Here’s a quick lesson for small businesses on the value of building trust online. And when you interact with potential customers over the phone. It also highlights the benefits absolute necessity of creating a small business website that is professional, informative and inspires trust, like Carlsbad Village Lock & Key’s website did for me.
Need a quick solution–do an online search
Usually when I need house-related services, I ask my friends and only use people to perform services in my home that my friends know and trust. But Wednesday an outside lock just gave out and we couldn’t close it. We needed a same day locksmith-solution. No two ways about it. No time to get a referral from friends or neighbors.
The value of Google Places
As a small business owner myself, I also wanted to give my business to another small business. So I just Googled “locksmiths San Diego” and found an organic listing near the top of the first page. When I clicked over to the company’s website, I didn’t like the look of the page—it was just too crowded with 1990’s type of fonts and text. It did not have a Better Business Bureau badge on the home page. But I was in a hurry and called the number anyway.
A guy answered with just his name so I had to verify that he was “ABCD locks” (not the real business name). Anyway, he gave me a price quote that was about what I expected to pay for same day service. But I just didn’t feel good about him based on the sloppy look of his website and the unprofessional way he answered his phone.
My husband suggested I do another online search and check out “Carlsbad locksmiths” (our town, which is 20 miles north of San Diego). Duh… so I did and found two small businesses that were in my town. A quick review of the Google Local pages reviews for first Carlsbad locksmith listed made me nervous. Too many reviews and many were negative.
Instant Trust with a Professional Website
Then I clicked over to the website for the second locksmith listing under Local Places, Carlsbad Village Lock and Key. I was a happy camper before I even dialed their number—here’s what I found:
- A very nice looking website, not an over-the-top design
- Excellent use of content marketing with all the information I could want—FAQs, Testimonials, products, services—well designed and easy to navigate
- A Better Business Bureau (BBB) badge
- Even a “Satisfaction Guaranteed” badge!
For me, this translated to “instant trust”. And then when I called Carlsbad Village Lock & Key, Craig Pahl answered so professionally—inspiring even more trust. Then he said he was booked for a couple of days and I panicked. Craig—who did not even know me except that I was a stressed homeowner with a broken lock, asked about the lock and the problem. I got my husband, Jim, who supplied the lock manufacturer and problem info. All I could say was, “it won’t turn”. (I know—it’s a guy thing to grasp these crucial mechanical details. I just don’t pay attention to brands of locks.)
So Craig at Carlsbad Village Lock & Key told my husband a couple of things to try. And if they didn’t work, just call back and he’d try to work us into his schedule. It took Craig about 3 minutes to describe a couple of potential solutions.
Won Rave Reviews by Helping Over the Phone
Well, Jim instantly understood the problem and was able to fix the lock. Bingo! Problem solved. Carlsbad Village Lock & Key will be our new locksmith in the future and of course I will tell all of my friends located in Carlsbad and nearby Encinitas, Leucadia, and Vista.
So here’s a big thank you to the folks at Carlsbad Village Lock & Key!
Then I discovered that Carlsbad Village Lock & Key’s wonderful website was developed by my friend Terri Feike at WebHot Marketing! Even better. Terri is wonderful to work with and has done an excellent job of helping Carlsbad Village Lock & Key create its trust-inspiring website!
Also, check out Terri’s website, click here for WebHot Marketing
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