what makes a great site
Stay in touch
Research shows that customers visit a site an average of five times before they make a purchase. Research also shows that if a person has made one purchase at a site, the likelihood of a second purchase increases by 38%. Because of this pattern, it's important to entice visitors to come back. Consider collecting e-mail addresses so you can offer visitors incentives to return. You may also wish to publish a monthly or quarterly newsletter to stay in touch with prospective customers on a regular basis.
Build a community
If you live in a progressive community, you are likely to have almost everything you need within a few miles of your home. You most likely spend time in that community and do most of your shopping close to home.
If possible, build such a community with your Web site. You’ll attract clients and prospects and make them want to come back. There are many ways to build a Web community including:
- Web Logs (Blogs)
- Industry news and links
- Online forums to provide customer support or to allow clients to exchange ideas among themselves
- Freebies
- Downloadable files
- Technical advice