Online marketing has changed the game for selling IT services. The cost of developing and hosting a website is insignificant to the amount of money it can generate.
With more people going online for purchase information, companies with a strong, compelling online presence will ultimately win more IT services sales.
What Does Your Website Say About Your IT Services Firm?
Unlike direct mail, yellow pages, networking and other marketing mediums, a website works 24/7/365, shrinks the IT sales process and produces instant results.
Websites can also fuel referrals and word-of-mouth advertising. When a friend refers a company, what is the first thing you do?
You check out their website.
When your clients tell others about your IT services, ask this:
- Will they be impressed with your site?
- Will they have a reason to opt in or join your mailing list?
- Does your homepage messaging clearly communicate what you do and why you’re a better option than competitors?
People go online to vet IT services firms before picking up the phone. If you want to be on the receiving end, you can’t have a couple pages that give no reason to stay, revisit or buy something.
Turn Your Website Into An IT Services Selling Machine
Your website can be a powerful vehicle for selling IT services. Here are 6 things you can do to instantly improve the effectiveness of your website:
1. Call out your best customer in a compelling homepage title
Your website header is the first thing website visitors see. Call out who you’re targeting and what your IT services can do for them. Too many websites fail to communicate what the company does. Don’t make the same mistake with your site.
For example, here’s an effective headline I’ve used with several clients:
“Are You a Small Business Owner That is Tired of Waiting Around for Your Current Computer Guy to Call You Back, Follow Up and Fix Your Computer?
Are You Concerned About the Security of Your Data? Would You Like to Find a Way to Offload the Headaches and Frustration of Computer Problems Finally and Forever?
Then You’ve Come to the Right Place!”
Don’t worry about the length; the headline on ANY marketing campaign accounts for most of the response. Clients won’t mind reading long headlines — if they’re interesting. Countless A/B tests have proven that a long, interesting headline beats a short, boring one any day.
2. Localize your website for increased SEO power
Want an effective way to automate lead generation and selling IT services? Add local SEO elements to your website.
Optimizing your website for local search helps point new, qualified prospects to your site. By aligning your website content with the services your ideal customer is looking for, you’ll improve the chances of appearing in the organic search results for these queries.
First, identify your primary service area. If you’re in Chicago, that’s likely the area you’ll want to target.
If your bread-and-butter is IT services, add “Chicago IT Services” to your homepage title, homepage H1 and naturally throughout the page. Instead of competing on a national level, you’ll narrow your competition to local IT services firms — and be more likely to get in front of people searching “IT services” in your area.
3. Use easy-to-read fonts
If you want visitors to READ your site, don’t make the font grey or light colored or use reverse copy (dark background and light letters).
To improve readability, avoid tiny fonts and don’t put pictures behind the text.
4. Put a FREE offer on your website and SELL it as if it costs money
Not everyone who visits your website will be ready to purchase IT services on the spot. You need to collect emails and remarket your services through other channels like email. When they’re ready to purchase IT services, your firm will be top of mind.
Do everything possible to get visitors to opt into your website and give you their contact information so you can follow up.
My favorite is a free report, but you can also promote:
- A free recording of a teleseminar or interview with a good client
- A free service (for example, one free service call or free spam filtering for a month).
5. Use testimonials and client success stories
Customer review aren’t just nice to have on your website. Sixty-one percent of customers read online reviews before making a purchase decision.
Visitors are far more likely to read customer reviews than dry text about your IT services. When the benefits of your IT services are wrapped into a real-life case study, readers can more easily understand HOW your expertise helps other business owners.
6. Make it easy for visitors to reach you
Have you ever Googled your company? Is your company contact information consistent across your website, Google, Yelp and other online directories? Having the wrong contact information is just one way your website might be failing at selling IT services.
Beyond correct and readily available contact information, how else do you allow visitors to get in touch?
Many computer consulting firms only have a “contact us” form on their website.
This is a HUGE mistake.
What about those people who need IMMEDIATE help? I strongly suggest you have a “computer crisis” hotline that, if nothing else, goes to an answering service that can screen and forward calls to you.
Remember, lack of responsiveness is the No.1 reason business owners fire their current computer consultant and look for someone else.
Don’t Wait to Jumpstart Your Website: Start Selling IT Services Online
You have a business to run. Creating marketing campaigns just isn’t worth your time or in your wheelhouse.
Technology Marketing Toolkit provides everything you need to start effectively selling IT services online. From website templates to SEO plans to email marketing campaigns, you get complete marketing resources to generate IT leads and close more sales online.
Ready to start driving more interest to your IT services? Learn more about the Technology Marketing Toolkit here.
