Today is Halloween (Happy Halloween!) and I thought i’d touch on a few things I see all over the place on the web today. Although today is a holiday meant for scares, thrills and haunts, I see thousands of websites across the web that are pretty scary all year long. So the question stands: Are you scaring off potential customers? Let’s look at some problems that could scare off potential leads and share some solutions.
1. Ancient websites
If your website hasn’t been updated within the last 2 years, your website is officially ancient. Which means the information on is probably outdated and you are passing false / incorrect info to your customers. This can be a lead killer and you could be missing out on thousands of potential dollars by not having up to date products or services on your site. You also are probably using some old code that may not be working quite well for newer browsers or devices.
Your website should be treated like a living, breathing machine that stays up to date at all times. Would you post a sign on your front door with outdated info? I bet you wouldn’t. Your website is much more inportant than that sign. It is your billboard for millions of potential customers around the world. Treat your website as you would treat your car. Make sure to keep it maintained, do oil changes and checkups every so often.
2. Not being mobile friendly
If your website fell into the previous category, it’s highly likely it also falls into this one. Have you ever tried to swipe around, trying to find a simple phone number on a non-mobile friendly website? You swipe up, then right, oops you went too far right. Then you click the navigation bar, it drops down, you see a glimps of the contact link, but you can’t click it because you clicked the parent link instead. It’s a pain in the ass right? Non-mobile friendly websites make potential customers lose hope, become depressed and leave your website forever.
Over 7 years ago, Apple introduced the iphone and ever since the mobile smartphone (and now tablet) market has exploded. It is madatory nowadays to make sure your website has a decent mobile experience on mobile devices and really, it’s not too hard to do. Nowadays there are all kinds of scripts and plugins that can make your site mobile friendly with minimal effort. It’s time to stop scaring off your mobile customers and start making it easy for them to navigate your website.
3. No clear call to actions
This one is the biggest lead killer on the list. A call to action is an image, button, link or line of text on your website that instructs your audience to take some immediate action. Words like “sign up today”, “get started” or “get a free quote” are call to actions. There are thousands of sites on the web without a clear and consise call to action. Some are buried in a mass mess of words and images. Some blend in with the rest of your content too much. Some are bold and stand out, but give no messaging as to what value or benefit you get from clicking it. Some websites dont even have a call to action anywhere visible on their site! How clear is yours?
Having a clear call to action means having a clear value proposition, eye catching design, and inspires action. You want your call to action to stand out and you want it easy for people to understand why they should act. Ideally, the entire page it’s on should be highly focused and targeted to the value proposition you are giving behind your call to action.
4. Dead blogs or social media accounts
Having an empty blog that hasn’t been updated in ages or social media accounts that has stopped responding to customers is bad. It gives off the idea that a) you don’t have anything new or interesting to talk about and b) you don’t care enough about your customers to respond to engage with them and c) your business is dead (nobody is alive to post). These things scare off potential leads.
In contrast, having an active blog and social media feeds shows that you’re alive and kicking. It shows that you have a voice in your market and have authority in your domain. It shows you care about your customers by consistantly communicating and engaging with them.
Try to actively post something online at least one a week. It doesn’t have to be an essay, and you don’t have to dedicate hours to conversations. This blog took me less than an hour to write, post to all our social media accounts and send out to our email list too. Don’t let your blog or social media accounts die!
Stop scaring off your potential customers!
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