Companies get into business with the best intentions and they have a goal to provide top-notch service. But then they miss out on the most simple opportunities to please customers/clients and prospective new business partners.
I have always tried to respond to requests and inquiries the same day. You would be shocked how slow some companies respond. In fact, I get a lot of new business from companies who are tired of being ignored and for slow service. I have heard from companies that many companies actually can take up to two weeks to make a simple text edit. We at RooSites many times respond within minutes. I don’t put things off, and it makes clients happy. This seems so elementary, right? Yes it does, and that is why I say responsive is the keyword you need to remember.
I recently had an inquiry from company looking for a specific service. I wrote to a guy I did business with many years ago to see if he be interested as he was perfect for the job. Unfortunately I didn’t hear back for days. I also left a voicemail and I texted him. It is beyond me why somebody looking to give you business would be ignored. These are the same people that complain to you how tough it is in business these days. I always find it intriguing that people aren’t responsive yet whine about a a lack of business.
Now this works both ways. Sometimes I’ll get a question from a prospective customer and reply right away. Sometimes I won’t hear back at all, even when I follow up. This too is not OK as this leaves a bad taste in someone’s mouth and they’ll probably never hire you or refer you, which is so important in today’s business world.
I had a former colleague tell me that they thought I replied too quickly and I set a bar too high, and people would always expect such great service.
It is funny, when companies leave me which doesn’t happen too often thankfully they’re always expecting a new provider to give the same service.
I recently had a nonprofit decide move to a provider offering cheaper hosting and support services. They were just trying to save money and went with the cheapest possible hosting solution. I won’t name the company, but you know the one; They put 50,000 sites on the server and then people wonder why the performance is terrible and it crashes all the time. Well within three days of transferring, I went to the site to make sure it was up and running and what do you know, it had crashed. White screen of death. Now as it was a WordPress site, I know exactly what happened. Updates came in and they made them without backing up the site and it crashed. Now with my hosting solution, I back up every single day so even if this happens I can get the site back up and running within 30 seconds. As it has now been over five days, I know they’re having trouble. Sad, but cheap does not always equate to good! They do a good job of covering how price isn’t always the best deal in the Forbes Magazine article When The Lowest Price Is Not The Best Deal.
I would just like to reiterate that it can be very simple to please customers/clients. Respond quickly, NEVER ignore inquiries. When asked for your support, put yourself in the shoes of your customer, get the work down. This will help your company grow and succeed. Everyone likes to recommend companies that provide good service. Be That Company!!
Many times your website is the first impression people have of you and your business. In today’s world people do not have the time to spend even minutes looking for what they need on your website. (My guess is that Picasso would have hidden his navigation within a strange shape in some sort of cubist image map.)
Tip: Never make it hard to find the information people are searching for on your website.
There are ways to have a website which has unique features, yet allows your visitors to find what they need.
A logo is a great place to start your branding efforts. This is the place where you can be truly unique and stand out from the crowd. If I mention Apple, Nike and other famous brands, you picture their logos immediately. Your logo and matching color scheme should be consistent throughout your marketing efforts and social media channels. No one should go from your website to social media and see something that doesn’t match your website’s branding. One of the best things about logo design is that it is no longer the expensive process it was back a decade or so ago. For relatively short money you can have a unique, special logo that sets you apart in the marketplace. If you aren’t sure where to have a logo designed, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we can assist you.
Your content should be all about you and written in a style uniquely yours. People too often tend to copy their competitors and just change around a few words. This never works. Speak in your own voice, and differentiate your business from those you compete with for business.
In the article: Seven Suggestions To Develop a Superb Writing Style, the author presents some very good ideas on developing your writing skills. This will definitely help your content development going forward.
If you want to be unique, have photos that are uniquely yours. It is not very hard or expensive to have photos of your team done by professionals and also have photos of your business created. I don’t have a problem with stock photos being sprinkled around a site, but when I use them I try to use a little more unique images, not the beautiful family with the giant smiles. Make your photos relatable.
One of the best places for you to show off what’s great about your company is to fill it with interesting news and blog posts. Not only are blogs great for search engine optimization (SEO), they also give people a reason to keep coming back and checking out your website.
So, as we have discussed, you don’t have to have Picasso design your website. You want to be unique and that is 100% understandable. But you don’t have to go crazy, and you especially don’t have to create a website that’s hard to navigate and for your visitors to find what they’re looking for. As we said, first and foremost the most important thing your website can do is allow people to get what they need and to hopefully contact you via your call to actions.
