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Jonathan Sweet - Remodeling Notes


Jay Sweet
As senior editor of Professional Remodeler, a lot of information crosses my desk. This blog will be a chance to share some of that with you, with an immediacy not possible with a monthly magazine. It's also your chance to tell me what you think about what I have to say. Whether you agree or disagree, I hope you won't be shy.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

If you don't have a good site, you won't get my business

Aug 21 2008 2:43PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |
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Here's a real-world example of why having a good website is so important.

We're looking to get a fence built around our backyard. So after getting the names of some fence companies that have worked in our neighborhood, I had a list of seven companies. Three were out right away because they either didn't have good websites or didn't have them at all. 

The other four all clearly explained the fence options and materials with multiple photos, FAQs, etc., but only two made the cut for estimates. Why? Because they were the two that allowed me to make an appointment on the site, communicate with them by e-mail and never have to pick up a phone and sit on hold. 

I do everything else online from picking out a car to ordering pizza. Why shouldn't I be able to do this?

This idea is nothing new. I've written about why this is important when reaching Xers and Echo Boomers plenty of times (here and here, to name two places), but it bears repeating (again and again and again).

Reader Comments


at 8/23/2008 2:43:49 PM, Grumpy old man said:
You can call me that, but I don't believe we're going to see most clients act this way. Face-to-face contact is what makes a sale, not fancy websites.

at 8/25/2008 9:15:49 AM, Jonathan Sweet said:
Face to face contact is what makes the sale, certainly. We chose our fence contractor (even with a higher price) because we liked their presentation better. But they never would have gotten to make that presentation without a tech-savvy site!

at 8/26/2008 5:51:09 PM, David said:
A professional looking web site is an important tool for making a good first impression. When I get a phone contact I immediatly refer them to my web site. This achieves several important goals. First of all it shows the potential client what we are about. If they don't like what they see they can move on. It provides a preliminary contact point, and it also provides design ideas. Web sites DO help make the sale My bottom line proves it.

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