We spend a lot of time working with telecom agents on their websites and helping them improve their branding and lead generation. After browsing through hundreds of sites and helping telecom agents improve their marketing, here are some of the most common errors we see out there with telecom agent websites.
- Focusing on features, not benefits – I say this all the time, but it bears repeating. People do not buy because of features. They buy because of the benefits those features will bring them. In your website messaging, you MUST connect the dots for your readers. Don’t assume they will do it themselves, even though it seems obvious. SHOW them how the features of your services will make their lives easier or save them time or money.
- Language that is too “geeky” – We know you love telecom and technology and how it works, but most of your customers don’t care. Think about the last time you shopped for a TV. Did the sales person go into grave detail about the internal wiring of the television? No…they give you just enough technical data to help you make your decision, and instead they focus on selling you the experience. Your website should do the same thing. Save your geek talk for the dinner table.
- Missing a lead capture form - This is one of the biggest errors we see. How do you expect to grow your sales funnel if you don't have a way to capture leads on your website, preferably on your home page? Make it easy for your future customer to enter your funnel by offering some type of free report that answers a burning question they have. Once you have their email address, you can send them other relevant content periodically and begin to form a relationship that will lead to a sale.
- No differentiation – If your customer can’t perceive a difference between you and your competition, you’ve just set yourself up to be in a price war. You must first discover what truly makes you different or unique, and then highlight that difference. Do you specialize in a specific niche? Are your systems more advanced? Whatever it is, make sure people know. It will make your sales process much easier.
- Design that says “mom and pop” – Many telecom agents have constructed their own websites under necessity to just get something out there. And in most cases, something is better than nothing. But when it comes time to move upstream and you’re main competition is a carrier with oodles of cash to spend on marketing, your homemade website will make you look and feel silly. The good news is a good clean design doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
- Meaningless images – Images are VERY important on your site. Most people are very visual, so they will judge your site based on how it looks. Yet, many telecom agents we work with put the cart before the horse. They use images that “look cool” instead of using images that support the message. So a quick fix here is to think of the message you’re trying to portray first, then go image shopping with that idea in mind. When images and text work together, they create very powerful messaging.
- Non-intuitive navigation – This usually comes about with too many options, such as two horizontal navigation bars and another vertical. We’ve also seen multiple sub-menus, which requires advanced mouse-manuvering abilities. Too many choices are confusing and will cause your website visitor to bounce. Categorize your pages into logical groups, and remember to keep things as simple as possible.
- Missing or hard-to-find contact info – Many customers and prospects will look you up online in an effort to contact you, and that’s what you want them to do! So do not make your visitor go on a scavenger hunt to find your contact info. We recommend displaying your main phone number in big numbers in the upper right hand corner of your website header, and include a Contact Us page in your main navigation with all your pertinent info.
- No mystery – Everyone likes a little mystery. It causes us to take an action, like ask a question. If you spell out everything for your prospective customers, they will be more likely to disqualify themselves and leave your site without ever reaching out. Give them enough information to be intriguing, but not so much that they assume they are not a good fit and leave your site without contacting you.
- Black backgrounds with white text – Although this may look “cool or “techy,” it’s just too hard on the eyes. Again, we want to make the user experience easy and comfortable.
- Miniscule text – This seems simple but many telecom agent sites are loaded with tiny text. What’s the big deal? Can’t people just zoom in? Yes, they can, but you’ve just sent a subliminal message, “I don’t understand you and your needs and I’m not going to make this easy for you.” And that’s not a good message to send. Make your text easily readable.
- Anti-social – Customers are researching potential companies with which they want to do business much earlier than in the past, thanks to the Internet. Make it easy for your customers and potential customers to interact with you during the information gathering stage by displaying your social media links in an easy-to-find place.
- Flash – I know, it’s so pretty. But not one single person who owns an Apple product (PC, phone or iPad) can read it AT ALL. Google cannot read it either. You are a telecom agent, not a modeling agency, so you should be all about reaching customers on Apple products and through Google. If your site is built in Flash, unfortunately you’re just going to have to start over.
We hope you found these tips helpful! Are there any we missed? Please leave your suggestions in the comments below.
