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Is your website offering a wet and limp handshake?

Guest post by: Trent Leyshan

Article Overview: Don't make the mistake of creating a website that is purely designed to lead people through a preconceived process. Having a process is essential, but not before your customers have 'buy-in'. To extract customer information before there is an established relationships or some form of emotive connection is only going to put people off. Sure, the internet is vast source of information and contains unlimited realms off opportunity. But don't abuse it simply because can or just because others are - you're better than that!

Is your website offering a wet and limp handshake?

When I visit a website for the first time and find its essentially one long page that seemingly scroll's down for eternity. What I quickly realise is this site is not about capturing my imagination: it's about acquiring my information. Don't make the mistake of creating a website that is purely designed to lead people through a preconceived process. Having a process is essential, but not before your customers have 'buy-in'. To extract customer information before there is an established relationships or some form of emotive connection is only going to put people off. Sure, the internet is vast source of information and contains unlimited realms off opportunity. But don't abuse it simply because can or just because others are - you're better than that!

I visited the site of a person who recently followed me on Twitter. This guy had a cool picture and fun Bio on his profile. Curious to learn more, I clicked from Twitter through to his site. When I arrived at the website, I found one long page with multiple 'sign-up here' boxes designed to give away free information and capture my details. I guess, in the hope my curiosity would eventually get the better of me and result in some form of transaction downstream.

As a consequence of this person's blatant online sales approach, he lost all credibility with me. I went to this website eager to find out more about this person and his credentials. I wanted to read about his story and what type of work he did and whom he served as clients. Instead, I felt the distinct and uneasy sensation of being sold something that I didn't need nor want. My curiosity to learn more about this person was replaced with an uncomfortable feeling of being led down a garden path.

Your website should be a warm, fun place people can go to learn more about you, the real you. The site should reflect your core values and ideology and purpose and contain a compelling reason for your customers to contact you in some way. Not a series of submit boxes strategically positioned by a user experience 'expert' whose only purpose is to convert web hits into email addresses - so you can start an onslaught of meaningless tips and reasons others should buy from you.

A website used in the right ways is a powerful marketing, promotions, and sales tool. Used in the wrong ways a website becomes, much like a wet and limp handshake - a deal breaker. Make sure the first impression your website makes, like your salespeople, is interesting and sets a positive tone for a long and lasting relationship.

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Article Tags: boxes, consequence, core values, creating a website, credentials, credibility, curiosity, customer information, eternity, fun place, garden path, imagination, mistake, relationships, sensation, source of information, twitter



Related Forum Posts
Re: Clarity Trumps Persuasion - It makes sense. 7 seconds to get your message across to visitors to your website. If people contact you and tell you they don't know what you are offering on your website - take them seriously! Marketing Experiments certainly deliver good quality. I'd consider taking one of their courses.
Re: Hello - Hi Kyle, Thanks for the feedback! If you are offering your own teaching services then it would also be a good idea to have a nice friendly photo of you on the website, and a feedback form. You can pick up forms and stuff for your website at bravenet.com.
Re: Traffic! How do you get it? - [quote="lisa":o20s9ktr]The most effective means for increasing traffic to a website; offering people something that they cannot obtain elsewhere, or at least, not to the level of quality that you are offering it. Creating content that is helpful and useful. Simply cobbling together information from another website will not generate traffic. Keep it fresh. For repeat visits, it is crucial to provide regular updates to the website, especially in frequently viewed zones. Add fresh content every few days if possible; at a minimum, weekly.[/quote:o20s9ktr] This is very true lisa. The more valuable your content is, the more reason people will have to visit your site. I've noticed in the past couple of weeks, that by blog posting once every 3 days instead of once every 5 or 7 days has increased the number of comments I receive, mostly from repeat visitors. So I'm going to tweak my posting frequency and hopefully find the optimal time frame.
stock registration - robertj- Actually my offering is for a private placement of stock in my privately owned company. The documentation that I would send out to any interested party is approved by the SEC under the classification of "Reg D 504". It is the only private placement offering that the SEC allows for no registration requirements at all as long as I accept no more than $1,000,000.00 and the offering is good for only 1 years time. I assure you that we are all above board here at Phoenix Global Funding.
Re: Search Engine Optimization - there are companies offering more than brochures, they are offering more than ideas so besides a brochure you can get many tools and services allowing you to increase your business. Check it out and take from there as much as you can


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