Before we discuss building great web sites for your service-oriented business, I would like to go over the basics of marketing. Consider for a moment what Product Marketing means and what Service Marketing means. If marketing is the flow of goods and services from the producer to consumer, what does Service Marketing mean? Service Marketing can be defined by People, Physical Environment and Process, as opposed to Product Marketing, which can be defined by Product, Distribution, Promotion and Price. So again, we are talking People, Physical Environment and Process.

 

Unlike product marketing, in service marketing:

•     The buyer’s purchases are intangible (you aren’t selling jeans or soda).

•     The service cannot be returned

•     The service may be based a single person’s reputation

 

So reputation is very important, as is how you present yourself and your company and the services you provide. The internet actually makes it easier for you to make your business visible to your customers, potential customers and the public. It is important for you to ask yourselves “What do I want this visibility to do for my business?” Think, for a moment, about what you are trying to express about your business on your web site. 

 

You can use the internet to:

 

•     Find new customers

•     Pitch your service

•     Position you and your company as a resource or expert on a specific topic

•     Establish your credibility

 

Credibility helps you demonstrate your capabilities to potential clients; clients can become repeat clients and can generate referrals to help your business grow. Credibility web sites are the most common type of web site for service-based businesses. I wouldn’t have thought this when I started my business, but I have come to realize that they are also the least understood type of web site. This is what we are going to focus on this morning.

 

There are a few important things to determine even before you start work on your web site:

 

•     What is your intended URL and email addresses? Is the URL available?

•     Who is your primary competition, and what are their web sites?          

     o     What do you like and dislike about their sites?

•     If you have an existing site, what do you like and dislike about it?

•     What are you trying to achieve with the new site?

     o     Perhaps you have a new business model, you want to modernize the look and feel of the site, maybe you want to expand your services, or attract a different audience.

 

 

•     What are your primary and secondary online business objectives?

     o     Perhaps it’s to increase your sales, improve the awareness of your marketing & brand, or simply to receive fewer customer service calls

•     What are the demographics and online habits of your site’s typical viewer?

•     What is the primary action you want the site viewer to take?

     o     Perhaps you would like them to make a purchase, become a member, or contact you for more information.

•     Where will the content of the site come from?

     o     Who will write it? Who will design it? Do you need photography?

•     Will you have a database, e-commerce, a blog, a content management system?

 

Things to remember when creating your credibility web site:

 

•     It doesn’t need to be large or complex to make a powerful positive impact. A basic structure can include five pages:

            o     Home page

            o     About Us

            o     Clients/Portfolio

            o     Service

            o     Contact

•     On the home page, the first sentence should, clearly and concisely, say what you do

•     Keep it simple! Avoid too many pop-ups, splash screens, ads, flash animations, etc. You can make all of this available - and it can be very effective - if the visitor wants to learn more.

•     Use simple, clear navigation

•     Use images to help make a point, and keep the file size small so they load quickly.

•     Use SEO principles to optimize your site. An example of this is to use text as actual text, and not embedded in graphics. That way, search engines like Google can process your content and include your information in their search index.

 

Important things to include on your site:

 

•     For your contact information, use your real email & phone number.

     o     Without real-world ways to contact you, some visitors will wonder whether you have something to hide and whether you can be relied on to deliver the goods.  With real contact information, you come across as legitimate and more reliable.

•     As long as you aren't frowning or looking depressed, a photo makes you seem more real, appealing and accessible.  Likewise, pictures of your company location or of your sales reps who are clearly not models but actual staff members help bring your company to life.

•     Testimonials from named individuals posted at your site attest to your legitimacy.  For greatest effect, testimonial quotes should be brief, specific, unique or unexpected in their wording and signed by a full name and their organization. Don't be afraid to ask loyal clients for a few sentences on why they like doing business with you, as most will gladly help you out.

•     Articles are another credible way to demonstrate your expertise. Provide substantive articles or case studies that people can freely read at your site or download.  Especially effective are pieces discussing pressing problems experienced by your target market and describing your solutions.  When well done, articles cause prospective clients to feel, "This is the company who has what it takes to solve my problem."

•     Has anyone here ever been written up in print or featured on radio or TV? Include it up front and center on your home page! Buried on your press page, this information doesn't have the impact it deserves. Most people assume that if you've enjoyed media coverage, you're not only legitimate but outstanding in your field.  So when you do have prestigious media mentions to tout, add "Featured in the New York Times" or "As seen on CNBC" right on your home page.

 

An article entitled “Common Mistakes,” was written by Harley Manning and published in the Wall Street Journal

     o     The first mistake that companies make when they’re designing a Web site is copying features from competitors. Bells and whistles are worthless if they don’t help customers find what they’re looking for. Too few companies take the time to sit down with customers and find out what they’re using a Web site for and what information would make a site more helpful. You don’t want a lot of extraneous information that clients don’t need, and information that clients want should be easy to find.

 

•     Companies often opt for cute menus instead of clear menus. Clear and simple are the best way to go with your site navigation for your service oriented credibility web site. Also make sure that your menu categories are mutually exclusive. For example, don’t have a category called services and another called client services. When people visit your home page, they want to easily find the link to get to the information they want. You want to make this as easy for them as possible so they will stay on your web site and take the action you want them to take (contacting you, becoming a member, etc)

 

•     Web sites need to be easy to read and easy to understand. Yet the majority of companies still feel compelled to fit as much information into as small a place as possible. Don’t make the text on your site too small. People will scroll down to see more of the page, provided they’re given the visual cues to do so.

 

Very briefly about code: When the web began, programmers use HTML, or Hypertext Mark-up Language. The successor to HTML is XHTML, or Extensible HyperText Markup Language. The need for a reformulated version of HTML was felt primarily because Web content now needs to be delivered to many devices (like mobile devices) apart from traditional computers As such, many consider XHTML as the current web standard. The W3C, or World Wide Consortium, the main international standards organization for the Web, recommends the use of XHTML.

 

 

 

 

Manning wrote in the Wall Street Journal that there’s no perfect Web site on the Internet. Forced to choose one, he picks Adobe.com, which he says is easy to read and full of useful information.