HostOnNet.com

admin · Site Admin Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 256 Location: India

I got a postcard the other day. It made me think of
the person who sent it, the things I admire about her. I
appreciated her thinking of me, and taking the time to send
the card.

It wasn't Christmas, my birthday, or any special day at all.
The printed message is, "Just a note to let you know I
appreciate you. I hope you have a wonderful summer." Above it,
she'd written my name. Below it, she had signed her first name.

The return address had been printed. She had included her
phone number and the URL to her website. The other side of the
card was a rendering of a photo taken in South Mountain Park,
Arizona.

The card laid on my desk for about a week. I glanced at it
often. Finally I carted it out to the small table in the living
room at which I often sit sipping coffee while checking out the
trees and mountains to the east.

What A Grand Idea

Judy Vorfeld of ossweb.com sent me that card. She did so
only to demonstrate she was thinking about me. There is no
hidden agenda here. The card is exactly what it appears to be.
And it delivered the message Judy intended.

But consider what has happened here. Judy has reached out
to me from the real world, the one in which we live.

What Makes This So Great?

The most difficult task you have in your web-based business
is building visitor trust and confidence in you as a real live
person. Until people come to believe you are one they can count
on, they won't become clients or long term customers.

Such things matter less if you are selling digicams and
offer them at the best price available. Many buy on price
alone. But the best path to a successful business for most
includes generating repeat business. And this won't happen
unless you are able to demonstrate you are for real.

Yet this is tough to do when you can only provide your
visitors with images on the monitor of their computer. It's a
major drawback to building a web-based business. Your potential
customers can't see or touch your goods. And you can't step up
and shake their hand.

Adding Reality To Your Website

There are lots of ways of broadening your thrust so your
site seems more a part of the real world. Business cards,
for example.

Carry a few. Leave them behind wherever you go. Tuck three
or four under the salt shaker before leaving the coffee shop.
Three or four more on top of the paper towel holder in the
restroom.

Offer a free brochure. Something folks will find practical
and useful. But print it, or at least use a copy shop. Then
send it via U.S. Mail. Even to those uninterested, the
availability of such offers is a plus for your image.

Figure Ways To Surprise People

Send a gift to clients past and present. Or to your
customers. Avoid any hint of it being a sales pitch. It is
only a reminder that you are thinking of the person. And that
they matter to you.

Ball point pens with your name and URL on them are easy to
obtain. In quantity, the cost is modest. And unlike calendars,
they don't become outdated. So you can buy a bunch now, and use
them for several years.

Go Further

Check the web for specialty shops. A quality letter opener
may lay about a desk for a long time. A key ring might be used
for years, one with a neat reminder of your business attached.

Recently my wife found a cute plastic image of Donald Duck,
with bobbing head and all, in a box of Rice Krispies. It's
still on the table with that postcard.

Judy Vorfeld Gets The Prize

But you'll find it tough to do better than Judy did with the
postcard she sent. You can even buy neat cards in quantity, to
use in this way.

This doesn't tell the whole story, though. It doesn't show
my name or her signature. Or my address printed by hand to the
right. (Far greater impact when done by hand than when
printed.) And there is no postmark on the image, as there is
on the card. No cancellation mark on the 23 cent stamp Judy
pasted to the card.

This postcard was created and sent to me by a real live
person. It was delivered by the U.S Postal Service. It adds
dimension to Judy, and to her site and business.

Find ways to do things like this occasionally. Do them
right, and your credibility will get an awesome boost.
_________________
HostOnNet.com - Reseller Hosting
Free Ads Forum, Promote your site
NetFreeHost.com - Free Web Hosting, phpBB Hosting