First Impressions - What Your Site Says About You. By Jenean
Matthews
I'm sure you've heard the saying "First Impressions, are lasting
impressions". This saying is very true. Every time you meet
someone for the first time an impression is made. Things are no
different on the internet. Even though you, as a person, can't
be seen, your site says a lot about you once it is visited for
the first time. What type of impression are you leaving?
In our online experience we've clicked on many sites. We have
developed first impressions on numerous occasions. Here are a
few impressions a site may leave:
The Immediate Sales Site How would you like it if you went to
purchase a new computer and upon walking into the store the
salesperson met you at the door with a computer in hand and
escorted you to the cash register? You would turn around and
walk out wouldn't you.
Well some sites are like that. As soon as you click on the URL
you are immediately hit with a sales pitch. You don't know who
the site owner is and you're not familiar with the brand of
products being offered. They may be offering the type of product
you're looking for, which is why you're at the site but you need
more information before you make a decision and it's just not
offered. Like the computer example, you'll probably leave that
site.
A good salespeople introduce themselves, ask you what you are
looking for, allow you to browse around if you want, give you
directions to specific areas of the store that may interest you
and are there for you when they're needed. A site that doesn't
have an immediate hard sales pitch, is user-friendly and
introduces the owner of the site leaves a good impression.
Flea Market Site This site occurs as a result of the associate
programs wave. I'm all for associate programs. I have signed up
for a few also. The problem with the flea market site is
everything is being offered on the same page. It's to cluttered.
When you first walk into a flea market you're presented with
everything you can possibly think of. People are selling used
items, collectibles, some new items, and everything else.
Nothing is neat or orderly, it's a flea market. You’re there to
find bargains and no more.
Is that what you really want said about your site? You have a
lot of good quality products to offer but the site needs some
order. Ebay is an excellent example of a flea market site that's
set up correctly. Even though they are offering a wide variety
of items through their sellers, the site is set up with specific
categories and everything is easy to find. They don't try to
offer all the products on the first page. That would be
overwhelming and confusing.
Analyze your products and determine which ones have something in
common. Divide them into categories. Put a headline and brief
description of each category of products on the first page and
put the products on other pages throughout your site. A
well-organized site leaves a good impression.
Beat around the bush site Don’t you love going to the dealership
to purchase a car. Once you find one on the lot you think you
like and you ask for more information including the price, the
salesperson will proceed to ask you questions about your
employment and your ability to pay and go on and on about the
quality, look and feel of the car. They don't want to discuss
the price until you test drive the vehicle hoping you'll fall in
love with it and pay full or close to full price for it. Even
after you've test driven it they will sit you in their cubicle,
bring out all the paperwork hoping you're more concerned about
qualifying for the loan than haggling over the price.
Some sites are just like that. They take you through page after
page of promotions and information only to get to the end of the
site and there's no price. The only way you can find out what
the price is, is to click on the order button. By then they hope
you will just proceed with the purchase instead of clicking
away. After all you have invested a lot of time at the site.
A good site will give just enough information for you to make a
decision. They will give adequate points about all the benefits
of the product. They will also provide a way for you to obtain
more information should you need it. Everything is up front and
if after you've made a decision to purchase and change your mind
it's easy to make that change. An upfront, customer service
oriented site leaves a good impression.
I'm sure you have impressions of your own that you have
experienced. Go to your site and analyze it. Do your customers
know who you are? Are they able to browse around without a hard
sales pitch everywhere they click? Can they make a purchase and
make changes to the purchase if they change their minds? Is the
site orderly? Make sure you're leaving a good impression.
First Impressions - What Is Your Site Saying About you? © 2000
Jenean Matthews is a businesswoman who believes in encouraging
and helping others to accomplish their dreams. She believes
people can overcome obstacles, rise to any occasion, and
accomplish their entire dream with enough faith. She can be
found accomplishing her dream at
http://www.1stshoppingavenue.com or subscribe to the newsletter
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