Service providers – the main reason to have a website and why you aren’t getting the results you expected
I was having a chat with Brian Meredith of The Marketing Bureau (they are always fun and insightful). We were talking about the low levels of response people have on their websites and it inspired me to these thoughts.
There are plenty of reasons to have a website and there are even more people who are disappointed with the results from their site. The vast majority of people I talk to say they don’t get the results from their site that they hoped for but this is probably because they are looking at the wrong measure.
“I don’t get many enquiries” or I don’t get sales from my site”. These are all too common but for service providers especially, they are unlikely to get enquiries directly.
Image, if you are considering changing accountant, finding a new business coach or starting a marketing campaign, would you search Google, find a few options and then send them an email? Probably not because they will bombard you with emails and you are even less likely get on the phone. If you do call them, then they are going to pitch you and try to sell you their services which is the last thing you want.
More probable is that you would find the top websites in Google, look through the sites to see if there is anything that matches what you want and take some notes.
Life and work get in the way so then you might come back to the project a few days or even weeks later and you create a short-list.
Then for reassurance, you would do a bit more research about those on the list.
And still, you don’t want to call because you don’t want to be sold to or have to arrange a meeting – you are just not ready yet. It’s human nature – we all hate being sold to.
But you can go back to the website and do some more checks and this is the key. The website is a non-threatening reference point. You are free to do as much research as you like without the threat of a sales pitch or any other interaction that would make you feel uncomfortable or have to say the “N-word” “No”. Few of us like to say “No” so we don’t put ourselves in the position of having to say it.
And that is the point that so many service businesses miss. Your website is not there to sell; it is there to provide comfort and reassurance before people have to make anything like a “dangerous” move actually talking to you.
So, give people what they want – information, friendliness and warmth. Only then you can start to measure the right metric and the effectiveness of your site.
Technorati Tags: non-threatening reference point
Internet marketing for local businesses
Service providers – the main reason to have a website
Service providers – the main reason to have a website and why you aren’t getting the results you expected
I was having a chat with Brian Meredith of The Marketing Bureau (they are always fun and insightful). We were talking about the low levels of response people have on their websites and it inspired me to these thoughts.
There are plenty of reasons to have a website and there are even more people who are disappointed with the results from their site. The vast majority of people I talk to say they don’t get the results from their site that they hoped for but this is probably because they are looking at the wrong measure.
“I don’t get many enquiries” or I don’t get sales from my site”. These are all too common but for service providers especially, they are unlikely to get enquiries directly.
Image, if you are considering changing accountant, finding a new business coach or starting a marketing campaign, would you search Google, find a few options and then send them an email? Probably not because they will bombard you with emails and you are even less likely get on the phone. If you do call them, then they are going to pitch you and try to sell you their services which is the last thing you want.
More probable is that you would find the top websites in Google, look through the sites to see if there is anything that matches what you want and take some notes.
Life and work get in the way so then you might come back to the project a few days or even weeks later and you create a short-list.
Then for reassurance, you would do a bit more research about those on the list.
And still, you don’t want to call because you don’t want to be sold to or have to arrange a meeting – you are just not ready yet. It’s human nature – we all hate being sold to.
But you can go back to the website and do some more checks and this is the key. The website is a non-threatening reference point. You are free to do as much research as you like without the threat of a sales pitch or any other interaction that would make you feel uncomfortable or have to say the “N-word” “No”. Few of us like to say “No” so we don’t put ourselves in the position of having to say it.
And that is the point that so many service businesses miss. Your website is not there to sell; it is there to provide comfort and reassurance before people have to make anything like a “dangerous” move actually talking to you.
So, give people what they want – information, friendliness and warmth. Only then you can start to measure the right metric and the effectiveness of your site.
Technorati Tags: non-threatening reference point