f course, you can’t control everything your clients read on the Internet. But you can offer people help in identifying the good from the bad.
“Obviously, there is a lot of information,” says Brenda Murr, vice president of Mermaid Pool, Spa & Patio in Anderson, Ind. “It’s a matter of trying to help consumers see through the shtick to discern what is valuable to them and what is actually a sales pitch.”
The following five tips will help put your customers on the right track:
Meet concerns head on.
When customers come in, ask them where they’ve been looking and what kind of information they’ve found on the Internet. This helps you see where they’re coming from and also clues you in on what attracts the most attention. If they’ve read specific claims that worry them, take them to the nearest computer, bring up the page and go over it with them.
Recommend sites you trust.
Because many people come into the process with little to no knowledge, they could use assistance in recognizing the more trustworthy sites. Lead them to the ones you trust.
Inform people about chat rooms and ratings pages.
Consumers may not realize that advertising affects the ratings on some Web sites. Provide tips on ways they can weed out suspicious-sounding chat-room participants. This includes emphatic endorsements or bad-mouthing of a particular brand or product.
Tell consumers to check for advertisers throughout these Web sites, and look for correlations between successful ratings and advertising.
Help shoppers wade through all the information.
The best things about the Internet also can be the worst — namely, all the misleading information. Explain to prospective customers the different horsepower ratings. Encourage them to read the fine print on warranty claims, and to find out who tested and determined the efficiency of particular models. Also, help them understand claims about insulation.
Advise consumers to seek multiple opinions.
People can’t get a true sense of the hot tub market based on one or even two opinions. But with several at their disposal, they’ll have a fuller picture and be better able to spot personal prejudices and false claims. They can also tell when manufacturers have established bad patterns vs. the occasional mistake that even the best make.
