The Art of Business: Sell Emotions, Sell Yourself
These are not the best of times for Web designers. After years of tinkering, most companies have Web sites up and running smoothly, they’ve got Flash animation, they’ve got the e-commerce bugs worked out, and they even have a handle on site metrics.
And now the really bad news: Everyone from Microsoft to your next-door neighbor is offering cheap, easy, instant Web design.
Is there still a place left for you? You bet, and here’s the pitch you can use to persuade prospects that you’re the best person for the job:
Traditional purchasing habits and brand loyalties are a thing of the past. Customers are fickle in the face of a wealth of choices in what and how they buy. They are demanding far more from Web sites than the standard fare. They want personalized service, and above all, they want a satisfying emotional experience.
It comes down to three specific emotions, in fact. Web visitors want to be persuaded, they want their emotions engaged, and they want assurances of trust. The only way to distinguish your Web site today is to make sure at least one of these three emotions is satisfied on every page. Microsoft can’t do if for you, your nephew can’t do it for you, and the fly-by-night Web developer can’t either. But I can.
That’s the pitch. Here’s the beef:
We are witnessing the evolution of the Internet as a rich, interactive medium.
According to Human Factors International, a software and Web site usability research firm, every Web site visitor consciously or unconsciously conducts what’s called a PET Scan with every page visit. PET stands for persuasion, emotion, and trust, and Web visitors literally scan pages for evidence of one of these three traits.
What’s more, says HFI, visitors who have one of these emotions satisfied are more likely to take the next action, be it clicking for more info or making a purchase.
Here are three specific Web site suggestions you can offer prospects to help them ensure a successful PET Scan on their site:
1. Persuade with live chat. Start communicating interactively. Web customers are often inundated by product claims and information. One way to gently persuade them to take action, when appropriate, is with live chat (sometimes called click-to-chat); that is, customer service reps who answer questions and guide customers to the right choices via instant messaging.
Companies can place a chat button on product and shopping cart pages and can even proactively “invite” customers to chat by gently interrupting their browsing with an IM message.
If the product or service line is broad or complex, the challenge is in ensuring that customers have access to the most qualified employee available. If the product line is simple and the company small, than live chat may only be viable during working hours.
2. Engage emotionally with deep and rich product content. Static Web pages are a thing of the past. Now that consumers are embracing broadband by a two-to-one margin over dial up (or so says Nielson), your prospect can take advantage of high Internet speeds to host compelling product and service pages replete with animations, 3D graphics, streaming audio, and video.
Companies can go one step further and make product areas interactive. For a bicycle retailer, for example, you might suggest 3D product models that customers can rotate to view at any angle, or zoom in and out for details. Or a technology company might host a video on how to hook up a home entertainment system.
According to HFI, graphical presentation of products on the Web result in improved product knowledge, a more positive brand attitude, and a better chance of closing the customer.
3. Build Trust with Web 2.0. One way to build trust with customers is to be a legitimate provider of useful and objective information. There are so many new services and tools for sharing and delivering information that the digerati are collectively using the phrase Web 2.0 to describe them all.
Take, for instance, HousingMaps.com, which marries the power of Google Maps with Craigslist’s real estate classifieds to deliver satellite images of advertised properties to potential buyers. It lets you visualize the property’s exact location and simultaneously view information about the property itself. Very Web 2.0.
Many companies now offer selected news and information via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. Once customers subscribe to an RSS feed, they receive automatic updates and alerts as those are released by the content creator. (Sign up for creativepro.com’s RSS feeds here.)
There are plenty of other opportunities to engender customer trust using Web 2.0 technologies, including interactive maps, blogs, and real-time social networking.
In an age where so much is hype, customers respect companies that provide unvarnished, fresh information. Delivering valuable information is an easy way to create a relationship based on trust. Tell your prospect that taking advantage of Web 2.0 can help them open communication channels with customers, improve collaboration, and enhance customer loyalty.
More to Come
These, of course, are just a sample of Web site enhancements. What’s important is to frame enhancements, any enhancement, as an emotional imperative for visitors.
Your job as a Web developer is to learn how to develop (or outsource) these Web enhancements. And your job as a sales person is to learn how to pitch enhancements as emotional “must haves” for every business.
Take the Test
After you’ve finished with your pitch, ask your prospect to take this Total Customer Experience Test. You can also use it as a leave-behind (and have a great reason to call the prospect in a few days).
Does my Web site:
- Persuade, engage emotion, or build trust on every page?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Provide customers with fast, easy access to sales, service, and support resources?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Provide rich Web content that reinforces marketing objectives?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Offer customers multiple methods of getting service while delivering a consistent personalized experience?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Give customers quick, easy access to employees, improving customer relationships and customer loyalty?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Offer a consistent customer experience at every point contact?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Integrate with walk-in or telephone sales and support?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
- Use Web 2.0 services to extend my brand beyond the site?
- ___Yes ___ No ___ Perhaps
There’s still room for you and your services in the crowded Web Design Bazaar, as long as your wares are shiny, new, and different from the masses.
This article was last modified on July 11, 2023
This article was first published on January 26, 2007
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