The site looks exactly like the brochure she took away. In fact, thats exactly what the web site is - the brochure online. The site has a few basic features: you can contact the company, request a quote visit or get their phone number. There's little else of any interest for potential customers. So would she stay and buy from the company? Probably not. At this point she either has to contact the company by phone to get more information or go somewhere else. She's been abandoned by a company that has clearly made little provision for her visit. At best its a dull visit. She doesnt think very highly of the company now. What went wrong? Why did the company, which made such a positive impression offline, make such a poor impression online? Has the company put much effort into the site? No.
What can the company do to turn their website around and present a positive impression?
Its critical that their customers perceive some value from visiting their site. Otherwise why would they stay around long enough to even read about their products let alone buy them? What if they arrived at the web site again? This time the text on the site sounds more interesting and descriptive. The site doesnt look identical to the brochure anymore. There's some real case study examples of how previous customers have benefitted and saved money by using the companies products. How they transformed a cold roof space into a bright and warm usable room, or how they saved a fortune on their heating bill after some roof work was done by the company, etc. There's also a new quote tool that lets you put in your dimensions and get an immediate quote for the work. There's also a button to get an expert to call you, a tool for seeing what any project work would look like when finished, a reminder tool which tells you when you are due for a roof inspection, ideas for improving your roof space, etc. The list doesnt necessarily stop here. They can add as many features, tools and resources as the customer wants. Starting with the customers most important ones first. On the new site the company also state their dedication to the customer - they make guarantees to respond quickly to any question or comment and help the customer in any way they can at all times. The customers experience is very different now. She will be happy with her visit and service and have a positive experience of the company. She'll feel the company is very attentive to her needs. Ultimately she'll buy more from the company. The companies end result is different now too. They'll have more happy and loyal customers and ultimately therefore more recommendations and sales. Are you making the same mistakes on your website? What can you do to improve your customers website experience? Useful tips:
Good luck! About The Author Need to get your business online? contact me now to find out how you can do it for less mailto:peter@dynamiq.co.uk You can see more of my articles to help you get results online at www.dynamiq.co.uk/ezine.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 2 7. Create high quality content - make clear points with each paragraph you write. How To Boost Your Sales Dramatically Using Dynamic Back-end Strategies Getting a customer is not easy.Getting a visitor to decide that he or she wants to buy the product or service you're offering, getting out their credit card and giving you their hard-earned money is not a piece of cake. 7 Tips To Increase Sales With Your Ecommerce Web Site Ecommerce is just exploding right now on the Net. More and more people are doing their shopping online. Web Design Advice And Information Most of us at times need advice on different aspects of life and the thought of obtaining a website can be quite a daunting task for many people. There are so many people offering cheap web design services, therefore how do you know who to choose and what to look for. Appropriate Key Words Choice What do the key words represent?Key words - these are the words that the users enter in a given search engine to find services or products you offer. It is extremely important to know what key words they will use. Your Website Visitors - Will They Stay? I'm sure you've all heard the saying 'Build it and they will come'. Although that may have been true a few years ago, now we must work, and work hard, to get visitors to our websites. Technology vs. Usability When JV Media Design was formed, the year was 1995 and the Internet was a very different place than it is today.The first websites we created used simple layouts, a modest amount of graphics, standard "web safe" colors, and no javascript. Seven Habits of Highly Effective Webmasters A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective webmaster. Throughout the years of doing a number of websites, I've seen quite a few effective webmasters all over the web and I would like to share to you their successes by exploring on this topic: "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Webmasters. Your Website Could be Letting You Down A professionally presented business website is a powerful and essential marketing tool: it's the first thing prospective customers will look at before they decide to contact you.If the copy on your website is not written to an acceptable standard, it may be losing you customers. Eliciting Constructive Website Feedback "It's good.""You've done a nice job. Online Advertising: 10 Tricky Secrets To Keep Visitors Glued To Your Website And Increase Sales It is common sense.The more time people spend at your web site, themore likely they will know more about your productsand services. .htaccess to Mask Errors on Your Website The .htaccess file is a control file located in your webservers directory. Cheap Website Design In Birmingham Due to the large number of people offering website design services in Birmingham, there is always a bargain to be found.Web design companies in Birmingham are in a very competitive market and some offer some great deals at various times of the year. How To Get A Pay Raise From Your Web Site How many of the visitors to your web site take the action you want them to take? Whether you want them to buy something from you, sign up for your newsletter, enter your sweepstakes, or give you contact information to follow up on, you want them to do something. The percentage of visitors who actually do that something is called your "conversion rate. Do You Hate Your Website? Web Site Sales To Hit $316 Billion Over The Next 6 Years What dollar amount does your web site contribute to this $316 billion dollar trend?Have you spent thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands on your web site only to discover that it attracts more flies than customers?Do you hate your web site, your web developer or your entire IT department?Do not despair! You are not alone!A great web site is crucial in order to effectively communicate to a business's target audience. It is important for Chief Executives and small business owners to pay close attention to the effect that their web site has on their business. 14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 1 When I surf the Net, I often see web sites filled withbeautiful graphics that strive to capture my attention.Well, they do so for an instant, however I click away whenI don't immediately find relevant content. Offshore Web Design and Development - Use Great Opportunities Sooner or later every small or medium business owner realizes that he needs a web site for his business. And almost everybody wants to have great web site for affordable price because usually web site design budget is quite limited. Orient Your First-time Web Site Visitor Imagine spinning someone around so profoundly and for so long that when you finally tell them to open their eyes, they ask "Where am I?" not knowing if they are even on the same continent they started from. When someone comes to your web site from a search engine or through a link from another site, it's like that for them. 6 Reasons Why A Website Is Crucial To Your Business Since I'm a web designer, I have a tendency to think everyone understands that having a website is important. Every once in a while, I have to remind myself that some people just haven't heard yet!Why is having a website such a big deal? Here are 6 reasons:A website increases your credibility. Shameless Flashers - Using Flash Tools To Create Spectacular Websites Flash is a powerful technology that can help you create spectacular websites, tutorials and demos. Find out which inexpensive tools are available to you that have very low learning curve.
|
| home | site map |
| Webdesign-box © 2006 |
