FAQs/Resources

• How do you make visitors come back?

Come back soon and read about:

• E-commerce solutions for small business
• How can a service business benefit from having a web site?
• Where do you start in getting online?

and many more articles to follow.

How do you make visitors come back?

You've got your own domain name, you've got your website and you're pretty happy how it turned out. It's available to the world 24/7. You've got your offline marketing strategy working up to scratch. You're handing out business cards with your domain name displayed prominently. Your domain name is on all your stationery. And you're starting to get quite a few hits. Some people have already given you some positive feedback about your new site.

Problem is, what is going to make someone who has seen your site come back again? How do you make your website 'sticky'?

This is one of the key issues that needs to be addressed at the initial design stage. If you want to encourage repeat visits, you need to think about what will make someone come back to visit your site again. When customers visit your site again and again, it shows they have developed trust in your business and would rather buy from you again than go elsewhere.

So how do you get them coming back again?

The answer is: changing content. Give them something different to look at, something that is of benefit to them and provides value, and they'll come back.

So what sort of content would make them come back?

This depends on the nature of the business. But every type of web site can be designed in such a way as to encourage repeat visits. Any one or more of the following strategies can be applied:

• Specials: Particularly suitable for retail sites, this is a sure-fire way to get people to come back. People love specials. But make sure the items on special really are marked down. If those specials are not genuine, people will eventually find out and they won't come back (besides, you could get into trouble with the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)). And change specials regularly.
• Have a hot news item or seasonal hot topic related to your product or service. Include a section on latest findings related to your product or service. For example, if your business deals with engineering technology, add a section on the latest research findings. If your business is a hair salon, have a section on the latest fashionable hair styles.
• Give visitors other reasons than buying from you to visit your site. For example, if you offer a 'buy now pay later' incentive to your customers, offer them the alternative of settling their accounts online using their credit card. Add value to your site, by including information that users of your products or services find helpful. For example, if your business is selling fishing products, provide information on the best sites for fishing, and the types of fish you are likely to catch at each site. Provide also information on how to get a fishing license, how to get there, how to hire a boat, where to stay. People will then come back to your site to get this information and while on your site, they might remember they need to buy some fishing tackle. And because your site is always on their mind, they are more likely to buy their fishing gear from you. In short, don't just try to sell your products. Provide value.
• Provide excellent customer service and respond promptly. When replying to an email request, make sure you use email etiquette. With email, your style of writing needs to be polite, to the point, while providing the information sought. You need to respond within 24 hours.
• Build an online community. Web forums and guestbooks are an excellent way to make people more comfortable with your site because they can share ideas and discuss problems and issues with others. Web forums and guestbooks create a more personal feel to a web site, giving people an opportunity to express themselves and respond to others.
• Include an online subscription mechanism to an e-newsletter. E-newsletters are an excellent way to remind people that you still exist. Include information on specials, newsworthy items and information that customers would find useful. An e-newsletter with a direct link to your site is one of the best internet marketing tools. But remember, give people the option of opting out and don't just discuss your products. Add value by giving people information that is relevant and useful. And don't send them an email inviting them to subscribe. You'll quickly be accused of spamming.
• Make your site interactive. Reading too much on the web gets boring. Interactivity gives people something to do. It holds their attention. Interactivity can also be effectively used to help people make up their minds what product or service is most suitable for them. For example, I might be looking for a printer. Is it for home or office? What volume of printing am I likely to be doing. Do I want to print high quality photos? How do I decide which model to purchase? By carefully addressing the decision process a customer goes through when purchasing, your web site can act as your salesperson and at the end, the customer knows exactly the product they need. Leave them uncertain and they'll quickly type in another URL (uniform resource locator). Another way to add interactivity is to have an online survey or an online competition.