What's Love Got to Do with Your Website?

Just as a personal relationship goes through stages leading to love, so does your relationship with website visitors. Addressing your visitors' needs at each stage will allow your relationship to grow.

Stranger

Someone new to your website has very specific questions. Am I in the right place? What do they do? Will it be worth my while to spend time with them? Each of these should be answered right on your home page. Explain your business and why it is better than your competition. Don't make the mistake of assuming that visitors already know these things--it might be obvious to you, but it won't be to them. In addition, you should invite visitors to move into the next stage by clicking on a few links.

Acquaintance

If you've successfully drawn them off your homepage, they know a little about you. Your next step is to fill in the blanks. Make sure that your product/service pages provide enough details to convince them that you can fulfill their needs. Put yourself in the shoes of a visitor and try to anticipate questions they will have. You can put the answers on an FAQ page or you can address questions within the text of your product/service pages.

Everyone knows that talk is cheap. So you also have to make an effort to show that you will do what you say. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to show that you are trustworthy, including:

• Examples of past work you have done
• Testimonials from your customers
• Free samples of your products/services
• A money-back satisfaction guarantee

Friend

A friend will want to email you, call you, visit you, or buy from you. Your main goal here is not to let them down. Recent studies from Jupiter Research and Customer Respect Group find that 88% of consumers expect a reply to an email within 24 hours, but only 54% actually get them in this timeframe and an appalling 29% never receive a reply. In an increasingly crowded marketplace, few businesses can get away with failures in customer service for long. So it's worth some effort to recheck all points of contact with your prospects and customers to ensure they receive great service.

Lover

If you follow up with your customers you should find some lovers out there. Not everyone is going to actually say that they "love" what you have done for them, but the meaning usually comes across clearly enough. When someone gives you a great compliment, it's the right time to ask if you can quote them. Since most people are either too busy or squeamish about writing a quote, offer to paraphrase what they have said. Send it to them and gain their approval for placement on your website. If the circumstances would help others understand what you do, add information about the situation and your solution so the quote has some context.

Keeping in touch with your best customers offers it's own rewards, including referrals and cross-sell opportunities, so don't lose track of your old flames. Send them articles of interest, special offers, or just check in to see how they are doing.

As in personal relationships, web relationships require meeting your partner's needs in order to be successful. Ignoring needs opens the door to them being seduced away by another firm, so having a giving mindset is the way to keep them close.