Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

i have offered my opinions and my time to speak with people on the phone in other forum posts. i don`t see how that is blatant advertising...i`m offering my knowledge, which is of value. if i talk to someone on the phone, i am going to listen to their needs and give them my technical feedback.

as a matter of fact, in this post, i have asked for feedback on my site and unlike the others, you have decided to diverge by contributing unconstructive bashing related to my other posts, which is worse than someone doing blatant advertising. my company has 800 clients nationwide and a 98% client retention rate over the past 10 years since its inception, so i`m qualified to give technical advice, which is done most effectively over the phone. now please, back to the topic at hand.

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Albanese Consulting, Inc. Software Development & Technology Solutions toll free: 866-239-3400 www.albx.com

You are still missing the point of the community.

It is to share your knowledge for the good of the all, not to get someone on the phone so you can assess their needs and sell them your services. If you have all this knowledge to share from 10 years and 800 clients, please by all means share it. But if you are telling someone to give you a call so you can set them up with a hosting package that comes with a shopping cart ... that is blatant advertising, not sharing your knowledge. (And yes, this is exactly what you told a poster here.)

If you were truly interested in participating in the community, you would be not be using a spot for your picture to place a branding image that you purchased. This is not some pissing contest between two people in the same industry, either - I just have to come to love this place and it does irk me when people come here just to advertise themselves. And don`t feel like it is just you, because I`ve had frequent rants about those who take and do not give back.

As for your site, my info still stands. The fonts are too small on the front. I don`t find it particularly attractive or eye-catching, but maybe all of your clients are into that type of site - what do we know without knowing what your client base and your message is? I see: SERVICES and SOLUTIONS. Do any of your clients know what those technical terms are? I ask because mine would not. My window cuts off at your second NEWS / HIGHLIGHTS item ... and yet you have all this white space at the right, why not use some of that? Better yet, if this information is important - why not put it where the huge stock photography girl is, because she`s not adding anything to your site - she`s just taking up valuable space where you could be selling your product instead. And I would suggest CookieMonster`s copywriting article ... I`m sure you can find a link for it around here in a search.

I agree with Nikole, good greif, what gives with that girl?  Not relevant and if I am the typical middle aged executive making a large dollar decision might make me think twice.  Anyway not withstanding the girl, the type font is too small, which as a middle aged decision maker I HATE.  Also you have committed the cardinal sin of web design in my opinion, which is I had to look for your phone number.  At least with you it is on the front page, but you have to use a microscope to find it.  Make your thumbnails a bit bigger too on your client`s page, good grief, if you are a web designer, impress me!  I am sure you are excellent at what you do, which by the way is????

As I have said her before, put yourself in your customer`s shoes.  Completely.  What do they want from you/your company?  Then answer the why am I here question on the first page with enticing tidbits to get me to drill down....like see what wonderful work we have done by clicking here type of thing...

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Dale
www.ourbestidea.com
www.maskerinsurance.com
www.maskercreations.net

There are a few problems with the girl photo. First, the image is quite big
which demands a lot of visual attention. It`s pretty much the first thing I
look at on your homepage. Not only that, the photo has more contrast
than the rest of your site which attracts the eye. Even if it were smaller, it
would still do the same thing. So in addition to making her smaller, the
answer is to put more visual contrast (light and dark color values) in the
rest of the site. That will downplay the photo and put more emphasis on
your content.

Secondly, there are no other stock photos on the rest of your site (at least
that I could find). This puts a contextual importance on the photo you do
have. If your site were sprinkled with other images throughout the pages,
it would make more sense to have an eye-catching image on the
homepage.

Even then, why a cute blonde girl? How does she represent your services?
If you have a particular focus on personalized customer service, she may
work. But I wasn`t so sure what your company was about until I started
reading in depth. And the photo of the girl didn`t help back up the
content, in my opinion. She is very ambiguous.

Think about how images represent your image.

First I want to make it clear that I don`t intend to speak for Albx, this is my interpretation of why she is there.

It is a well documented fact that pretty women make men make poor decisions, it is irrelevant if she is in front of that man in person or in a picture as in that page. A large, clearly visible image of a pretty girl will instantly give the site operator the upper hand because the man that just landed on this site is now predisposed to make a bad decision. She is there to provide the site operator an unfair advantage over unsuspecting customers.

 The Forum is like the Howard Stern Show.

 Everyone is entitled to submit their opinion.

 if you disagree stongly then you write a rebuttle.

 if you choose not to participate then don`t

 But , in the end I do not think you can tell anyone what to do!

And i would like spell check!!

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Daniel Stewart Bilsi 4050A Sladeview Cres. Mississauga,Ontario L5L 5Y5 www.bilsi.com

Yes, pretty women attract men in marketing and affect decision making,
that is a fact. And to each their own when it comes to marketing
approaches.

But I question what you say and how it relates to the business of Peter`s
site. "Poor decisions"?! Is that really what Peter wants of his customers?
Maybe so, but I can`t answer for him. And I know you`re not speaking for
him either as you state. But in my opinion, he`s not selling beer or auto
parts. I think he would want his customers to make informed decisions.
If you ask me, there is no "unfair advantage" for the site operator in this
situation.

There`s nothing wrong with using attractive people to sell products or
services. But it must be harnessed in the right kind of way. A cute girl
drinking beer sells beer to men. A cute girl standing against a wall (as in
this case) sells ? to ?

Hi Steve,

Did you read the article?

the idea behind displaying pretty women is not that it will sell anything to anybody, but that seeing a pretty women makes a man more likely to make an irrational decision after they have been exposed to that woman. In this case if a person is looking for the services this website is offering he would be more likely to make the decision of hiring these services in an irrational and impulsive manner as supposed come to that decision in a logical well thought out manner. Irrational decisions are more likely to become sales.

This is a real Web site. I see the words are filled with power, and for that reason, it can`t fail. It feels very good to me, so keep up the good work!

ElidS, I did read the article and for the most part I am agreeing with you. I
understand that an irrational decision is more likely to become a sale.
That`s all well and good and can be very powerful in marketing. But I will
argue that it is not always the best way to market certain products or
services.

Regardless, we`ve gotten off topic here. I have no objection to the girl
herself. I mean it`s not like he`s using some bikini model to sell IT
services. (Has anyone tried that? hehe.) What I question is how the use of
the photo represents what the company offers. To me, the photo is quite
ambiguous and has little to do with the business. Hell, maybe that`s
alright. I was simply throwing the question out there. Perhaps you
answered it!

I still hold to the compositional reasons of why I don`t like the photo as
part of the layout regarding size and color usage, as well as relation to
the lack of other imagery throughout the site. And that is what I want to
stress more than anything.

End of girl discussion from me. :)