How do MSPs and Resellers maximise value online?

While many MSPs and Resellers note a high volume of traffic hitting their sites, the problem is that given the relatively new and specialised nature of the cloud services industry, many of these hits are coming from non-potential clients who have somehow stumbled upon the site from generic marketing. Volume visits online don't necessarily equal sales particularly if your market is somewhat niche that's what's important to remember. So how do cloud service providers improve their online presence to increase sales?

One point that we all had a laugh at yesterday but has really stuck with me for its blatant honesty was, "Don't trust your own opinion." Obviously surrounded by leaders in their field this was a pretty horrifying statement for the majority, however nobody could argue with its relevancy. It's imperative that MSPS, resellers, and other cloud service suppliers, just like other more commercially based websites, use behavioural evidence and study their market in order to succeed. Your experience is nothing if it can't be backed up by statistics that reflect the exact audience which you are attempting to target!

A few additional points to highlight included:

• Ugly and functional is a better option than beautiful and non-navigational. Ok so none of us want an ugly website but the point is, no matter how advance the design is, if your customer can't get the information they need they'll get frustrated and leave. Fact.
• Simplify forms. Yes it can be hugely beneficial to collect some specific info on a lead form because that may help you decipher if this contact is actually a potential customer and not a time waster. If you have a specified criteria for provision of service, e.g. user-base size or geographical location, then by all means highlight this but know when to draw the line. If someone simply wants more information on your cloud services they don't want to spend 20mins addressing complex questions. Keep it short and give your sales team the time to work their magic.
• Make your top task do-able from your homepage. That is, decide what the prime purpose of your website is and make this immediately achievable. So say you want to increase sales of your hosted email archive service. The homepage will give a brief overview of this service with a direct link to where they can sign up for a trial or speak to a sales member regarding this specific service. Or if your website is solely for information purposes it won't be cluttered by random call-to action buttons thrown in for good measure.
• Don't waffle, do! In the IT service industry in particular, service and support is crucially important and many end-users who are unfamiliar with the technical side ofinternet security need that reassurance from a service provider that they will not be abandoned post-purchase. Don't promise a great support service in your marketing blurb, show it! Make sure your support area and live chat support facility is visible on your site, and any support docs are kept updated and jargon-free.
• Simplicity not complexity! (Picture Google designed by the normal design and marketing team… you get yahoo). Remember it's not all about telling people how great you are and how easy you are to work with, you can show potential customers these traits through a functional, easy-to use and easy to navigate website. Let your online presence reflect your brand. Forget the spin, consumers are becoming immune to it and you'll just disappear into the crowd.
• Speed is key! Online your customer is faceless and as such the normal social niceties often go out the window. They're at your website because they want information asap. They don't want to scroll through a product history lesson or a sales pitch they want to know how this will solve their IT problems, what it will cost them and how they can find out more. They're impatient. At the event yesterday Gerry McGovern spoke about how Bing added a 2 second delay to their search results which resulted in a 4% sales reduction. 2 seconds! Time directly equates to money.
• Never neglect the importance of advocacy. Customer reviews particularly from 3rdparty sites will bolster the integrity of your company and services in a way your mar/com, sales spin and fancy graphics never could.

Nothing too shocking about any of the above but it's just remembering to implement. For MSPs and Resellers in the cloud security and solutions industries it's easy to forget that many of your customers will not just be as clued in, to the latest terminologies or complex processes so don't over-complicate. However, there is a fine balance to be struck because over simplicity, in terms of generic keywords can be just as useless. For example using the word ‘email' to direct large volumes of traffic to your ‘search and discovery hosted 10 year email archive service', will bring you back to the current issue of many MSPs and Resellers recording huge volumes of traffic to their website mirrored with an extremely high bounce rate and few quality leads, making the sales process much more difficult than it needs be!