Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

Are there any websites that offer reviews about your industry that have rated your business as a good company, not a scam? I'm just thinking a mention somewhere on the page saying, "check out our reviews" or something along those lines, that is NOT testimonials on your own site, may make people feel more at ease.

The good thing is if I do a search in google & yahoo for tomicash and scam nothing comes up. That is one of the tests I take to ensure a company I am considering working with is not a scam.

If the #1 concern is believability, you have an uphill battle. You can improve things by registering your site with the Better Business Bureau (of equivalent in Canada), TrustE, etc. You want to be 3rd party validated as trustworthy and honest. With the logos from these organizations, remove your statement of "it's not a scam/don't believe it". Let the psychological power of the 3rd party certification answer that. This is especially important because you're using cookies for tracking sites I visit.

I would make your business model transparent, since in some ways it seems "too good to be true". What arrangements do you have with the merchants? How does your business make money?

I would create a mini-video describing how it works in practice, how easy it is to use, etc.

This appears to be similar to a site I am a BIG fan of, and use regularly -- Ebates; I 100% absolutely in agreement with Gary -- you are planting these negative thoughts by gushing about many scams there are out there, and that makes it stick.

I think (in the absence of knowledge of your current marketing plan) an effective approach would be to highlight the stores and not so much the process of how you do it. I believe this works because it gives the assumption of trust (duh, you trust us, here's what we offer).

I recommend that you focus on the stores, and that people can benefit with knowing about this place where you get money back for stuff you are buying already. If you can get a person to buy ONE thing by clicking on a link from your site and they get their promised discount, they will be back for more, and will want to tell their friends about it.

"How it Works" with bullet points for the different steps - should be in there, but I wouldn't make it a big rollover like you have it.

In reality, it's not "tons" of money, but it does trickle in, and you feel like you've sort of "won" when you get that extra 4% in addition to the coupon that you found online.

Even without the pyramid-esque 10% from your referrals, it's not an easy sell.

I've been sending my friends and family to ebates for a some time now and have VERY few signups under my name. I've gotten over $190 in rebates from my ebates.com over the past couple of years, and much more in the way of coupons and free shipping offered to ebates customers, and I have the check stubs to prove it -- but even that's not enough. People just naturally assume that if you're getting something in return that is your motivation for sending them.

So, I guess my point is, is that it is naturally going to throw some people off because it appears they are getting something for nothing. These same people would have no problem plugging in a coupon from a targeted email to get their 20% off and free shipping, but making the cross-over to using your site is an uphill battle even WITH a well-designed / targeted site.

In addition to your site -- you need a solid marketing plan to go with it -- or it's just a site waiting for people to find it. So you're definitely in the right place, and asking the right questions here!

IMHO, If you're serious about this endeavor, it would be worth it to get a marketing professional to help address the things listed above. :)

Best Wishes,

Jennifer
XPRT Creative