Show and Tell

15 Ways to Let 'Em Know What You Do

by Mary Gillen

I was talking with a small business owner the other day who specializes in energy consulting. He gave me his URL and asked me to visit his site. After I spent some time there, I had no earthly idea what he was offering. Why? Because, unfortunately, he didn't succeed in showing me what his business could do for me. I couldn't hope to buy or refer any business his way because he didn't make it easy for me to know what he does.

It doesn't matter if you sell products or services. You need to show and suggest ways people can do business with you. What does the customer really seek when doing business over the Web? Four things:

1. "Make it quick. I don't like to waste time."
2. "Make it easy for me to understand the benefit of conducting business with you."
3. "Make it easy for me to contact you."
4. "Don't fail me."

Here are 15 tips to help you get your information across to your visitors.

Tip #1
Who should do business with you?
Spell it out.

Ellie Abrams of ESA Editorial and Training Services, Inc., (http://www.esatraining.com)  in Burke, Virginia, offers editorial services and training seminars. How does she compete in such a competitive market? By making it easier for the prospects to decide which class is best for them when they consult her seminar topic list. She outlines the audience that can benefit from each of her training seminars when she lists the courses she offers on her Web site. Examples:

• Developing Your Writing Skills...
  Introduces the fundamentals of reader-oriented letters and memos.
  SUGGESTED AUDIENCE: administrative staff...
• Effective Report Writing...
  Provides intensive work on the special concerns of report writers.
  SUGGESTED AUDIENCE: managers, midmanagers, report writers...
• Effective Writing for Professionals...
  Provides intensive work on report, letter, and memo writing skills.
  SUGGESTED AUDIENCE: managers, midmanagers, editors...

Tip #2
What are the products/services you offer and how can they benefit the prospect?

Marc Mataya, creator of the software application called "Note-It-All," knows the importance of spelling out user benefits on his Web site.

"Note-It-All" is an electronic diary that allows the user to store, sort, organize, search, and print any information. It also allows users to share "notes" with others.

Marc has a major section on his site called "50 Uses," where prospects can find different suggestions on how to use the product. This follows one of the most important rules of smart Web site information planning: Make it easy for the user to see the benefit of buying.

Tip #3
Let 'em know about add-ons

We've all experienced this. You go to a store to buy something and the salesperson suggests additional products that compliment your purchase. The infamous "do you want fries with that?" statement heard at every fast-food restaurant in the world is a prime example. This is known as the "add-on."

You need to think creatively when determining the add-ons available through your business. Don't leave it to the customer to make that determination. Think of ways your customers can "add on" to their original purchase. Many e-commerce sites such as Eddie Bauer offer the add-on electronically by suggesting additional purchases just before the final on-line checkout. Yet you can weave add-on information into your Web copy by using images and examples to accomplish this, too.

Example: A seamstress doesn't just sew clothing. She could offer custom slipcovers to revitalize old furniture at a fraction of the cost of buying something new. She could also offer draperies, pillows, and slipcovers for different seasons. On her Web site, she could show images of what she's done for other customers. Do the thinking for the prospect so he or she concludes "she could do that for me, too." Go back through your client list, invoices, and proposals to spur your thinking and add the info to your site.

Tip #4
When and where can you offer it?

Are you open 24 hours a day 7 days a week? Holidays? Do you sell internationally, nationally, regionally, or just locally? Through the Web, this is all possible. And it's a good idea to let prospects know the "when" and "where" details up front. Timeliness is of utmost importance. Give actual examples of how you've saved clients time and money by being available when others are not. You can even include a "how we've saved 'em time and money" section on your site, full of client testimonials to back it up.

Tip #5
Why should they do business with you?

Talk up the qualities that make your business important to clients. Include these points in your Web marketing efforts:

1. The "principals" handle your business personally
2. Your "personal touch" guarantees confidentiality with your customer's business info
3. Your "flexible hours" enable you to handle rush jobs

Tip #6
Show 'em how

Using the Web to demonstrate how the prospect can use the product is a no-brainer. You can:

1. Create an animation that demonstrates how a product works.
2. Use a small video clip on the Web to show a product in action.

You can even use this idea off-line. A home repair expert we know created a postcard campaign that was truly educational and profitable. Each of the 12 postcards he created contained a useful tip for the homeowners he was targeting. One proved to be a winner. One of the postcards contained a tip on how to use a simple household string to ward off major water damage caused by a leaking roof until professional repair help could be summoned. When major snowstorms hit the East Coast a few years ago, this home-repair expert had more work than he could handle. Many of his prospects-turned-customers had saved his postcard for future reference...and referral.

Tip #7
Attract attention through education

eFuse.com is a great example of this! And, ScreamDesign,  formerly known as Andy's Art Attack, states that its site is "the learning place for the next generation of Web designers and the rest of us who want to build a Web identity. Whether you are a novice who's been bitten by the Web bug or you are looking to take your present skills to the next level, your dreams are in 'site'!" Scream Design provides "how-to" tutorials along with free animations, buttons, banners, and more. The purpose: a soft-sell approach to eventually solicit custom design work.

Tip #8
Show how others have used it

Orbtech, a management consulting firm in St. Louis, Missouri, uses case studies to be specific about what it can do for the client. What's interesting is that the case study is written in the form of an interview to show how Orbtech serves the client. The results were also listed in the case study in the form of a testimonial from a customer. Check it out.

Tip #9
Bundle your services as "products" and seminars

If you have a service that's hard to understand and difficult to sell, you can increase revenues by "packaging" your services as training seminars and "products." McKenna Professional Imaging of Waterloo, Iowa, has built up its customer base by offering business administration and management seminars for its customers who run small photography studios.

McKenna also packages and sells "how-to" marketing programs for its customers. Promoted through its Web site, each package includes a marketing kit with step-by-step instructions and support materials to help the customer run each promo program. And, of course, these packages are based on audience: kids, seniors, and more.

Tip #10
"How to" get bigger sales

Self-sufficiency is very important to a lot of people. Help people "help themselves." Incorporate this premise into your Web site to attract attention to your business. Examples:

• Drugstore--"How to Organize Your Medicine Cabinet"
• Computer Equipment Retailer or Cleaning Maintenance Company--"How to Organize Your Workspace More Efficiently"
• Restaurant--"One of Our Favorite Meals for You to Try at Home"
• Mover--"Last-Minute Moving Checklist"
• Children's Day Care--"Things to Do on a Rainy Day - A Parent's Survival Guide."

Once you've placed these tips on-line, you can contact newspapers and magazines via e-mail to announce the tips to your Web audience. Editors love this: It's known as "filler" copy used in print publications to fill in empty space. Most print publications are represented on the Web now and are eager to use or link to useful information.

Check out NewsDirectory.com, which offers close to 7,000 links to English language publication sites. Publication sites are listed by type and vertical market.

Tip #11
Easy marketing with order forms

Some customers need to buy right now. A smart materials handling distributor we know sends his customers new order forms attached to "time to reorder" e-mail messages every three weeks.. He finds that he gets more orders than his competition because he makes the ordering process easier.

Tip #12
Free second opinion

Second opinions aren't just for the medical field! A-Absolute Heating & Air Conditioning of Northern Virginia offers free "second opinions" to prospects who aren't sure they're receiving the right advice and reasonable estimates--smart marketing that gets A-Absolute in the door. Think of ways you can add a "second opinion" offer to your Web site.

Tip #13
What's your slogan?

Cecelia Fairchild of A Plus Rental Center in Springfield, Virginia, knows the importance of using a catchy slogan when marketing her equipment rental company.

"I use our slogan, 'If we don't have it, you don't need it' all of the time when I'm talking with people. We came up with it when we first started the business and have been using it so long that our customers constantly repeat it back to us. Using a catchy slogan helps people to remember you."

The slogan is also on its Web site. It's one of the first things you read as the page loads.

Tip #14
Give 'em the facts

Time is money. According to the "Never Alone on Hold" Web site, "94% of all marketing budgets are spent to induce a customer to call and yet only 6% to handle the call once it is received."

Frank Pival, owner of Seattle-based Never Alone on Hold, creators of telephone on-hold messaging systems, includes a facts section on his site to give the prospect the facts so they can make an informed decision. This also can help speed up the sales process.

Tip #15
Compliment your business offerings

Offering additional complementary products to your clients at the time of sale means happier clients and bigger sales. Example: a computer trainer can offer the sale of the textbook (with a "markup") he/she recommends after the class is over via a Web site. It's convenient for the students (they don't have to travel to a bookstore) and more profitable for the trainer.

So be creative and don't leave it to chance that prospects can tell what you do. It's all show and tell.

About the author

Mary Gillen is a Web developer, writer, and marketer based in Mason Neck, Virginia. She is co-developer of Idea Site for Business (www.ideasiteforbusiness.com), offering useful ideas for creative business people. She can be reached at jacgill@idsonline.com.

Illustration: Russel Thurston for Artville.com