3 Ways to Put a Human Face on Your Website
You put a lot of time and energy into your website so that it represents your business in the right way. Sometimes, though, it can be too easy to focus on the technical and visual elements of a site before realizing that it’s just not conveying a warm, human feeling. Sometimes, a business website can feel downright impersonal.
To solve this, to help put a human face on your website, and to make your site visitors feel that they are interacting with REAL people, try the following three techniques:
1. Online Chat
What better way to answer your site visitors’ questions than online chat? The great thing about online chat is that it enables site visitors to ask questions and get the information they need in order to convert, all without leaving the page. Based on the tone of the chat, it can also convey a down-to-earth, helpful, human voice behind your website.
2. Staff Reviews
If you are an online retailer, providing staff reviews is another great way to humanize your website. This technique puts a face on your business, while concurrently driving your site visitors to products of value and interest. Once a site visitor starts trusting the opinion of one of your staff, they are likely to look to that same voice for guidance on additional purchases they should make.
3. Interaction Options
Customer interaction is good for both you and the folks considering your products or services. So, give your site visitors the tools they need to communicate with you, no matter what their personal communication preferences might be. Include a phone number, email address, online form, FAQ, Ask the Expert feature, online forum, Twitter address, customer-supported Q&A (check out Bazaarvoice Ask & Answer), personal advisor (check out how Crutchfield offers this functionality), physical address if applicable, etc.
These are just a few suggestions to help you put a human face on your website in providing a better experience for your site visitors. If you need additional help, let me know below. Thanks!
October 28th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
if you want some other good ideas for business, you may find this interesting:
I am a huge fan of talk radio, and am also a business person constantly looking for sound ideas for income strategies. So when I heard Janet Switzer (marketing mogul for the Chicken Soup Series) on Conversations Live with Vicki St.Clair recently it was really inspiring. Conversations Live with Vicki St.Clair is hosted on Seattle’s KKNW every Monday, noon PT.
On this segment, Janet Switzer introduced her new book called Instant Income: Strategies that bring in Cash for Small Businesses, Innovative Employees, and Occasional
Entrepreneurs. The book and her radio interview shares some 20 years of marketing and advertising experience that’s invaluable. To learn all about her proven business tips
for yourself, you can listen to the full podcast here:
http://conversationslive.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=188&Itemid=29
ENJOY!
October 28th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
For interaction options - Google Voice also provides a widget for web-sties. Makes it easy to just click and call. (Also allows you to keep your number off the website)
October 30th, 2009 at 1:27 am
Thanks, Tom. This is a helpful resource to liven up blogs, websites and even minute entrepreneurial online initiatives that need a bit of livening up.
October 31st, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I will use the on line chat idea. Great stuff. Everett-Mortgage-on-Line