How easy is it to contact you?

dave_siskin-11-2015-contact-iconContact information is perhaps the most important part of marketing or advertising.  Without a way for a customer to take action, all of your efforts are for nothing.  Yet surprisingly, this is one area that often is overlooked.

About 30 years ago a company had one of the most brilliant advertising concepts that became one of a total failure.  I don’t remember the company’s name or what they sold.  It may have been jewellery findings.  They took an expensive full page ad in a national magazine targeting amateur lapidaries and jewellery makers.  In the ad they listed phone numbers for some of the most important people in the world; the President of the United States, the Pope, the Queen of England and about a dozen more.  They ended the ad with the phrase: “But when you need jewellery findings, call us.”  However there was one small problem.  Nowhere in the as was a single mention of their phone number!   The ad ran for more than 3 years before they caught the mistake.

Today ease of contact is more important than ever.  Modern consumers live in the moment and want to be able to take action immediately.  If they can’t do it easily they will move on to someone else and you may have lost them forever.

W.A.Y.M.I.S.H.

This is an acronym that should be at the top of your mind while doing any marketing.  It stands for: Why Are You Making It So Hard?  If you make it difficult or cumbersome to contact you, they won’t do it.

Almost all websites have a contact page.  Most are simply a listing of phone numbers or email addresses.  That is fine and every website should have it.  Others use complex forms to be filled out that require the customer’s contact information and even some demographics.  The worst may include a security feature like Captcha where you must enter a series of numbers or answer a simple question to prove you area real human being.   The more effort a consumer needs to make, they are less likely to contact you.

In addition to a contact page, your email address and phone number needs to be prominent on every page.  It is best if they are active links so making contact is a one click operation.  This is even more important when viewed on a mobile platform.  Most smartphones can recognise phone numbers and email addresses and initiate instant contact so be sure your information is visible on every page.  You want them to be able to take action when their interest is at its peak. You print ads also need to have clear contact information to include your physical address, website, email and phone number.

Help them find you

Make it easy for you potential customers to visit your physical location.  Every website and print ad needs to have a map.  Google maps are the easiest to use.  You webmaster should be able make the map into a hot link that will open a smartphone’s GPS mapping app to provide instant directions from their location to yours.  A QR code on you print ad can perform the same function.

Double check it now

Even if you are positive you have you contact info everywhere it needs to be, taking a little time right now to verify it can set your mind at ease.  Check every page of your website on both your desktop and you mobile platforms.  Click on all contact links to be certain they work.  You don’t want to discover problems after the holidays, or even worse, a few years from now.

Leave a Reply