How a website builds confidence with your customers and will generate you more business
I. Impression
What is the first impression customers have about your business? In many ways you have control of this. How you answer your phone, how you present yourself when you arrive at a customer’s home for a bid, how you respond to customer’s questions, etc.
Now think of the impression a business with no phone would have?
Ask yourself: What extra lengths would you go to contact a business without a phone number? More than likely you would just move on.
The main purpose of the internet is to make searching out information easy. Although your website is about your business, its purpose is to make it easy for a consumer to find you, learn about you, and ultimately contact you.
A business without a website leaves a poor impression.
3 Negative Impressions
The business can’t be bothered making it easy for customers to find you.
The business can’t afford a website. This begs the questions
“How stable is this company?”
”Do they do quality work or do they cut corners to make ends meet?”
The business has too many customers to handle
“Are you leaving one of these negative impressions.”
The Problem:
Unbeknownst to you, people are trying to find you online.
If anyone has heard of you, seen any of your marketing ads, or been referred by a friend, odds are high that they then attempted to find you online.
In fact most potential customers assume all businesses have a website.
The question is will they find you?
- Do you have a website?
- If not Why Not?
The result of not having a website means that potential customers who search the internet for you will be given other similar sites to preview.
Possibly sending customers who were looking for your business elsewhere.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression.”
II. Creditability
People want to transact business with legitimate businesses. There are numerous ideas that go into the concept of creditability. The first on the list is trust. Before a consumer will transact any type of business they must feel comfortable with that business. Along side trust is professionalism, consumers want to transact with companies that know what they are doing and get the job done.
Trust:
As the old saying goes: “Trust has to be earned”. But how do you earn trust when you’ve just met. One way of building trust is to be as transparent as possible. The more information you provide about your business the more open you appear. Having a website is like having an open door in which people are encouraged to peek around and view completed projects, read about your history, and learn what you do and why you do it.
Simply put a website allows people to peer inside your business and get to know you.
Peace of Mind
An online presence gives customer's peace of mind, it means you take your business seriously. Your business is out there for the world to see, cross check and validate. All pertinent information like NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number) is available for customers reach out and contact you. Any licensing requirements if necessary. In a nut shell, it means you exist. You are not just a man with a business card.
Proof
Seeing is believing. Nothing eases a customers concerns more then seeing for themselves the work you do. Knowing that others have used your services helps build trust with consumers.
Showcasing previous projects lets customers view the quality of your work at their leisure.
Besides having a detail listing of the various types of services you provide, pictures of your various projects helps to reinforce the variety of work you do. Needless to say it visually declares the type of work you do and that you finish what you start.
Reviews
Nothing lends itself to transparency more then posting reviews & testimonials. It enables potential customers to read what others have to say about you; blemishes and all. It not only shows your weaknesses, but also how you handle the situations. Letting the outside world know that you are human, but caring and concerned about your customers.
“A website gives you legitimacy, credibility & builds trust”
Professionalism
A website conveys a sense of professionalism. You know what you are doing, you been around for a while, and you stand behind your work.
Conversely, not having a website seems unprofessional, cheap, or at best a sense of amateurism (Maybe you are just starting out and can’t afford a website.)
Confidence
Nothing belies professionalism like confidence. Confidence breeds confidence. The more confident you are the more confident a customer feels in using you and your services.
Nothing screams confidence more openly then displaying your completed projects. Having a separate services page allows you to openly display the variety of work your business is capable of doing.
Quality of workmanship can be quietly boasted upon by including intricate detail shots of your finished product. Including numerous photos at different angles allows customers to get a good perspective of your work.
‘It’s not bragging if you can do it’
Comfortable
Your goal as a professional is to make the consumer feel comfortable with using you and your services. Having multiple touch points, (i.e. phone, physical address, email, website), will help make a consumer feel comfortable.
Money
In regards to money, it goes without saying that the larger the sum the more professional you must be. It is one thing to be hired for a one time day job (hauling away some junk) vs being hired for a large sum, multiple day project (total kitchen remodel).
When you have a website you can have a professional email. Or rather an email that references your business’s website.
What looks more professional:
When a consumer gets an email from an unfamiliar person they look at the domain ‘@xyz.com’ to see who it is from. In the first example we can see it is from a company called Johns Construction and that the person who sent it is named John.
The second example on the other hand could be from anyone.
The first email is more likely to opened and responded too, especially if the recipient was recently at Johns Construction website.
Competition
What about your competitors? Do they have websites with articles and photos of the work they do? If they do and you do not that reflects poorly upon you.
Think of it in terms of two business competing for the same job, one has the tools and necessary equipment to complete the job while the other has to rent equipment form the local hardware store.
If your competitors have a website and you do not?
"You are behind before you’ve begun."
“Having a website implies professionalism and instills confidence”
III. Control
With your own website you have total control. No one can shut you down. No one can insert competitor ads on your website as potential customers read through it. You decide what is said and what is seen. Without your own website your business is subject to what others have written about you, good or bad.
In addition without your own website any searches that produce information about you may have other articles or ads for your competitor. Facebook & Yelp pages regularly feature competitor ads along side that of a business’s page.
Search Results:
If you do not have a website then whatever a person is to learn about you from an internet search is based on what others have said, or what the web has gleaned about you. Any search for your business will return articles, photos, or reviews written by other parties such as a Yelp site, social media pages, basically anything that references your business.
Unfortunately, you have no control over what is returned on a search, but by having your own website you at least have a place that people can see for themselves what you say?
Centralization:
Tired of uploading the same photos to numerous platforms (i.e. facebook, instagram, etc).
Having your own website provides you with a single site where you can place everything. For example if you were to change your hours of operation you would only have to make the change on your website.
Any auxiliary sites like social media, third party ads, etc. would simply link to your website.
IV. Convenience
4 Reasons having a website makes it easy for customers to find you and see for themselves the quality & types of jobs you do. Maybe a customer lost your phone number, or wants to double check your address, having a website makes you more accessible, easy to reach.
Portfolio Showcase
Your website is the perfect place to showcase your portfolio of work. It allows the consumer to browse through your site at their leisure and view your various project photos. In addition, consumers will become aware of other services you provide.
FAQ Page
A website is the perfect place to address a number of frequently asked questions. If there seems to be certain types of questions that are commonly asked this is a perfect place to address these concerns.
Questions such as:
- ‘Do you work weekends?’
- ‘Do you have a guarantee?’
Why not address them on your website and put consumers at ease. This is convenient for you and your customers.
Communications
As stated earlier listing your contact information on your website, (i.e. name, phone, and physical address) makes communicating with you easy.
However, an added benefit of having a website is the creation of a professional looking email addresses. The moment you create a website you have the ability to create an email with your website address. For example, once you have the website XYZ.com you can create an email that reads YourName@XYZ.com. This has professional appearance and makes it easier for consumers to know who it is from.
Enabling your website with an email button gives your customers the ability to send you any questions they may have about your business. This develops report and starts a dialog with your customer base.
Availability 24/7/365
Needless to say your website is always available. Whenever a consumer wants to review your website they can.
"Your website is the first step in building the company-customer relationship."
V. Cost
The cost of a basic website is less than a cell phone. You wouldn’t think twice of getting a cell phone for their business.
Nor should you doubt the need for a website.
"Your website doesn't have to be big and fancy.
It just needs to exist"
Conclusion
The reason why every business needs a website is to create legitimacy and credibility about your business. Legitimacy and credibility are the cornerstones of developing consumer confidence and building a relationship with a potential client.
This in turn will generate more business for you.
In today’s environment where everyone searches before they shop;
It is foolish to do business without a website.
A website is the best tool you have in getting your name out there and it enables you to provide a showcase of your completed projects.
Having a website is a no loose proposition. You will never know how many people didn’t use your business because they couldn’t find you on an internet search.
"You will never loose a customer because you had a website."
A Word about Social Network Webpages
UnProfessional
Nothing screams cheap like a social network webpage, or rather collection of photos. I’ve seen countless people trying to run their business through their facebook account.
Generally, it goes like this. Hi I am John and I can solve your home repair needs for the lowest prices around. Check out my work at: facebook.com/JohnDoe-Anytown-Handyman-2345-43339-01/photos.
Giving a potential customer your Facebook page web address is not easy for a customer to remember. Do you really think a customer wants to try and navigate through a bunch of dashes, numbers and slashes to view your photo slide of projects.
Awkward
Normally, this happens while the tradesperson is with the customer and is using his smartphone to display his portfolio of work. Then the tradesperson asks ‘What do ya think?’
OF COURSE the customer is going to respond positively.
What would you say as a tradesperson scrolls past miscellaneous photos of his kids, fishing boat, and hunting trip with the dead deer, eyes glazed over, being held up by the antlers to confirm the point count.
Reality Check:
Whats Running through the person’s mind is:
‘How do I know these are pictures of his work?’
'If I want to check it out later, how do I find these pictures?’
‘If he’s done that many projects, why doesn't he have a website?’
‘Is this a part time job for him?’
‘Does he work for a contractor and this is side-work?’
‘Or is he a Barista and this is side-work?’
Uncontrollable
In addition anything done on a third party website Facebook, Yelp, YellowPages, Instagram, etc is subject to take down without your knowledge at any time for any reason.
Conclusion
Using your social media page as your business’s primary store front to the world is weak. It lends itself to being viewed as a hobby or side job.
‘It is unprofessional to run a legitimate business from a social media site.’