Contact points on your website are the reason you will build a website in the first place – to hear from people! That’s why it’s important to carefully plan the channels you provide, the way they look, and how you will respond.
Here are four ways to improve your website contact points for your website in Tanzania.
Purpose
Why do you hope for people to get in touch with you? It might seem obvious to you but if you aren’t crystal clear about the one reason why people should reach out, chances are you will not have a contact point with pull.
In many ways, this relates to why you have set up a website in the first place. In our experience with websites in Tanzania, the reason why you want people to contact you is usually one of 2 options:
A. You want your visitors to buy a product.
or
B. You want your visitors to hire you for a service.
Are you A or B? If you can answer that, then it’s time to think about your channels!
Channels
There are various channels you can provide for people to communicate with you. Here is a comprehensive list based on what we have worked on, and how we prioritise contact points in Tanzania:
| Channel name | Description | Our priority |
| Messages to your phone via Click To Chat | 1 | |
| Phone number | Plain-text phone number that visitors can save/click to call | 2 |
| Email form | Email messages from your website to your inbox | 3 |
| Email address | Plain-text email address that people can save/click to email | 4 |
| Social media | Links to your social media platforms like Facebook | 5 |
| Google Maps | Link to your location via Google Maps short link | 6 |
| Interactive map | Map loaded onto your website | 7 |
| Address | Plain-text listing of your PO Box and physical address | 8 |
Have you decided what channels are the best for your product or service? Great! Time to think about how your contact points look and feel.
Look & Feel
Contact points need to be directional and exciting, otherwise visitors will browse over them. That is why a contact point is often called a “Call To Action” – it is your way of inviting your visitor to do something else.
Note: “Contact points” for us include all forms of “Calls To Action”.
One mistake we notice many website owners make is adding as many contact points as they have at their disposal on the website, and in the same way. This might make logical sense to the website owner – they want more enquiries, and the more choices on channels they provide, the higher their chances! – but this doesn’t make much sense to the visitor.
For the visitor, time is of the essence. They need a clear contact point to click or tap if they are interested, otherwise they could quickly lose interest and move on. Remember, website visitors already have an idea about what you do – they saw an ad with your website, or they browsed your website, or they heard of you from a friend – so the contact point needs to guide their next step.
Here are a few design elements you should consider using for your contact points:
- Clear demarcations for the contact areas.
- A heading that is preferably not “Contact Us”.
- Placeholder text if you are using contact forms.
- Buttons that are relevant, such as a submit button for a contact form, or icons for social media links.
- An automatic submission confirmation if using contact forms.
Ensuring your contact point looks and feels good is a strong step to increasing your chances for conversion. But even after visitors get in touch with you, if you are not responding, then your contact point loses credibility fast.
Responses
For us, communication is pointless if there is no feedback. No matter what contact point you use for your website, it’s important to build in a response mechanism. This does not have to be automatic, but it should be a defined process as part of maintaining your digital presence.
Responses should be a defined process as part of maintaining your digital presence
Responses can vary depending on your initial purpose for a contact point. For example, if you are hoping people will get in touch about buying a product from you, then when they contact you, you need to respond with the product or product guidance. If visitors get in touch about hiring you for a service, then you need to respond with service details.
The timeframe you respond in also matters. If your visitor is calling or messaging you on a mobile device, they are assuming they can get feedback immediately and you should respond accordingly. If you are not able to provide immediate responses, you should not have provided mobile contact channels in the first place!
Finally, these days, it’s not enough to simply respond by default with the traditional “We have received your message”. Take time to understand the tone of your product or service brand. Key questions:
- Who is your ideal audience?
- How do they speak on a day-to-day basis?
- What can you say to start an exciting conversation with them?
If you can answer these, then you are on your way to building an engaging response sheet that will carry your contact point forward!
Summary
A website is already a powerful start to building your digital presence. But it doesn’t stand a chance of converting your visitors into paying customers if it doesn’t use well-planned contact points. Have a clear purpose for your visitors to get in touch with you (either for a product or service), include only a few of the most appropriate channels (we highly recommend WhatsApp for Tanzania), ensure they look look and feel great, and always respond. We’re confident you will improve your conversations with visitors by following this friendly guide!
Further Reading:
I have a WhatsApp for Business account. How can I improve hits there?
Hello Yusuf, since your WA4B account is basically your phone number, you need to find creative ways to distirbute that number. For instance, on your business card, on Facebook, Google My Business, etc. You may also consider giving people a first-time buy discount. The more first time hits you get, the bigger the chance of purchases. Good luck and let us know if you have more questions!