The Unwritten "Law of You" - Rick Beneteau
The Internet is a lawless frontier. Like the days of the Wild, Wild
West, it is slow to establish any kind of order. There are now more
webpages in the world than human beings. This uncontrolled binary
overpopulation can leave newcomer Netrepreneurs dazed and confused as they
attempt to tackle the fundamental question: "how can I even begin to
compete in this new world forum?".
They KNOW they must, or be left in the RealWorld dust. They simply have
to follow the world where the world is starting to shop - the Internet.
Especially the business-to- business sector, where most of the Internet
dollars are exchanged. But take heart, consumers will quickly follow as
the first truly computer literate generation heads out the college doors
to begin the shop-from-the-comfort-of-your-home trend, and, hopefully
teach mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and definitely their children that
the Net is a relatively safe and obviously convenient place to purchase
the goods and services we all require.
With that said, common sense dictates that the same set of
business laws apply to CyberBusiness as do Mainstreet U.S.A. Although
theoretically true, the Net can feel like an awesome, featureless,
faceless landscape whose foundation is but countless trillions of zero’s
and one’s. A lonely place, with an overabundance of mediocrity. And
sadly to say, a disproportionate share over it’s Realworld business
brethren of sham, scam and flim-flam artists.
Lo and behold, there is an Unwritten Law that when applied to common
sense marketing and basic webdesign applications (a lot of information on
these subjects can be found in this forum), can make you shine like a
beacon in this formidable universe. It is the "Law of You". As
master of your corner of CybersSpace, you have the power to separate your
website (your business) from the rest of the madding crowd. How? The
answer is as simple as it is "big". Let me explain.
I have done enough surfing in my researching efforts to
learn that there are 3 kinds of websites.
- Those that don’t say much of anything.
- Those that speak at you.
- Those that speak "to" you.
The latter group is few and far between in this ocean of bytes but they
reach out and touch you like an old friend recounting childhood stories.
They speak your language from the get-go, like a familiar song. You get a
distinct sense of the website author/owner and with that comes an almost
instant feeling of security and trust. An ongoing national insurance
companies jingle, which we all can sing by rote – "Like a Good
Neighbor…" comes to mind.
Why is it that certain business websites can create this
"these-are-good-guys" feeling? Simple. They project the
personality of the business owner, or, YOU.
I typically wonder who is behind a certain website that piques my
interest. Did the owner care about how he presented this to me? Does
he/she seem like a caring person, someone I would really like to do
business with? What is his/her personality like? Sometimes I go to the
extreme and guess if its' creator is a man or woman, younger or older, and
would this person be the kind of person I could be friends with?
I have the business affiliations in my business, InterNiche.net,
mainly because this "good-guys" feeling happened to me. Be it in
an email letter, business presentation or company website, I chose my
partners based on the personalities they "originally" portrayed.
Of course, other critical factors entered into our decisions, however, if
I didn’t get the "warm and fuzzies" along with the feeling
that these companies offered great products/valuable services and, had all
their business ducks in a row, well I simply would not be featuring them
here. I chose partners that reflected my core business beliefs and basic
personal philosophies.
This "sense of personality" is key if your intention is to
not only sell on the Internet, but keep selling. It is the Unwritten Law
of You. As there are no hard and fast rules for this Law because
businesses/websites vary greatly, the overall objective is to put as much
of "you" in your online presentations as you can. Make people
feel they are dealing with you face-to-face and not a million miles away
in the dark of CyberSpace. Project the same friendliness you would afford
them if they were standing right there at your counter or having coffee in
your office. Speak to them in your website as you would on the street.
Don’t just display your product pics and descrips and hope they buy.
Converse with them, project that warmth, make them feel like you’re that
"Good Neighbor". And "you will be there" come thick or
thin because they are your customer. Be a person instead of a website.
Sell yourself, not just your products.
Follow this good advice, apply my Unwritten Law and you will see
results that will surely knock your cybersocks off!
Written by Rick
Beneteau
© All Rights Reserved
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Rick
Beneteau is the author of the best-selling marketing
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http://www.ezinemoney.net
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