Online Front Doors: Check Your Curb Appeal

5/19/2006

In addition to a physical location and front door, most businesses have a web site – an online front door. Looking at your web site as a front door, is the “curb appeal” strong enough? Does your site help customers do business with you? Does it help prospects to evaluate your services?

Too many web sites get built based on what businesses think they need to say to or do for their customers. As such, design and development focuses on what the business wants to say and do, rather than what customers and prospects want or need. These web sites end up as online versions of marketing literature with stagnant content, boilerplate navigation, and amazingly average features. In the worst cases, web sites are built using easily recognized templates from low-cost hosting services.

Your web site can, and should, be a powerful customer relationship and business development tool. To do so, however, you need to align your web site with your business goals and objectives, your brand, and your marketing plan.

When helping clients create or update their online strategy and presence, we look at several business factors beyond the typical design/build process. These factors translate to practical tips for an online front door that helps your bottom line.

Be True to You
Your website should not just “reflect your brand”, it is your brand. Beyond your logo and colors, your website should share the font, spacing, and “look and feel” of your marketing literature. More importantly, the site should share the writing style and “voice” of your marketing literature and business communications.

Avoid Too Much of a Good Thing
Pictures and text on your home page can do much to convey the image and reality of your business to prospects and customers. Too much of either, however, can overwhelm visitors and present a cluttered, disorganized appearance. Remember that web sites are interactive. Your front door should invite prospects and customer into the site, where more information is available.

Avoid Superfluous Animation and Video
You would never pay somebody to stop customers and prospects about to enter your business and force them to watch a commercial. Why, then, would any business want to force visitors to watch “show” before they can see and use the web site? Automated animation and video is redundant for prospects that have already decided to visit your site and a repetitive inconvenience for customers. Even with a “skip intro” button, you are putting an obstacle between you and your customers, particularly if they use your site regularly for customer service.

Welcome Hunters & Gatherers
Visitors to web sites, like shoppers in a mall, fall into two categories: Hunters and Gatherers. Hunters want to find what they need and move on; Gatherers want to meander and browse through your site for something interesting. For hunters, your web site navigation should make reaching specific information about products or services quick (as few clicks as possible) and easy. For gatherers, provide content like case studies and with papers that highlight your capabilities by telling a good story.

Use Your Elevator Pitch
Most business owners and sales persons have a fine-tuned elevator pitch with the ability to engage the prospect. Your web site home page has the same goal – for the visitor to want to learn more. Avoid trying to say everything about your business up front; keep to the most important points and entice visitors to learn more.

Secure Your Customers and Clients
While customer “accounts” and login areas have become standard on web sites that sell things, secure online customer services can benefit most any business. By providing clients with access to files online, for example, lawyers can share documents with clients securely (email is NOT secure) and can avoid problems related to getting attachments through email and spam filters. Beyond the typical services of placing and tracking orders, self-help features, and customer support, secure online services can facilitate meetings, project management, and information sharing. More importantly, secure online services involve your customers in your business processes and help build a more effective business relationship.

Let Your Customer Speak
It is hard to know what your customers need or want if you are not listening. Web sites, by their very nature, are interactive. Make sure you web site offers and encourages prospects and customers to speak to you. Whether through “contact us” forms, “email us” links, newsletters, or online surveys, provide every visitor to your site with the ability to start a conversation. And, when they speak, listen and respond. Visitors to your site that take the time to communicate to you deserve a quick response.

Invest for a Return
Web sites built using templates and running on low-cost hosting services are obvious to visitors. Unpredictable performance, embedded advertisements, and redirected addresses are tell-tale signs. Your company letterhead does not include a statement along the lines of “Logo designed by Janet”. So, unless you are a non-profit acknowledging donated services, “designed by …”, “built by …”, and “hosted by …” messages are not appropriate. These acknowledgements tell customers and prospects that you are willing to trade your image for advertising and a discount. Spending a little more than the “discount” designers and hosting companies greatly improves the image of your business online.

Use Your Identity
Too many businesses invest in a web site and secure a domain name only to use public (or worse, free) email addresses. Using AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, gmail, or other public email services for business sends a clear message to customers and prospects. It tells them, rightly or wrongly, that: you do not understand technology and are not willing to learn; you are too small or too cheap to have an appropriate infrastructure; and you are not concerned about a professional appearance. Most web hosting companies will provide you with email addresses that share your web domain name. Better hosting companies provide this email through a web interface or will integrate their email service with MS Outlook on your computer.

Remember That Quality is Job One, Two, and Three
The quality of your web site reflects the quality of your business. Spelling errors, dead links, missing pages, outdated content, and poor performance all affect how your prospects and customers view your business and the products and services you offer. A small amount of time spent proof-reading and periodically reviewing your web site will help you correct errors and avoid embarrassment.

Do NOT Forget the Basics
Remember that some visitors to your site are looking for something simple. Make sure that your web site allows visitors to quickly and easily locate your address, phone number, fax number, and directions to your office.

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