It's hard to sell anything, let alone sell it online. Selling a service is even harder to do. Especially on your Web site. Anyone who runs a professional service should know this. Many firms selling intangible goods don't however, seem to recognize a few simple facts when it comes to marketing themselves on the web:
1. If you don't brag too much,
2. Use too much technical jargon,
3. Provide constant updates by publishing fresh new content regularly on your site,
4. Make your site easily navigable AND understood by laymen,
5. Provide some good eye candy, and,
6. Lots of ways to access the same information
...then you have a higher chance of success in selling your services online.
Ego-tastic isn't a real word
And it certainly won't spell out sales in the long run
People go to web sites to do lots of stuff. Like look up bios of professionals, browse the services available on professional web sites, etc.
People looking to buy a service want to be assured, not be intimidated. They already know that there is something that separates the best service providers from the others. They don't need to be told "We are the best in the business and we have blah blah credentials and blah blah success". They want to be told that the firm understands the buyer. That the firm is knowledgeable and also at the same time, approachable and has solutions to problems.
People looking to buy your services don't want snobby, talking heads with bloated egos. Just familiarity and comfort, and information that can help them, not scare them away.
To do this, you have to sell your services from a web site visitor's point of view. Make sure the content is relatable to the visitor. Not other firms in your industry. In other words, don't don't just talk about yourselves. People aren't listening. Talk about law or medicine or whatever your area of expertise is, in a relatable fashion. This proves that you care about your audience, and when you do, trust me... they will be interested.
It's a web site, not a read-a-thon!
There's too much of this on professional web sites: Many, many words crammed into too many sentences, all in one paragraph. This all seems to blend into a big box of grey, and can lose audiences, world-wide. Make sure you use lots of space, white or otherwise.
No matter what color your site uses for its background, web designers and users call this white space. White space is a lot like having a clean and tidy home. Not sparse, but enough info and space balanced, so that it's easy on the eyes.
Anything you have to say will definitely get the message across when you use more white space. That's because most people scan or "skim" when reading things. Looking at a screen full of large and long winded paragraphs of text overwhelms people. If there's too many words people will likely feel like they have to sit down and commit to reading, and those that don't have the time or mental energy will just leave.
"Honey, we need to uh...what was that word the lawyer used on his web site?"
Too much technical jargon will do the same thing as too much text crammed together. Using technical terms that people don't understand can often make them feel like you are talking down to them. It roughly translates to: "I know this. I know that. See what a smart person I am?". It's also seen as being snobby. Other times, it just gets ignored altogether, because your audience has no clue what you are babbling on about.
Providing a professional service and trying to sell yourself online doesn't necessarily mean you have to write like your content like it's in a first-grade textbook, but it does mean that they should still be simple to read and get around to find things. Doing this does not require technical babble, though. Just writing good sales copy.
Old news is bad news
Old content is never good for any type of web site. Of course we realize that it's hard enough work to get a good few pages up and online, but keeping your site fresh with new articles and news shouldn't be harder.
Keeping your visitors up to date is essential in this age, and couldn't be easier with the wider availability of new technologies such as content management software, which enables web sites to be database-driven, allowing for quick and easy updates.
Content management and database web sites are easier to come by nowadays. Just look around and you'll find many software programs and web site developers dedicated to providing this technology. So there's no excuse as to why your web site still has the the 2004 golf outing article up on the front page.
A picture's worth a thousand words. But don't use the same old images!
Using effective images is also a huge factor in the success of your services web site, and can make it or break it. For example, how many times have you seen a photo of a laptop on a web site that provides computer consulting services, or worse yet, those blasted computer keyboard closeup shots! They are predictable and stale. Use of images that tell a story, however, are more effective. They can help make non-concrete goods/services more tangible.
Sound like too much work? Come on! There are plenty of great stock image providers online, which have thousands upon thousands of professional images available, for a song. There are many categories to choose from to narrow your search. You can easily find photos depicting people doing and receiving professional services, as well as images which capture concepts, like money, success, and knowledge, as well as abstract things.
Navigation doesn't always mean one menu down the left hand side
Allow your visitors to find other parts of the site by providing content in chunks. The best web sites feed bits and snippets of information, and allow the user to take in small bites of information.
For instance, provide a short paragraph of what it is your company does, then a link to continue reading. Then, over on the side, provide a link or two to recent articles, with a link below that for the full articles. When you are reading this info, have a link back to the home, bio, portfolio, etc. on every page of the site, no matter what, allowing the user easy access without having to guide them page by page.
Obviously, if you are offering a professional service, your site does serve a limited purpose to help you get found online. Make sure you not only get found, but that people find your site does get the message across clearly and well. A web site is of course, an expense. But you don't want to lose any opportunity to succeed.
Let B. Woods Design help you transform your web site from an expense into an asset, one that helps you add value to your business. Already have a web site that guilty of these sins? Contact me for a free consultation today. I would be thrilled to work with you, and in the end, you'll be satisfied, not sorry.
Bobbi Jo Woods, CEO/Fanatic
B. Woods Design - Steering Professional Managed Websites for Business
© Bobbi Jo Woods - B. Woods Design
