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Speaking to Your Customer on the Web... As a small business, I'm sure most of you have felt that your advantage lies in your personal service and integrity; in knowing the wants and needs of your customer and delivering. This attitude should be no different online. When you design your site instill the personal flavor that has made your business what it is. "Speak" to your customer on the website in your own voice. You're not just selling a product; you're selling yourself, your values, your company. I was recently browsing the website of a design firm; I always like to see what others are doing. This site was simple, full of text and I found that after I had read a few paragraphs, I continued to read all the way down to the bottom of the page, several screens worth of text. Now, I don't spend more than 10 seconds on most websites, so what was it that captured my attention? The owner of the site was speaking to me, and since she was, I listened to what she said. I could tell she wasn't trying to pull something, she was writing in a simple, natural voice. One of the founders of TheKnot.com, a site which specializes in wedding planning, said recently, "We never positioned ourselves as advisers and experts. We positioned ourselves as friends." Do the same. Don't go for that highbrow cyber-speak: use your own voice. If you find you're not a great writer, and don't want to hire a professional copywriter, try this technique: Sit down with a friend who can put up with you for a little while, take out a tape recorder, and proceed to tell your friend about your product or service in a conversational tone. Explain the benefits of it, your personal relationship to it, your convictions about it, whatever you feel about your service or product is important. Speak freely for as long as it takes to explain yourself. When you're done transcribe the tape and use that dialogue to write your copy. Don't try to clean it up and make it sound professional; let your own voice come through. Of course, you want to check it for coherence and grammar, but don't be too picky about it. I've been reading lately about how big companies try to learn as much as they can about you to provide personalized and targeted services. They mail merge your name into an email and feel that you're going to feel "connected" to them. Look, I've bought from Amazon dozens of times, they are masters of personalization, they know what books I like to read and are kind enough to recommend others. However, Amazon is not my "friend on the web," but you can be and you'll be rewarded for it. |
MARKETING: The other side to advertising... Precise and exact marketing... Viral marketing for small business... For a Free No Obligation Consultation on your best web design ever... Click here... Contact Information:
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