Your Web Site and Your Image

3. Talk up your Web site everywhere. Send postcards to everyone you do business with telling them about your Web site and giving them a compelling reason to visit. Mention the Web site in your voice mail and on-hold phone messages. Give out golf balls, T-shirts, note pads, calendars, fortune cookies emblazoned with your Web address. Such promotional items not only reinforce customers remembering you, in just a phrase they urge those using them to go have a look and spend time learning more about what you have to offer.

CRAFTING THE SITE

4. Extend your existing image. Your company already, purposely or not, has a personality, a set of qualities and feelings people associate with it. Before creating your Web site, put into words what that image is and make sure the design fits it. For example, we wouldn't expect either glitz or humor from IBM's Web site, and we wouldn't expect restrained, conservative design from a day care center. In the real world, do you present yourself as traditional? Upstarts? Friendly? Affordable? Authoritative? Consistency is essential.

5. Add credibility builders. Some people accessing the site won't know your firm very well, or at all. These elements earn their trust:

- Physical address and all other contact information. Include hours open and directions if you have a walk-in location.

- Testimonials from customers. When you've been in business for a while, you should have a thick file of these to choose from. Select the ones that are specific and highlight characteristics that make a big difference in your industry, such as for the doctor, a good bedside manner; for the lawyer, that you return phone calls; for the ping-pong manufacturer, that the tables stand up to usage by teenagers.

- Privacy policy, when you ask for visitors' e-mail addresses or other personal information. Many Web surfers scoot elsewhere when you fail to reassure them that you won't peddle their information to others.

- Awards, licenses and other credentials. If you've won "Best of Brooklyn" in your category three years running, be sure to post the news. Similarly, if you'd put your state movers' license in your Yellow Pages ad, put it on the Web site too. In most cases it's appropriate to have a biographical profile of the company founder and other principals or of the company itself.

- Photos. Pictures of people involved in the company add greatly to the air of reality and trustworthiness at a Web site. How many folks would plunk their photo on a bogus operation? Photos also help humanize the computer environment and help invite interaction from customers.

- Guarantee. Remember, online people can't touch the goods, try things on or gauge the firmness of your handshake. Thus, a guarantee represents the ultimate reassurance. Surprisingly, the longer the validity of your guarantee, the more it boosts sales and the less people actually take advantage of it.

6. Offer interactive features. People love contests, quizzes, surveys and the opportunity to post their thoughts and comments. The more two-way and participatory you make your site, the more time people spend there and the more often they return.

7. Make sure the site loads quickly. Surfers hate to wait. Type in your Web address and time how long it takes for the home page to come up. If it's longer than 20 seconds, find out how to make the graphics smaller or reduce the number of pictures. Many visitors won't sit there even that long.

8. Make it easy to buy or get in touch. An astonishing number of Web sites make it difficult to find the telephone and fax numbers and the address of the company. Some people will always want to call with questions no matter how understandable you think you've made the site. Similarly, no matter how safe you claim to have made ordering online, some will prefer to order with a company check or a money order. In addition to credit card ordering, provide an order form people can print out and mail in.

DEALING WITH INQUIRIES

9. Answer e-mail quickly. The 24-hour, 7-day environment of the Internet influences people to expect fast service. Delegate enough personnel to respond to e-mail within 24 hours whenever possible. Buyers expect quicker shipments with Internet sales than will mail-order catalogs, too. Offer expedited service for an extra fee.

10. Whatever the message, be polite. Most online merchants eventually encounter irate or even abusive e-mails from customers. Never, never reply in kind! Instead of replying, "Yeah, you're a $#@*&%! too," put the e-mail aside for a more considered response. Be courteous: "We're sorry you were unable to complete your order online. Please call us at 888-777-8888, Extension 526, between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Pacific time, and we will take care of your needs right away."

OTHER REMINDERS

11. Note the international nature of the Internet. Even if you serve mainly a local market, people from other areas of the country and the world will find your Web site. Unless you truly want to or have to send them away (it's hard to ship pizza abroad, for instance), make international visitors welcome. Add the name of your country to your address and make sure online registration forms or order forms can be filled in by people who have different kinds of postal codes than those you are used to -- or none at all.

12. Keep your site up to date. Nothing kills interest more than a sign like "This Web site is updated monthly; last update February 4, 1996" -- viewed in 1999. Even without an update notice, make sure you promptly remove and change notices of events or sales once they've passed. Adding timely content helps encourage return traffic.

13. Show people you care! Extra thoughtfulness in your Web operations gives you a competitive edge. Offer useful reference information at your Web site for your clientele. Send an e-mail one week after shipment asking how the customer likes your product. Offer a periodic e-mail newsletter to update buyers on new laws that affect them, tips they can apply at home or at work, upcoming special events or sales. Cement your relationship with your patrons and your investment in the Internet will pay off many times over.

Boston-based marketing and publicity consultant Marcia Yudkin helps business owners around the world creatively spread the word about their offerings. She's also a syndicated columnist through ParadigmTSA, a public radio commentator and the author of nine books, including Six Steps to Free Publicity and Persuading on Paper. In addition, Marcia Yudkin delivers eye-opening, content-rich, motivating seminars on publicity and marketing to business and professional groups nationwide.

Read more about company image.
Read about choosing your e-mail address.
Read about international marketing.