Engaging with your clients via your website is a great way to encourage repeat business.  It strengthens the bond you have with your clients through involvement and interaction.  It is not only your existing clients you are engaging with but also potential clients i.e. your website visitors.

So many websites miss the opportunity to engage and it is really not that difficult. Here are a few suggestions that should be taken into account preferably at the actual website design stage however  it is never too late to adapt your website design to incorporate some of the following ideas.

• Blogs. A blog contains commentary, news, views on a particular topic or range of topics. Personal blogs are great as they allow your clients and potential clients to get to know you, the person behind the website.
  
  
• Forums.  Discussion forums allow people to communicate on a variety of topics. Questions can be asked or just general comments made. Forums can be made available for clients only or can be available for anyone visiting your site wishing to take part (once they have registered). I would recommend have moderation set up on your forum though!
  
  
• Surveys/Polls.  A good way to get clients involved is to have an online survey or poll. It could be about your own product or service or a related topic.
  
  
• Social Networking. This is a whole other topic which I will cover in later blogs but if you are on Facebook or Twitter you can have your feeds showing on your website or you can just simply provide a link for your clients or visitors to follow you.

These are just some ideas for you to think about. Incorporate all of them or just one of them but whatever you do don’t ignore the possibilities you have to increase your sales. 

It doesn’t mean a whole new website design to incorporate some of these although you will need to clear some space for your blog, for example.  A Forum can be set up on a new page which can be easily done either via your CMS or by asking your developer. Links to Facebook and Twitter are straightforward to set up.

Talk to your website designer/developer as they will also have ideas. So, go forth and engage!