Yes, that is Stu; and, yes, there are people who have actually seen Stu in a suit.

30 ways to create web traffic

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1. However you are marketing now, an effective web site can leverage those resources and help build business. Billions of dollars are spent on Yellow Page advertising. Have you ever noticed how most Yellow Page messages read very much like the next? Yellow page ads can leave prospects scratching their head on whom to trust, whom to do business with. The Yellow page competitor with an effective website has a powerful tool to create the texture and content needed for the prospect they are the right choice. Maybe you are not in the Yellow Pages. Maybe you are marketing through direct mail or maybe you are out knocking on doors. Whatever method of sales generation you are using; whatever marketing efforts you use to empower sales, a website is a grand tool to leverage those efforts.

2. Your website allows you to put timely information on your website immediately. Special offers, product changes; new testimonials, great pictures of a successful project: any useful change can be made almost immediately, for an instantaneous impact of your prospects.

3. A website can really help your staff save time. Are you always handling the same questions or dealing with the same concerns? Answering these questions on the web site can cut down on the time spent by you or your staff. A prospect can email you with a question and a staff member can handle it promptly but not right this second. This ability to better utilize your human talent can help reduce frustration; save time, and actually give your customers better customer service, because it fits their needs also.

4. Your website allows you to capture the names and email addresses of prospects that are interested in your product or service but are not quite ready to make a decision. Effective use of technology allows you to follow up with this prospect until you finally land them as a customer. The road to the successful sale can easily begin with the information gathered from the website.

5. A compelling website can really help you with PR. Wouldn't it be great to have the local paper write an article or to be interviewed for the local television news program?!? A compelling website can be a tipping point for finding the interesting angle that makes you newsworthy. The media can come to your site and quickly understand what you do that is special and discover the idea that makes your story interesting to their audience. Can you imagine how exciting it would be to get some really great PR?! A compelling website is a great big step towards that PR goal.

6. The Internet is a powerful collection of media that can greatly impact your prospect. People need to see your samples? Include some pictures or video. You can talk to your visitors with an audio clip. Your message can be as elaborate as necessary without boring everyone with the details. Each prospect, using the hyperlink options available, can select the level of detail they want.

7. The website allows your prospect an unfettered view into your business 24 hours a day. They can explore at their leisure without interruption, without the slightest embarrassment for asking a lot of silly questions, and without the fear that they are drawing the unwanted attention of a pushy sales person.

8. You can create your own website community and promote your business within that community. If, for example, you are in the horse riding business; you can easily create special events and special pictures that highlight your friends and customers and business partners. People will come to the page to see their pictures; their friend’s pictures and discover for themselves how much fun riding horses can be. I hope this small and prosaic example opens your eyes to the world of possibilities that can be created through a website.

• A good share of your marketing is targeted at prospects that do not know you. It should be no surprise to you that they are probably wary and skeptical of a business they do not know- Let’s face it; most everybody has been burned before; we can be very leery about dealing with a new business. We do not want to be stuck with a ‘bad deal’.
• How can a website help? Not any website CAN help. An effective website can do wonders. What then makes a website effective. That is a hard one to explain. Lets talk briefly about what is NOT effective.
• What do you think when someone starts telling you they are the "best" at whatever they do. Your reaction is typical if you are thinking, "says who?"
• An effective website then can help educate your prospect about information they need to know to make a good buying decision.
• An effective website can articulate who you are and why you do what you do.
• An effective website helps the web visitor to better understand you, get to know you better, and discover information on their own that helps them draw the conclusion: I can do business with this company; I am going to call them.
• How do you build a case that you are special? You can articulate your concerns for your customer. You might describe the detailed estimate that you do for each customer so they understand what you are going to do for them. Testimonials are great; anecdotes are effective; pictures of happy customers and pictures of happy employees are very effective. Taking personal responsibility for your customer's total satisfaction can be powerful.
• The challenge lies before you. Your task is to come up with the right combination of evidence for your prospect to draw the conclusion that they would be making a mistake to call anybody else. We are ready to help you take on this challenge and to help you succeed.

• In brochures and on business cards

• On bumper stickers

• In your yellow page ad

• On door-hangers

• On flyers and leave behinds

• On coupons at the office of a business partner

• On a direct mail piece

• In a shared mailing piece

• Signage on your vehicle

• On promotional products such as caps, mugs and towels

• In your voicemail messages

• On supermarket bulletin boards

• In your email signature

• Mention it when you're a guest on radio talk shows.

• In print ads

• In your chamber of commerce newsletter

• On your fax cover sheetsIn business directories

• On your embroidered shirt or bag

• In trade publications

• On your invoices

• On WebCards, four-color postcards with an image from your website on one side and a printed message on the back

• In other people's newsletters

• In newspaper and magazine letters to the editor

• In radio advertisements

• On refrigerator magnets

• On stickers attached to the outside of product packages

• In your own print or electronic newsletter

• Postcards to your customers

• Door hangers distributed in targeted neighborhoods

• Word of mouth