Hello, My Name is Christine and I’m Approachable – Are You?
Are you approachable to customers, potential new clients and partners? Scott Ginsberg literally wrote the book on how to be more approachable in business. His now very successful and highly publicized business began like most great ideas – on accident. One day Scott attended an event at his college where he wore a “Hello, My Name is Scott†nametag. After the event, he decided to leave the nametag on and noticed that strangers all over campus began approaching him.
That was 6 years ago and Scott hasn’t removed the nametag since.
His success begs the question; how can you make yourself more approachable? For those that have an online presence, this can be tricky. You know that you are more than just a 2 dimensional website, but do your customers?
Here are some ideas for conveying a sense of approachability on your website:
Publish your photo
The way business is conducted has changed dramatically since the days of old, but people haven’t. In general, people still want to know who they are dealing with and that there is in fact a face behind the website.
Open the lines of communication
The web is the ideal medium for communication! Offer several ways for clients to communicate with you such as through live chat, email, phone, comments, etc. Then get back to people ASAP with customized, non-canned responses.
Open up
Blogs are a great way to give your readers insight about yourself, your interests, and your life. Go Daddy’s CEO Bob Parson’s reveals a lot about himself on his blog and through his podcasts. I gained even more loyalty for SEO Guru Rand Fishkin after watching his marriage proposal. People are much more likely to approach you if they know that you really are a human, not just some web bot.
That is why business networking clubs like the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and BNI work so well. It is easy to do business and refer business to people you feel you “know.” I especially like the idea of publishing your photo online. It is amazing how much better you feel doing business with someone when you know what they look like!