Posts Tagged ‘credibility’

Do you have a website? Is it producing the results you want?  Most people say, “No!”  There was a time when it was enough to have a website.  By having a website, you created a great impression for your customers.  These days your website has to be an effective marketing tool.

It does not matter if you sell physical items, intangibles, services, or if you only sell ideas.  Every website is designed to inform people about something and usually with the intention of influencing those people to take action.  In that general sense, all websites sell.  That is the whole point of building the site to begin with.

These ideas are centered on websites with products; however, most of these tips are useful to anyone selling anything to anyone.

Do not build your website just to say what you want to say.  Carefully consider the message your want your customer to receive and design the website around producing results

• Establish Credibility – Let people know why they should do business with you. Mention things that boost their confidence in your company. How long have you been in business? Have you won any business awards? Are you involved in Chambers of Commerce?
• Include Testimonials – Testimonials are clever ways to say things you would not normally say because it makes you look arrogant. Contact you customers and get permission to post a testimonial. You can even write the testimonials for your customers, just get their approval before you post them on your site.
• Focus on Sales – Build your site with sales in mind. Make it easy to identify the products or services and easy to buy online.
• Guarantee Everything - People do not trust companies they do not know. Offer over-the-top guarantees that stick in the mind of the customer. Use big claims like, “WE ARE NOT HAPPY UNTIL YOU ARE HAPPY GUARANTEE”, or “NO GIFT CARDS, NO HASSLES, FULL 100% CASH BACK GUARANTEE”. Make sure the customer knows you are confident they will be happy customers.
• Privacy – Make a big deal how hard you work to protect their privacy. Tell them about your “never sell, never rent” policy. Tell them about your high-tech encryption policies. Tell them about your “no spam” policies. Add a “Our Promise to Our Customers” page.
• Easy Pay - Make the payment process very easy. Do real-time credit card validation. Make sure the forms are easy and intuitive. Pay attention to customer fears or concerns.
• Surveys - Ask customers to complete a survey and tell you how well they like your products, services, marketing, website, or whatever. Make sure the customer knows how much you appreciate their input and how their input will help you serve them better in the future.

Have you ever searched the internet for a specific product or service?  Of course, you have.  But have you noticed how many results come back on your search?  There are usually hundreds of thousands, or even millions, or results.   That is a lot of competition.  Focusing your internet marketing strategy on a tight niche market will reduce the number of competitors.  Your campaign will reach less people, however you should have a higher success rate.  Finding a good niche could be a goldmine.

What is your Niche?

You may have more than one niche.  We are discussing a single niche campaign in this article.  Just repeat the process for each of your niche markets.  Do not mix them together.  Combining niche markets means you do not have a niche anymore.

If your company sells computer hardware, for example, you will have a lot of competition.  Focusing your campaign on one brand will help you rise above the competition.   If you want to focus on HP, for example, you can target HP Color Laser Printers as one niche, and create more niche campaigns for other products.   Alternatively, you could focus on a particular client, such as doctors’ offices, etc.

Setup Niche Pages

After you identify your niche(s), create special pages on your website that target that niche.  You might even create special websites that target that niche if the niche is lucrative.   Have one or more pages focused on “HP Color Laser Printers” and run ads and link building campaigns to drive traffic to those pages.  These specialized pages will help you gain credibility in that niche market.  You will be able to establish yourself as an expert in those areas.

Grow Your Niche

Visitors who came to your site from one of your niche ads or niche links will end up on your special niche landing page.   As soon as they hit your landing page, set a cookie.  Use that cookie later to flag their customer record.   You will be able to use that information to send targeted ads to them via email.

The buzzwords are changing in the world of Internet marketing.  Your customers do not want to see the big flashy banner ads.  They want to know you as a person.  People want to do business with people they know and trust.  While conventional advertising has its place, being a trusted expert in your industry is critical.