Businesses that offer a service with a large ticket price or an emotional component often experience a longer buying cycle. By buying cycle, I mean that there is a customized consultation with the prospect, maybe a lengthy proposal, and in some cases the buyer is not immediately ready to sign the contract because additional preparation steps are required.
A good example of this is real estate. A Realtor® usually expects to meet and greet potential customers and talk to them about possible properties before signing any official agreement for representation. They may even show the prospect multiple properties before becoming the exclusive agent. This type of transaction is about building a relationship and gaining the trust of the buyer.
A website is still one of the strongest selling tools in a service business’s portfolio. It may just be in a different way than a traditional e-commerce website. The website serves as the online marketing hub – the core of the Internet reputation. Reputation is the keyword. The website is the starting point to form that relationship, demonstrating your reputation to the visitor. Each element on the website has the potential to build trust and, in turn, convert the visitor into a real prospect and eventually a real buyer.
With this in mind, your strategy should be to build trust in your service and create a high-reputation impression with your website.
Elements that contribute to building trust include:
- Post great customer reviews, complete with a bold quote and a photo of the person who stated it.
- Photos of your happy customers using your services. A photo of a real, happy couple in front of their newly purchased home is a powerful image for a real estate consultant.
- Video testimonials that capture a real customer saying something not only positive about your business but describing a benefit and the positive impact on them.
- Statistics of success that highlight the potential effects after using your service.
- Case studies that give detail about a problem that you solved with your service.
- Awards and special recognition, with a logo if available.
Also, this type of relationship-style service will probably require an interview process and deeper conversation to assess the buyer’s needs. So a combination of phone numbers and online forms is usually a good idea.
