5 Simple (and Free) Ways to Increase Your Credibility with Potential Clients
by Helen Graves
Bottom line, marketing is all about connection, not about sales. Because
one sale does not make a customer. The proof of this pudding is in the
longevity of the relationship.
To make it truly effective, your overall marketing objective should be
establishing rapport and building a relationship with potential clients
until they're ready to become paying clients. And then continuing to be
someone they like and trust so they will buy from you again and again.
Credibility is an important factor in the know, like and trust equation.
Here are 5 very simple actions you can take today to strengthen your
standing with potential clients.
1) Stop using a free email account - I get a lot of email from
entrepreneurs and small business owners asking for information about
online marketing or signing up for one of my free audio courses. And I
have to admit I cringe every time I see something from a business owner
with the return address at Yahoo, AOL, Gmail or one of the other free
accounts.
It practically screams out, "I don't take my business seriously enough
to invest in a professional email address." It's not very reassuring for
prospective clients to find themselves asking for a design quote from
jt1958@hotmail.com. If you've got a website, it's a very simple thing to
set up an address through your server. Using an address from your own
domain name lets people know you mean business (literally).
2) Make the connection personal - While we're on the subject of email
addresses, I see lots of businesses with a contact address like
Info@mybusiness.com or ContactUs@MillerInc. I know the reasoning behind
this is to appear more professional. But in this case, I think it
backfires.
If you're a solo entrepreneur it's usually evident from your website
that it's just you on the receiving end. It seems kind of silly and
off-putting to act like you're bigger than you are. Plus, using an email
with a first name is a chance to add that personal touch that lets
prospects know you're a real person. (I recommend bigger companies do
this as well.)
Along those lines, don't hide behind the plural pronoun "we" when you're
the only one there. This is another perfect opportunity to make the
connection personal.
3) Let us see who you are - I will freely admit whenever I visit a
website, at some point I'll go to the About page looking for a photo of
the site owner. And I know I'm not alone in this. Human beings are
naturally drawn to looking at faces; it's coded into our DNA. We want to
put a face to a website and see who we're dealing with.
All other things being equal, I'll always decide in favor of the company/website that shows me who they are.
4) Be very thorough in checking for typos and spelling errors - Now I
know, as a former elementary teacher, that this is a particular thorn in
my side. As a friend once remarked, "Those things just jump off the
page at you, don't they?" (And it's true. I don't go looking for them;
they find me!)
Not everyone will care about grammatical, punctuation or spelling
errors. But for those of us who do (and we're a bigger group than you
may think), it really bursts the bubble of your professionalism.
5) Display your privacy policy - Even though spamming people may be the
furthest thing from your mind, it's still smart to let them know your
intentions. A simple "I promise not to give, rent or sell your contact
information" will do. Post it on your Contact page and in your Opt In
box, or anywhere else you ask for their name and email address.
Helen Graves, Grand Poohbah of Crackerjack Marketing & Website
Strategy, is an expert at showing independent entrepreneurs how to get
more clients with less stress. Besides writing captivating website copy
that prompts visitors into action, she also shares how to create genuine
connection with your marketing so you can turn potential clients into
paying clients.
To find out more or to sign up for her complimentary mini audio seminar,
"Simplify Your Marketing In 6 Easy Steps", visit Helen at http://www.helengraves.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_Graves