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STEVE’s TIPS
Picture perfect: You wouldn’t send out a marketing brochure that’s all words and no pictures. So why do so many rental companies create Web pages without graphics or photos of any sort? If a single picture paints a thousand words, use a judicious number of them on your Web site to communicate volumes. Photos of your store or office, your products, your employees — these images make your business feel "real" to online customers. Images give you a tangible presence and let visitors get a sense of the kind of business you run
It’s important to use photos on your site, but it’s equally important that the file sizes are small enough to load quickly on your Web page. The other key is to use only high-quality photos, which often requires a professional photographer or a very good quality digital camera. Again, you wouldn’t send out a marketing brochure filled with cheesy photos, would you? Because it’s likely to be seen by many more people than most paper brochures, your Web site should be the best marketing brochure your business has ever created.
The "if I build it, they will come" delusion: One of the most common mistakes rental businesses make is to assume that if there’s a business Web site, customers will suddenly start flocking to it. Don’t wait to start marketing your firm online. As soon as you are happy with your Web site, get going with the basics of online marketing. I recommend at least five marketing efforts when you launch a Web site.
1. Be proactive in listing on search engines such as Yahoo, Iwon and Alta vista.
2. Start an affiliate program to encourage and reward other businesses such as caterers, contractors, hotels, etc… for sending you online customers.
3. Be proactive in finding sites with which you can trade links.
4. Consider joining a banner exchange like bCentral’s Banner Network or SmartAge’s SmartClicks.
5. Start collecting customers e-mail addresses on Day One right on your rental contracts, so that you can lure customers back to your Web site.
Using these five steps, you can set up an online marketing effort that will help ensure that customers come to visit the awesome new Web site you just built.
Phoneless in cyberspace: Don’t forget to put your phone number prominently on your Web site. Many small-business executives have said the way their Web site is most frequently used is a customer looking at it while calling the company. Customers will refer to something on the Web site, but they actually buy products or order services on the phone. It’s also a good idea to put your mailing address on the site. It adds to the comfort level of knowing you are a "real" business.
Respectfully, ........................................Steve Kohn
Remember, too, to make use of ARA-NJ’s e-mail address: njara.org - the go-to place for updates on this organization. Even better e-mail me at tent_man@msn.com and let me know your e-mail address (e-mail it to me even though you think I may already have it). I’ll keep you posted on rental happenings as they occur.
..................................................................... Steve