Why Internet experts fail most businesses..

Has your business taken the road most travelled?

If it has, the chances of it being successful are minimal. Why?

Because most Internet ‘experts’ hand out the wrong advice. They believe it’s the right advice but all the evidence (if you look a little deeper) shows it’s not…..

Most businesses that look to start a web site will consult an ‘expert’. In fact if you have a small business you can’t avoid them. You will be receiving several calls a week from web site ‘designers’ wanting to sell you a web site

But small businesses have every right to feel uncomfortable about getting involved.

In my experience small business owners battle with 2 main issues. i)They do not understand enough about the technology to make an informed decision and ii) They talk with their peers who have not experienced much success from their site

So what happens to the business owner that despite this ‘streetwise’ evidence bites the bullet and decides to go for a site? He is taken down the same business model that has failed everyone else!

So what is that model?

It’s where web designers convince the business owner that their clients will be impressed with a technologically and visually impressive web site that also takes orders from the net

The fact is it’s the web designers that are deciding the content of the site because the business owner feels impeded by their own lack of knowledge. Web designers compete with themselves by who has the best looking and technologically advanced sites

Web designers will not tell site owners that words sell. Or that sometimes they do not need to take orders from their sites but develop a lead or an incoming phone call or visit as this is the most appropriate method for their business.

That’s why shopping carts don’t help most businesses. They make them look ‘cold’ and the same and therefore increase the competition

What’s made the business successful so far? Selfless customer service? The owners personality? Isn’t this what needs to be ‘sold’?

But then again a web designer would be laughed at by their contemporaries if all they did was put up a two page web site with a bio of the owner, testimonials, professional sales copy that encourages opening dialogue by whatever method. Yet in the vast majority of instances this approach would be of
much more use to the client

Of course emerging technologies should be included if they help sales. But if all they do is make the site and developer look good at the expense of sales it’s a pretty sorry state to be in. But that’s the reality. There has to be a balance and at the moment it all swings one way

It has lead to the crazy situation where all this hype exists about the benefits of the internet with little evidence of general success……and the small business owner threatening to do something physical to the*next*sales call he gets from a web designer:-)

A spiral of self defeating actions and reactions that show no signs of abating. This will not change until a new general model of operating appears. But its hard to be seen to go backwards in the face of technology racing forward even if it would mean becoming more successful

Crazy but true.
Regards
Andy


Sell Web Sites Like Wildfire...

Hi Andy,

I agree with you fully. The power of WORDS is phenomenal!

What you're talking about comes down to impressing the client's ego, rather than getting results for them....

You can put up a big fancy-pants web site, with all the bells, whistles, zing a dings and trumpets a blaring, to impress the client....

Until they look at the sales figures....

Or you can put up something which shows the benefits to the client's customers, has all the right WORDS, and is a big success when you look at the results.....

This reminds me of a story I read, by someone who makes infomercials....

(If I'm not mistaken, I think this story comes from Steven K. Scott, author of "Simple Steps to Impossible Dreams" and "A Millionaire's Notebook"....)

He was hired by the owner of a vacation fishing lodge to create a short infomercial for his lodge. So they spent some time around the lodge, shooting some great footage....

One of the prominent pieces of the infomercial they created was a shot of one of the guests, holding up a HUGE fish he had caught in the lake.... It showed one of the great BENEFITS of coming to stay at that lodge....

When the infomercial was done, they showed it to the owner. He was VERY disappointed. What about the nice soft cushy beds? What about those expensive fittings they had in the bathrooms? What about the wonderful pine his lodge was made from? NONE of those things were in the infomercial....

He wanted to pull the whole project right there. And he would have, if he hadn't already paid for the first infomercial to go to air! It was too late to pull it....

So, despite the owner's best efforts, the infomercial went to air...

When the infomercial went to air, to the owner's surprise, they couldn't keep up with all the calls!

They didn't complain after that....

But it illustrates, I think, what you're talking about Andy....

That many "experts" in fact are catering to pleasing the egos of their clients, rather than focusing on what their clients' CUSTOMERS want and getting successful results....

Which means they do fine, until the results come in....

Thanks for a very insightful post! What you said is very true!

- Dien

Hi Andy:

Of course I *had* to add my two cents worth here..
: )

> Most businesses that look to start a web
> site will consult an ‘expert’. In fact if
> you have a small business you can’t avoid
> them. You will be receiving several calls a
> week from web site ‘designers’ wanting to
> sell you a web site

Herein lies the first mistake that MANY, MANY people make. Being able to use softare to create a website does not make a person a "website designer" any more than being able to carve a turkey with your carving knife makes you a surgeon. Yet, it is true that there are many people who install their software and hang out their "website designer" shingle.

Quite often, these "pseudo designers" contact people like me and ask if I will do some of the work - invisibly, of course - for a fee so they don't have to fess up to the fact that they haven't a clue how to do the job they claim they can do.

Clue one to the consumer. If a "designer" calls you to make a pitch, check them out thoroughly. Know why? The people who are turning out sites that work don't have to advertise and we still can't keep up with the work coming in. When your work speaks for itself, you don't need to advertise - your customers do it for you.

> The fact is it’s the web designers that are
> deciding the content of the site because the
> business owner feels impeded by their own
> lack of knowledge. Web designers compete
> with themselves by who has the best looking
> and technologically advanced sites

In an ideal world, the website designer would be determining the content with the assistance of the client - and based on the needs of the customer. Same reason I defer to the doctor's opinion if I need surgery. He knows his field.
Sadly, that is not always true of website designers.

> Web designers will not tell site owners that
> words sell. Or that sometimes they do not
> need to take orders from their sites but
> develop a lead or an incoming phone call or
> visit as this is the most appropriate method
> for their business.

I am a website designer. Not a pseudo designer, but one that can tell you the difference between display on a Mac vs a PC. (yes, there IS one). One that can tell you why images can look different on the AOL browser. And more. To completely blow your generalization out the window..

1) WORDS SELL! Words are electric. People are magnetic. Put them together and you have magic!

2) NOT ALL MY CLIENTS HAVE SHOPPING CARTS. Just the ones that need them for products that demand instant gratification.

Let me also assure you...

3) Graphics sell, too. ZDNet just released a study in which they actually strapped gear onto the heads of surfers to SEE AND TRACK what they look at. Number one with the eyeballs every time? Graphics. BUT... if the graphics are accompanied by weak WORDS, the site did not sell! PAir a picture of the product with ELECTRIC WORDS and you have a winner. I'll save the tidbit about the hotspot on your page for later. : )

> What’s made the business successful so far?
> Selfless customer service? The owners
> personality? Isn’t this what needs to be
> ‘sold’?

People are magnetic. Yes. But, if the person is a nice guy and you sell the guy without paying proper attention to the product, that's a stupid move, too. Most individual components work best in synchronization with the whole.

I have taken sites that didn't have a shopping cart, added one, and shot the sales through the roof!! Literally. Ditto for dumping the cart on a site where personal contact was the touch needed. Where everything points to making that 1-800 call.

> But then again a web designer would be
> laughed at by their contemporaries if all
> they did was put up a two page web site with
> a bio of the owner, testimonials,
> professional sales copy that encourages
> opening dialogue by whatever method. Yet in
> the vast majority of instances this approach
> would be of
> much more use to the client

Personally, I have never worried about what my "contemporaries" have to say about me. They are not my clients. What I care about is what my clients say, and what my work does for their profit margin.

Stereotyping is not generally a good thing. : )

> Of course emerging technologies should be
> included if they help sales. But if all they
> do is make the site and developer look good
> at the expense of sales it’s a pretty sorry
> state to be in. But that’s the reality.
> There has to be a balance and at the moment
> it all swings one way

I AGREE 200%. Ironcially, if a site doesn't sell, does it really make the website designer look good? I think not!

Jakob Neilson said it well in one of his website useability reviews...

The biggest problem is that most people are (and always have been) bad content creators. That's why we have professional writers, graphic designers, filmmakers, speakers, musicians, and other types of media professionals.


A lot of people seem to be of the opinion that because they can create a website, they should.

> It has lead to the crazy situation where all
> this hype exists about the benefits of the
> internet with little evidence of general
> success……and the small business owner
> threatening to do something physical to
> the*next*sales call he gets from a web
> designer:-)

Success online depends on many variables, the website being only one of them. The business strategy behind it is an even bigger one. Pity that most people don't know they need one, and many designers don't even ask. They just build the site, charge the customer, and move on.

> A spiral of self defeating actions and
> reactions that show no signs of abating.
> This will not change until a new general
> model of operating appears. But its hard to
> be seen to go backwards in the face of
> technology racing forward even if it would
> mean becoming more successful

If you hired a construction company to build you a "brick and mortar" store, you wouldn't expect the finished store to come complete with customers. True?

The same applies when you build a website. Yet, many people don't realize this.

All the people armed with Frontpage and Pagemill and all those other programs don't realize it either. Or perhaps they prefer not to address it.
I have no idea where their thoughts are.

To add to the confusion, there is a "marketing program" fad running rampant on the Internet. Supposedly, if you "follow the program," success will follow. If I had a nickel for every person that has asked me why these programs aren't working for them, I'd rival Bill Gates for net worth!

The reason is simple. Marketing is one teensy weensy step of the path to success.

Funny thing is, the path to success is not hard to learn!

One of my clients, that doesn't even have a shopping cart, netted over 5 grand in orders from the site within 6 weeks of launch.

Another site has had to hire staff to fill orders.

I won't go on... you get the point, I'm sure.

But you're right - people need to learn what works in a way that is easy for them to understand. A program that isn't rehashed hype.

I am very proud to say that I have been working my butt off writing just such a program. I have pulled more late nights in the last 4 months than most people do in their lifetime.

It's a BIG dream - but I hope to be a small part of teaching people what REALLY works on the Internet and how to avoid lining anyone's pockets by paying for garbage that won't work for their specific business.

Wish me well... it's almost ready and I have people lined up and waiting for it! : )

You see, Andy, we "website designers" are not all cut from the same cloth. My grandpapa used to tell me that we should judge each man by his own merits and not to create labels based on generalizations.

Thanks for "listening" and I hope I've managed to slightly alter your opinion of "website designers." : )

Sincerely,
Linda Caroll


Website design... with a difference. (my sites work)

Hi Linda,

That was a great post! Very thought-provoking.... :)

> 1) WORDS SELL! Words are electric. People
> are magnetic. Put them together and you have
> magic!

I fully agree here.... Using the right words, in a particular way, can be incredibly powerful. It's due to the emotional power that words convey....

> 3) Graphics sell, too. ZDNet just released a
> study in which they actually strapped gear
> onto the heads of surfers to SEE AND TRACK
> what they look at. Number one with the
> eyeballs every time? Graphics. BUT... if the
> graphics are accompanied by weak WORDS, the
> site did not sell! PAir a picture of the
> product with ELECTRIC WORDS and you have a
> winner. I'll save the tidbit about the
> hotspot on your page for later. : )

I have to agree here too.... :) It's also to do with the emotions that graphics can convey....

An image can be so powerful, that seeing it only once can change the course of an election....

I read that in 1968, the US Presidential race was between the incumbent Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson (who was president after JFK's assasination), and Republican Barry Goldwater.

LBJ's campaign ran a TV ad that became very controversial. Here's a description....

A little girl is seen picking flowers in a big field with blue skies. An authoritative male voice is counting down. When the countdown finishes there is a big mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb.

The implication of the ad was that, if Goldwater was elected, he would plunge the US into nuclear war.

The ad was only run once, because it was so controversial. Nevertheless, the effect of this image was so strong that it helped Goldwater lose the election.

> To add to the confusion, there is a
> "marketing program" fad running
> rampant on the Internet. Supposedly, if you
> "follow the program," success will
> follow. If I had a nickel for every person
> that has asked me why these programs aren't
> working for them, I'd rival Bill Gates for
> net worth!

> The reason is simple. Marketing is one
> teensy weensy step of the path to success.

I'd say that 95% of the books or other marketing materials I've come across tend to say essentially the same thing.... There are a few which stand out from the crowd though (such as Remote Hypnosis).

I still believe it's worth reading widely, since some books are worth reading just because of one chapter, or even in some cases just a few pages can be worth the price....

> I am very proud to say that I have been
> working my butt off writing just such a
> program. I have pulled more late nights in
> the last 4 months than most people do in
> their lifetime.

> It's a BIG dream - but I hope to be a small
> part of teaching people what REALLY works on
> the Internet and how to avoid lining
> anyone's pockets by paying for garbage that
> won't work for their specific business.

> Wish me well... it's almost ready and I have
> people lined up and waiting for it! : )

That's great Linda! I am confident that your program will help people make it, and to enjoy success!

Thanks Linda.... I like those who aren't afraid of "rattling the cage" a bit.... :)

- Dien

I *expected* you to add your 2 cents worth when you dropped in:-)

So let's get a couple of things clear. Precisely none of my criticsms of web designers were levelled at you. I have been aware of your work and site for sometime......I have even recommended you a couple of times on Taylors board

You Linda, are certainly no ordinary designer. I am talking about the average 'follow the trend even though it does not work' type.

I also agree that graphics can help sell too. And I understand your comments about gaining results when you have initiated different graphics. But would it have made any difference if the words were'nt right in the first place? I doubt it
Graphics can help words sell....no doubt. But graphics could not sell alone without words

What I was trying to point out is that *most* (in fact the vast majority of designers) have taken the small business down the wrong path completely

The instigation of their sites has been driven by the hype of e-commerce and the drive of the designer to impress his peers with his level of techie expertise. This has lead to shopping carts with flash intros that most of the time do zip for the business
(After you have waited 2 mins for the intro to load you are going to see converging and colourful images moving about the screen right?)
They all look the same (through the drive to use the same technology) and are so cold. No personality of the small business comes over. Businesses just do not operate this way

What this trend has lead to is 10,000 widget makers trying to get their shopping cart in the top 10 on sarch engines

When it is very much my argument that a 3 or 4 page site with a bio of the owner explaining why the business is successful in that*locality* is the best way to go.

Most of these businesses have become successful through using their efforts to generate leads, phone calls or an initial dialogue. Their best interests would be served by viewing the internet as an extension of their *offline* efforts....(now if that three or four page site had the quality of graphics you offer so much the better)

But because the techies can generate oreders in the hype of ecommerce and to show off their techie skils thats what they do

And now they have dug themselves a big hole. Sales resistance from small businesses is on the increase as they are beginning to realise that this is not the holy grail the hype told them it would be. The fact is it could be......but the job has been made so much harder by the industry itself

Dont you agree?

Look forwadr to hearing from you:-)
Regards
Andy




NEW and FREE resources to sell web sites like wildfire..

I hope you already have realised that the generalistions I used were there to create a response:-)

There is good and bad in all walks of life. Most designers are not deliberately misleading their clients they are just not taking the path that will benefit them most

Some are:-) Will you forgive my generalistion for the sake of debate?
Regards
Andy


NEW and FREE resources to sell web sites like wildfire..

Hi Andy!

> I hope you already have realised that the
> generalistions I used were there to create a
> response:-)

Yes, I figured that. *g* When one wants to fish, one has to throw out the bait.

> There is good and bad in all walks of life.
> Most designers are not deliberately
> misleading their clients they are just not
> taking the path that will benefit them most

I think a lot of designers mislead themselves and their clients by their own lack of knowledge. Many actually believe that all they need to know is how to use their software.

I also think that with the frenzy of joint venturing, bartering and such that's out there, people "do" mislead other people to get what they want. Here's a prime example;

I had a lady contact one of my employees. (my perl programmer) and ask her if she'd be interested in doing a freelance job. It seems this woman "traded" services with another company to get some free PR. In exchange, she promised to create their website. Except all she knew how to do was use Frontpage, and the website she needed to create needed a database. So she was trying to find someone to do the work for another trade, so she could have the pr SHE was trading for.

Think that's a remote example? Nope.

I had another "website designer" contact me and ask me "how much" to do her client's website invisibly because she didn't know what those "SSI things" are, and the client wanted hand coded pages and she didn't know how to use anything other than Pagemill.

Then there was the magazine columnist that contacted me and asked me what she could trade me to do her agent's website because she'd traded it in a pr barter, but didn't know how to create a website. Of course, her agent didn't know that.

This crap happens DAILY!

Then there was the owner of a website development company. A big company. The kind that offers flash and all the bells and whistles. He emailed personally to ask me why he wasn't getting anyone signing up for his newsletter. "What newsletter?" I asked, "ther isn't one on your website." Oh yes, the one in the popup, he insisted. Turns out the popup only worked in ONE browser. An OLD version at that. He didn't know that.

> Some are:-) Will you forgive my
> generalistion for the sake of debate?

Of course.

You see, a lot of those "pseudo-designers" are a pain in the neck. Actually the pain is a lot lower than that, but I do like to try watch my manners. *laughing*

But, I am the one that follows those people around the net, cleaning up their mistakes when their customers realize that their websites aren't working. I am the one that listens to people say "but I already PAID to have it done ONCE. Why do I have to pay again? How much will you charge me to fix it up and make it work right?" *sigh*

Sometimes, I can fix it up. Other times, it's cheaper to throw it all away and start fresh.

Incidentally, I'd like to share a tidbit I got in my email yesterday. It made my day.

I got a letter from a client asking for a quote to add additional pages (work samples) to his site. He said...

(quote)
After reviewing sales with our sales force, approximately 75% of our upscale buyers reviewed our web site before buying. Pat on the back for
you.
(unquote)

Incidentally - that's one of the clients that doesn't even HAVE a shopping cart. *laughing*

Have a good one!

Linda




Your image - is my business

Linda --

I can relate to all of this. Had a fellow indirectly referred to me by someone at church. Seems his original designer never had the site working but had dropped it to go start his own web hosting/design business.

I took the site, fixed it, got the scripts working. Took about 2 hours. The guy to this day is amazed. It's still paying off for me. He doesn't have a shopping cart either! But he does have an order form now.

Keep pointing people in the right direction - some will hear you.

-- Dan Butler
The Naked PC

> But, I am the one that follows those people
> around the net, cleaning up their mistakes
> when their customers realize that their
> websites aren't working. I am the one that
> listens to people say "but I already
> PAID to have it done ONCE. Why do I have to
> pay again? How much will you charge me to
> fix it up and make it work right?"
> *sigh*