Puff Out Your Chest

Just a quick note on some thoughts on web credibility and how to position your company today...

You
should always aim for your online appearance to be one step beyond what
you actually are. Puff out your chest. Look bigger, fancier, shinier.
Appearance is everything. If I learned one thing from staying up too
late in 1984 is that it's better to look good than to feel good.

What
I mean is that if you're a neighborhood store and you have an online
presence it should look like you're city wide. If you're city wide it
should look like you service the whole region. If you're regional it
should look like you're a national company. If you're national it
should be international. If you're international you should look next
level. Always look bigger and better than you think you are. Push for
that next level. It's not even about growth really, though if you
appear like you are you certainly won't see growth. In fact if you don't push for that next level you'll risk shrinking.

It's
about the credibility this time around. If you're an accountant who
wants to build a firm, what should your website look like? Should it
look like a 40 year old starting fresh working from the spare room
above their garage, or should it look like a professional firm that's
been in business for 100 years? Should your new restaurant online look
like a local dive bar, or like one of the coolest places to hang in the
city? It's not misrepresentation, because maybe you really are just a
40 year old working from home, but that doesn't mean you're not a good
bet. You're showing your credibility by having a high quality, non
template, designed experience. A template site your cousin's son builds
in Front Page just won't cut it, and you know it.

Think
next level, and have your stuff look like you're bigger than you are,
and you'll see more success online. Be bigger than you are. Puff out
your chest.