Have you ever been instantly sketched out by an online purchase that you made? In all likelihood, the reason for that uneasy feeling was bad communication on the part of the seller.
What's bad communication?
Bad communication is instructions that confuse your reader. What's confusing? Anything that can be interpreted in more than one way. An example:
Saying, "You can buy this software for just $80" and then including just one other link on the page which says "Sign up for a membership instantly!"
Which is it? Do I get a "membership" for $80, or do I get the software? Or does being a member constitute getting access to the software? Where is the logical order progression here? Web marketing professionals: do you see the disconnect? Think that might discourage your visitor from clicking? You bet it might!
Bad communication is hitting SUBMIT and sending your credit card info over the airwaves only to get NO product link in return!
Bad communication is receiving emails related to that purchase from an UNKNOWN ADDRESS.
Bad communication is clicking HELP, and being thrust into the hands of a new website that looks nothing like the one you just bought from and makes no mention of the purchased item!
You may know this feeling of purchasing from a company that doesn't effectively communicate with their customer. Is this the same feeling you'd want your guests to experience when visiting and/or buying from your site? OF COURSE IT ISN'T.
The fact is, if someone's making an online purchase from you, then that buyer should NEVER EVER feel instant paranoia after sending you money! You may know that you're a perfectly honest human being with good intentions. But your visiting web guest does not know that. So here's a GREAT reason why you need trained, experienced professionals to build your business website:
Your customer deserves to feel SAFE, SNUGGLY AND WELL-CARED FOR when buying from you.
That means:
- Hiring a professional, experienced web designer to help you build your site
- Hiring a professional, experienced COPYWRITER, to write clear, detailed and unmistakably explicit instructions on how to purchase your product
- Implementing a seamless back office system to run your processes 100% smoothly
- Providing expert customer service in HUMAN FORM, available 24-7 to answer questions
Why go through all this trouble? Because if your customer doesn't feel safe and snuggly after being on your website, you can bet that he won't be back and you won't ever get to know his friends.
General Tips on How to Help Your Customer Feel Well-Cared For on Your Website:
If you plan to redirect people from, say, a sales page to a Help Desk page, then display your LOGO and company name ON BOTH PAGES, with specific references to your product line. This way, your customer can feel confident that he's landed in the right place and is in touch with the key people!
If you set up automated emails to folks who sign up for your website memberships, then make sure those emails list YOUR NAME AND COMPANY NAME as they know it. Don't assume your customer knows that "marketingguy@aol.com" is you when they've just ordered from your site of an entirely different name.
If you're including instructions on how to make an online purchase, they had better be dead-on specific with not a HAIR of room for misinterpretation. And above all, make your contact information readily available on every page of your site.
If you're hoping to become the next specialized guru in your niche, then you'd best give people a few good reasons to qualify you for that status! SAFE AND SNUGGLY means NO CUTTING CORNERS. Want to commit the worst selling crime in the world? Don't test your purchase links before making them live. Trust me, there is no quicker way to make your customer RUN NOT WALK in the other direction!
Did your customer give you his credit card number with promise for payment, but you haven't delivered the goods due to technical failure? That's really bad! Don't ever let this happen, and NEVER make promises in your sales letter that YOU CAN'T KEEP.
Running your own web business is so much more complicated than people think. If you want to lead the pack, build a trusted customer base and keep business pouring in, then really look into getting some professionals to help perfect your system! Trust me, it will pay off in the long run.
Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com
Dina Giolitto is a copywriting consultant and ghostwriter with 10 years of experience writing corporate print materials and web content. Trust her with your next e-book, article series or web project, and make a lasting impression on your audience of information-hungry prospects. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for more details.