Great Customer Service Means Answering the Phone

When customers are trying to gather information about a type of product or service, the first thing they’re going to do is get online and find the website. The second thing they are going to do is pick up the phone and call you to ask questions, get more information, and set up an appointment. Having prevalent contact information on every page of your site doesn’t do much good if you don’t answer the phone or reply to emails. It may seem like a no-brainer, but surprisingly, many businesses either don’t answer the phone or say they will call back and never do (or they wait until hours or even days to reply with a brief answer).

Every small business owner gets busy—if you didn’t, you wouldn’t stay in business very long. However, you should make it a priority to answer the phone. Customers expect a response within 60 minutes in most cases. If you have someone available to take customer service calls during normal business hours, they should be able to take calls and return messages relatively quickly. The pace and tone for responding to customer requests begins with the first contact.

If you become a customer of Beyond Custom Websites, rest assured that we will answer your call, or return it within a few hours. We do what we say we’re going to do. In fact, one of our services that sets our small business website company apart is that we not only answer customer calls, but we can make changes to your website in real time. From technical support to updating written content and images, we can take care of that for you over the phone while you refresh you page and let us know if we’ve got it right.  In addition to free updates and changes, the Beyond Custom Websites team of developers, designers, and small business experts will create a website that gets your company found online. Attractive layouts, relevant content, and optimal usability will ensure that customers will keep coming back to your website. If you want to not only build a website, but begin a professional relationship with knowledgeable team of web experts.

Engage your Customers: Interactive Website Features

An aesthetically appealing, customized website is important to get potential customers to find you online and peak their interest. One way to increase the chances of leads turning into paying customers is to have interactive features on your site than engage the user. Web design technology is continually changing, which means it’s important to pay attention to which website elements will keep people coming back. What type of features can you incorporate into your website that will offer users more information, increase SEO rankings for your pages, and make the experience more fun for your customers?

There are features that work well for potential customers, returning customers, or both. A response form allows visitors to provide feedback directly on the page. The most obvious is a contact form, but you can incorporate response forms in other ways that are targeted at specific services, areas of your website, or locations. Customers love to share their opinion and they will respect that your small business is open to various types of direct feedback. You can also include links to other sites, whether that means affiliates, other branches, or resources. You can also provide links to PDFs, videos, and larger-scale images. This will make your website and company more memorable and give users something to save and come back to later while they research your type of products and services.

Images that change when a user hovers over it with their mouse are great for businesses with products that have multiple colors, sizes, and styles. You can have one large image with a description and smaller images with the different color swatches that change in the large image with a mouse hover.   

A customized search menu is also a good idea for customer engagement. For example, an auto parts store can have a dropdown menu where customers can select their make, model, year, and mileage of their car to help them find the right parts and information.

For loyal, returning customers, a fun feature for them may be an option to register for updates. Once they opt-in to receive updates, they will be subscribed to emails regarding sales, new products, and company news. This will keep your company fresh in their minds. Blogs are an effective way to talk directly to your customers; allowing them to make comments will allow them to converse back to you.

These are just a few of the many interactive website features you can create to help your website and your business stand out among competitors. Beyond Custom Websites can create features like these and more based your input and designed especially for your business.  Our team of web and graphic designers, developers, content writers, and small business experts will work to offer you a successful, dynamic website that gets you results. Talk to us today to get started.

The 411: Helpful Info for Your Designer

Placing the creation of your custom website into the hands of a web developer begins a partnership with experts who can advance your online marketing. A skilled web designer and developer should be able to take simple, broad ideas and run with them to create a website that perfectly matches what you, the small business owner, are looking for. On the other hand, the more information you can provide in the initial consulting stages, the smoother the design process can go. So what information is most helpful to give your web designer in the beginning of the process?

If you already have a logo, provide your web company with the most updated version. This can be incorporated into the top banner of your website throughout every page, along with anywhere else you deem appropriate. Sometimes, a color scheme is obvious, but having a general one in mind is a good idea to serve a jumping off point. Are you a coffee shop with the city’s best cinnamon rolls or chai lattes? Do you have a slogan that sets your company apart from competitors? Let your designer know. “Best cinnamon rolls in Charleston” or “We’ll get your car moving again”; specific phrases that speak to your customer base will serve you very well online.

If you have photos that display samples of your work, these make a great gallery page. Contact information is often displayed in the header and/or footer of each page and of course, on the Contact Us page, so provide thorough and up-to-date contact information is also important. Along the way, if anything changes (you move into a new suite or add a new phone line), let your designer know right away so your site can be updated. Other information will vary depending on the type of business you have and how you want your website to look and function.

The best web designers can work with very specific ideas or broad ideas that require more development and no matter what, produce a website that wows the client every time.

Beyond Custom Websites gathers all this information and more from every small business owner. However, our team of experts can also help you develop logos, choose color schemes, and offer advice on other types of marketing (such as a blog). BCW also writes industry specific content and can edit photos to look flawless on your website. Beyond Custom Websites combines innovative web design and development with ongoing customer relationships and customer service that will exceed your expectations. If you need a website or want to revamp your current website, get in touch with us. We’ll offer you a custom website, branded emails, social media integration, a mobile website and more.  Discover what we can do to expand your online presence.