Your Contact Us Page is one of the most important pages on your website. Your Contact Us Page should offer multiple contact options and show that assistance is only a click, phone call, email, chat or personal visit to your store or office away. I know that this is contrary to the conventional wisdom of having a website to avoid having every potential customer contact your team, but a departure from conventional thinking can often be a difference that separates you from your online competition.  Most of the clients that I work with realize increased profits from creating easy access to team members than can answer questions. Most sites place their phone number in the header and have the contact us page linked to the main navigation of the website.  Here are some additional tips on making contact from your website easy.

1.  Add contact us buttons throughout the site.
2. Create contact us for more information on pricing and other call to action hyperlinks within internal site navigation.
3. Use different call to action requests on buttons and internal hyperlinks like “Can We Help?”, “Talk to A Representative”, or “Email for a Quick Quote”.
4. Offer Online Chat on your website.  There are services that man the chat and send leads to you via email or skype.
5. Include a map and driving directions on your contact us page if you are a local business.  If you are a national firm, consider providing a search for the retailer or office nearest you. Be sure to include your hours of operation for each store and office if you are encouraging in person visits.
6. Keep your online contact form as brief as possible. The easier it is to give you the information, the more likely that the form will be completed.
7. Respond as quickly as possible to every online lead and inquiry, Immediate is best, but the quicker the response to an inquiry, the more likely that you will have the first shot at earning that business of the potential customer.

The point is everyone is different. If you don’t have a contact option that works for them, they may skip it, and the sale, too. Sometimes, a contact option is nothing more than security. Having a phone number visible provides the security that someone will be able help them, which makes them feel confident that you’ll also answer your email promptly. To these types, the phone number provides confidence and security.

The more options you provide, the more secure the shopper becomes about your ability to assist them in a time of need.

Bottom Line:  When a website shows a strong commitment to creating customer contact in the method that the customer prefers, the likelihood of starting a conversation with a customer that may lead to a sale is greatly enhanced. Most companies do not have websites that can sell for them, but do not minimize the opportunity to have your website give you the first shot at filling a client’s needs.

Eric Van Cleave is a Partner in Zenergy Works, a Santa Rosa, California based Website Development, SEO and Online Marketing Firm.