Web Site Value
1. Is Your Website VALUABLE?
That is, does your website offer real value to your current clients and potential clients that visit your website? It is important to remember the origin of the world wide web. It was first an information portal before it developed into the e-commerce giant that it is today.
The exponential growth of the internet owes its exponential growth to the age, "the information age" that we live in. It was the convenience and free access to information that launched it, and the desire for free, valuable information still permeates the market.
First Value Point—It is important that your website is not static.
You should change it as often as you want your clients to revisit it, monthly would be a minimum. If your website is not important enough to you to change it at least once per month, you need to reevaluate how and why you are marketing on the web. If you are going to say, no one ever comes back to it again anyway, you have just answered why. You didn’t expect them to!
Be sure that you don’t give them a reason to NOT BOOKMARK your website, and a changeless website loses value to browsers. You need to give your browsers a reason to come back!
You want to continue to sell to your clients, knowing that the very best person to sell something to is someone who just bought something from you.
It is easier to "resell" and existing customer than to collect a new client.
There is a universally accepted principle in sales: the more you give away, the more you will sell.
Here are a five examples that demonstrate how it works:
Example Number 1:
One of the things that my company does is provide the absolute best website hosting and service solution available today for small business owners, — the value is there, but my success in selling it is largely due to the acceptance of the stated principle above.
We GIVE all of our pajezy.com website hosting clients professional domain name management FREE when they host with us. (We charge $50 per year for this otherwise). This enables them to ignore any and all scams that they might receive regarding their domains. We keep them locked down—our clients (many "not so computer sophisticated or internet savvy") are prime targets for the plethora of domain name scams running about today.
We GIVE free information to them that really helps them, like this booklet (and many others) that teaches them how to effectively market online and in other media, along with other free marketing techniques.
We GIVE information like what you are reading FREE. I know that this little booklet will help you, because it is created from my own personal experiences as a small business owner doing business on the web just like you will, — ten years of practical experience that can save you a lot of time.
The truth is, I want you to succeed regardless of whether or not you do business with me, because, not knowing you, I still care about you, it’s called "loving your neighbor as yourself."
We GIVE free and unlimited phone tech support to all of our pajezy.com customers. If they are using our web-based software, tech support is FREE and unlimited. That is a REAL value.
Example Number 2:
I have occupied several vocations over the years, including restaurant management, graphic artist, print shop production manager, sheet-fed press operator, bi-vocational pastor, and small business owner.
Since I have graphic arts skills, I have done hundreds of design jobs for all types of print media, and I used to own my own print shop, too.
If someone buys a website construction project from us, we will give them some print media FREE. We really don’t have to do this to get the sale, but it makes it easier to close sales because people like value and like getting things free.
We will charge them for the design or setup and then give them 500 or 1,000 or more business cards, rack cards and/or brochures FREE.
I have printing power partners that do my printing for me now and I buy it from them, but give it to my customers. They will usually come back for more later, and I can make some more money on an additional sale (and so does my printing power partner).
I also have websites that sell business cards and rack cards and I GIVE away tips on those about setting up nice, professional business cards and rack cards, and provide downloadable templates for them. (They can use these regardless of whether or not they purchase from me … )
Giving something to people will usually generate some gratitude that will eventually come back to you, either directly or indirectly.
Example Number 3:
My company (PROSBO) also operates a call center for small business owners. Here we give away phone etiquette tips and offer FREE print media for them with a call center service contract, too.
Example Number 4:
Another enterprise of mine is a website that helps individuals sell their property online themselves. On this site, we give away an article on "curb appeal". This gives them tips on making a better first impression for prospective buyers. They can have this regardless of whether or not they do business with me.
Example Number 5:
A new client of mine (as I write this, we are in the process of developing his site and marketing strategy) is selling investment strategies online. The site will have a monthly membership fee. Browsers will be able to get very valuable FREE information from the site, and special reports without purchasing membership, but the really smart ones will be buying...
Second Value Point— Offer something of value to browsers free. Make sure it has real value but require their contact information to get it, and the less contact information you require, the greater the response will be. Americans are really keen on privacy. They will be willing to give you more information once you have earned their trust.
Third Value Point— Offer special values—"free gift with purchase". But you say, "I sell a product, not information or service, I can’t afford to give something away — it actually costs me something!But you say, "I sell a product, not information or service, I can’t afford to give something away — it actually costs me something!WRONG! Small Business Owner, learn a little lesson from big business! — Here’s an example that comes into clear and full view — EVERY MONTH I receive a CONTACT from several different office supply stores, offering me something FREE, along with a minimum required purchase. — You don’t think you can do this?
The more you give away, the more you will sell.
All traditional business owners make money in two ways: margins and volume, and you need both. Giving things away results in more volume! There are very few industries that can make it on just margin alone!
Do you know why smart salespeople give so much away? Because it enables them to close more sales! Just count it as an advertising expense. It is NEVER free to sell anything, it is going to cost you something. Do you want to sell ten or do you want to sell fifty? Giving something away WITH a sale is EASY. Just find the right thing. It can be anything that your client would like to have.
It could easily make the difference between them buying from you or from another supplier.
Here’s an example from my print shop management past, it sounds crazy, but it is true.
There is a smart printing ink manufacturer in the good old USA. That manufacturer is called GANS Ink. Gans always delivers its ink WITH DIFFERENT FLAVORED TOOTSIE ROLLS. Big deal?
Did you know that most print shop owners let their PRESSMEN decide what ink they are going to use? I have talked to numerous pressmen over the past two decades that will readily admit "they prefer Gans Ink." Why? Gans gives them tootsie roils!
Give something away, and give your clients a reason to come back to your website—make your website valuable to your clients.
How VALUABLE is your Web site? Grade it!
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