That's why I enjoy meeting people face-to-face. This is my chance to make the most of my personal brand, that 'brand' being me!

I use my enthusiasm as a conduit for my knowledge to show people that I care about what they do and how I might be able to make things better for them and their business.

For the impartial yet interested visitor coming to your website, they want to feel that you're a business they can trust. They want to to be able to use you and your services, while at the same time be confident that you will be around in 12 months time.

They don't want hidden costs, dodgy business practices or shoddy workmanship. They want demonstrable evidence of you being good enough for them to spend good money with.

In short, they want to feel that they can trust you.

But how do you convey all of your worthy and commendable values via the web?

Testimonials

There's just no substitute for a good referral, so word-of-mouth recommendation is still the top means of getting yourself known.

Word-of-mouth recommendations are by far the most cost-effective means of marketing, and this mechanism only works because you were good enough to be recommended in the first place.

If you have happy, nay very satisfied customers and you're sure that they would have no problem singing your praises, then ask them for a testimonial.

Ideally, this testimonial would come by way of their company letterhead, written in hand, and signed personally ... but that's just an ideal!

Extending this ideal scenario further, adding in a photograph of the aforementioned very satisfied customer along with their testimonial to your website will add that essential sense of trust.

Placement is also key. Some people might want to place all of their testimonials on one page, but I try to encourage my clients to place those testimonials within the web pages of a product or service that the testimonial relates to, assuming that's the case.

Case Studies

So your customer is happy with their little lot. You've got paid, so you're happy with your little lot. You look back on the job and realize that you learned some new stuff.

There was the odd scare along the way, but you hit the budget, breezed the deadline and managed to give your customer that little bit more than they'd asked for.

I'd say that's got the makings of a Case Study!

Put simply, a Case Study is working, living documentary evidence of your good work and the satisfaction of your customer.

For me, a Case Study should be no more than a couple of thousand words and should consist of three parts: A description of the project, the aims, the stakeholders and the particulars of the project. A summary of what was achieved, typically entitled as benefits in the form of bullet points. A conclusion, with supplementary links to the customers website and other related resources. Right now, some of you might have jumped ahead and guessed where I'm going with this. Here's your chance of a 2 for the price of 1 deal!

Why not add in a testimonial, right in the conclusion? Also, add in some photography, or maybe a picture of the client logo, their premises, something that's going to add some visual interest.

Be sure to choose your words carefully, too. This Case Study web page is going to be inherently authoritative, so by adding in some strong words that related very specifically to you, your customer and your businesses, the search engines will make the most of that authority.

Also, as an added bonus, if you're talking about how - let's say - Product X or Service Y helped Customer Z, then link through to the web pages for Product X and Service Y.

You're selling right? So talk up those products and services! Talk about how you, your products and services helped Customer Z.

Standards, professional memberships and associations

Next time you're given a business card from someone, look at the end of their name. Chances are, you'll spot a bunch of letters.

If I wanted to, I could write my name as: Wayne Smallman ND, HND, Ba(hons) but for the most part, Wayne Smallman gets me by just fine!

When you see stuff like this, you're given some vital information, that this individual had a formal education that resulted in a recognized qualification. So that's years of studious education put to good use.

Here in Britain, if your business is ISO rated, or you're an Investor in People, then your business has a valued accreditation.

In the case of the ISO 9001 rating, this means you have formal procedures in place that govern certain aspects of your business practices.

As for Investors in People: "Developed in 1990 by a partnership of leading businesses and national organisations, the Standard helps organisations to improve performance and realise objectives through the management and development of their people."

In both instances, you have a wealth of trust that ought to be made a key feature of the benefits of using your business.

Be sure to get the proper permission to make these associations and memberships known. Get the proper logos and add them into the relevant web pages.

Trust as a value-added part of your business

By making the most of your qualifications, your accreditations, your more-than-happy client base, your professional associations, memberships and your processes & procedures, you have all of the ingredients to build a formidable series of Unique Selling Propositions.

So make the most of the respect your clients give to you every time they come back for more. Trust me, you'll do just fine…