The website for your electrical contracting company is the 24/7 face of your brand. Most likely, it will be the first impression many potential clients get of your business. Your site should be a source of information and education as you display the best of your talents and everything that your electrical contracting company has to offer.
It takes about 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about your website and 75% of consumers admit to making judgments on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design. Your website design should be working for you, not against you. It should help you establish and build your brand.
Following are some features that consumers have come to expect and a few that can make you stand out from the competition.
Images and Videos
Text is outperformed by images and videos alike. Promote your services with images and videos that give people the opportunity to learn more about what you do and how you can help with whatever their electrical situation may be. “How-to” videos or “Look for these issues” pictures can help illustrate when someone should contact a professional electrical contractor (you) for assistance. Show behind the scenes clips of you and your employees to help people get a feel for your personality and the personality of your company.
Color Scheme
Visually appealing colors will catch the viewers’ eye and communicate with potential customers at a subconscious level. People tend to determine subconsciously whether or not something is interesting and colors speak the language of the subconscious. The color palette you choose for your site should follow brand protocol.
Since you have to start somewhere, work with contrasting colors to ensure content is visible against the backgrounds and then use some A/B testing to compare options. Marketing consultants like those at SDM have the skills and experience to help you understand what is working and what isn’t.
Be Concise
The landing page of your website should focus on your key message. A site visitor should be able to, with minimal effort, quickly scan and understand what your brand is all about, what services you offer, and how they can contact you. Consumers don’t tend to read thick blocks of text so use bullet points, lists, and lots of images. The more quickly and easily visitors can find the information they are looking for, the greater the user experience.
Intuitive Navigation
The path a site visitor takes to move from one web page to the next should be clear and easy to navigate. Feature top bar menus to make sure visitors can quickly and smoothly move between pages regardless of the device they are using. Use Google Analytics to understand how previous visitors have engaged with your website to understand which paths visitors use to navigate through your site. This will also provide valuable information regarding conversion rates, page popularity and more. Ask a friend or family outside of your organization to test the navigation of your site to gain an objective view on the functionality you’ve set up.
Responsive and Friendly
Mobile friendly, mobile optimized, and responsive design are related and yet distinct concepts. Visitors will expect a consistent experience in regards to viewing and navigating around your website, regardless of the type of device they are using. Visitors will quickly leave your site if it doesn’t meet their performance expectations. For more on this topic, see our article:
What You Need to Know About the Mobile Version of Your Website
Contact Information
Provide your contact information on every page of your website and offer multiple channels for contact. Include multiple channels of contact including a site form, your email address, any social networks on which you are active, the main company phone number, etc. Be sure to respond to communications professionally and in a timely manner. The key is not to offer communication channels that you are unwilling to check regularly.
Offer Ballpark Ideas of Pricing
Obviously, no two electrical situations will be priced exactly the same as details will vary from one to the next. That being said, it is helpful to offer price ranges to let people know a general idea of what they might pay for different services you offer, any general service fees you charge, and so on.
Meet the Staff Page
This page of your website helps potential clients make connections with you, your staff, and your brand. Consumers like to understand the bigger picture of an organization, what makes it tick, and a bit of history of how you came to be. Share what makes you different from your competition and include an “About Us” section that highlights the expertise and experience of you and your employees.
Include Customer Reviews
Satisfied customers are the best promoters of any business. Positive reviews from existing customers are an excellent marketing tool to help generate new business. Customer reviews provide reassurance to potential customers and should be prominently featured on all of your web pages. BrightLocal found that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Community
Use a page on your website to show how your business is involved with local charities such as food banks, shelters, or animal rescues. Feature information when you sponsor a local event like a charity race or t-shirts for a Little League team. Be sure to sponsor causes that will be meaningful to you and your customers. Participate in local business groups like the Chamber of Commerce or your town’s business association and provide links to those community groups.
Social Media
Offer social network widgets (connections to your social profiles) along with the other information in your header or footer. You can also use your social media posts to direct traffic to your website. On the platforms where you can post a direct link, do so, and on others, like Instagram, include a vanity URL that is easy to type into an address bar in a web browser.
Feature a Blog
Blog posts are a great way to share the latest news in the world of electrical services and information about common issues your company has encountered. An excellent point to make in any of your blog articles is, “THIS is when you should call a professional!” The trick is to commit to regular blog posts. Whether it is weekly or monthly, create a posting calendar that covers content and timelines for your blog articles.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A page on your site dedicated to FAQs about common electrical situations may have is a self-help feature for your existing and prospective customers. It is a resource that is available 24/7 and saves your time for more engaging interactions with clients. Include the answers to common questions you and your staff receive via email, phone calls, or in person. You can also use answer portions to direct clients and potential clients to other pages of your website that more thoroughly address the given topic.
The ultimate goals of your website are to increase brand awareness and recognition and to convince people to use your electrical contracting services. If your website lacks intuitive navigation or contains too much information, people will probably move on to another company. If your website is sleek, informative, device responsive with amazing navigational features, and showcases the best your business has to offer, visitors will be more likely to engage and click the “Let’s Get Started” call to action.
The experts at Strategy Driven Marketing have extensive experience in the development and creation of engaging websites for businesses of all sizes and across a number of industries. We understand the important role a website plays for an electrical contracting company. Our team would love to learn more about your business so we can help you offer an effective and engaging website that will let you maximize your revenue potential. Contact us today – let’s get started!