Re: How Much Do Clients Need to Know about You?

From: Cliff Kurtzman <moderator_at_o-a.com>
Date: Mon 15 Sep 2003 10:37:01 -0500

"Jeremy Stetson" <oa-only_at_mensimageconsultant.com> wrote:

>Some feedback received about our company's business has focused on the lack
>of information about who we are, as though it's a sign of a scam or lack of
>credentials.

>
>That lack of information is deliberate, but for other reasons. For one
>thing, nobody at the company wants to be famous (which could happen if the
>site ever reaches its potential). Also, there is no phone number or street
>address listed because all business is conducted online. No email addresses
>are shared mainly to avoid spam. (We're not the only online business that
>shields addresses behind a form.)
>
>Would listing a vague geographic location (the greater metropolitan area)
>help at all? Or is it just a matter of sprucing up the website with
>testimonials, image-related visuals, and developing a good reputation? Say,
>what about listing some sort of stamp of approval from some accredited
>association of online business (if there is one)?

Here are my suggestions and experiences:

E-mail addresses: I agree with you on this one. I no longer
recommend that e-mail addresses ever be put on a public web
site. The unfortunate reality is that putting them up is
tantamount to an invitation to drown yourself in spam. It is
possible to put up an email address that will not be indexed
by the spam spiders by putting the address on a graphic
(with no mailto link around the graphic) or by breaking it
up and spelling it out (e.g., moderator (at) o-a.com), but
in general, I don't think that this approach buys you very
much.

I do believe it is important to give your site visitors a way
to contact you with an online contact form, and that in general
there should be a link to such a contact form on each and
every page of your site. Last month we went through the process
of removing all email addresses from all of our sites, and
replacing them with links to contact forms. We then turned off
the old email addresses that had been used on the sites. The
effect of this was that the spam stopped immediately, and the
number of legitimate inquiries increased substantially. While
there may be exceptions with specific individuals, our
experience is that on the whole legitimate people are much more
likely to respond via an online form than via an e-mail link.

One word of caution when using online contact forms... some of
the more common scripts for processing online forms call for the
email address of the form recipient to passed to the CGI script from
the web page that has the form on it... in other words, the
email address is specified inside the HTML of the page with the
form. Such an email address, even if invisible to someone filling
out the form, is still accessible to the spam spiders that will
visit your site in order to mine it for email addresses. Be sure
that the email address of the form recipient is specified within
your CGI code, and not within the HTML code of the web page for
the form.

Street address: I believe that including a street address where
you can be found is a very important sign of legitimacy. People
that do business with you will want to know how to really find
you if they need to reach you or send you something or report
you to the better business bureau if you do not act in an
appropriate manner. An address shows your geographic locality,
and I don't think using a vague geographic location does the trick.

With that in mind, it is important to remember that we live in a
day and age where advances in telecommunication technology allow
many legitimate and successful businesses to operate through
networks of employees telecommuting from their home offices. If
you do operate your business out of your household, then I don't
recommend ever posting your home address on your web site in
conjunction with your business. For about $20 per month or less,
you should be able to rent yourself a mailbox or post office box
to use as your business address.

Phone number: Again, I think that giving people a way to contact
you by phone is very important. While posting a phone number will
result in some sales calls, you will also find that a potential
client that picks up the phone to call you is far more likely
to be a serious prospect than someone that fills out your web
form. Calling you gives someone a way to interact with you
that is much richer and more immediate than just exchanging
email. A less expensive alternative to getting yourself a
separate phone line for your business (if available from
your phone company) is to get yourself a second phone number
for your current line that will ring with a different ring than
calls to your home number.

Stamps of approval: These don't do much for me... I have no
experience that leads me to believe that these are terribly
beneficial... but I would welcome hearing from Online Ads
members with experiences that prove otherwise.

In summary, when I see a business web site where there is no
address and phone number, it tells me either that the business
wants to hide itself for some reason, or that the business is
unwilling to spring for the cost of a mailbox and phone line.
Either way, it does not instill a sense of confidence or
legitimacy in the business.

Cliff Kurtzman
moderator
Online Advertising Discussion List
http://www.o-a.com/
281-480-6300





Received on Mon Sep 15 2003 - 10:37:01 CDT