Does your site present a bewildering array of manufacturers, products, or options without any guidance as to selecting from these? Think about conversation that you'd have with a customer in your store. You'd find out what they were looking for, and then you'd ask a number of questions to help them find right solution for their needs.

So how can you mirror this process online? You could offer a "Help Me" page that guides visitors through some Frequently Asked Questions or other choices and provides links to recommended products based on their answers. You could incorporate an interactive chat facility with a customer service agent during office hours, or access to a searchable knowledge base. Do I Feel Convinced?

If visitor is seeing your business for first time, they need to be comfortable that you are who you say you are, and that you can deliver what you promise.

One of most important elements in establishing this part of connection is to show "faces" of your business. Have you noticed how many Websites don't name any of their owners, or people that customers will interact with? It's much easier to have a conversation when I know who I'm talking to!

Customer testimonials and other third-party endorsements are critical elements in establishing trust - they say far more about you than your own marketing statements. How many sites have we all seen that trumpet "nationally recognized" or "premier provider . . ."? Prove it!

Include client quotes and success stories right across your site where they're front and center as visitors are engaged in your content. If you win an award, tell visitor what that means for them in terms of how you were evaluated. Do I Feel Motivated?

Towards end of our "real-world" conversation, we'll hopefully close a sale, or we'll talk about some next steps, or we might say "Let's stay in touch". To do that with our online visitor, we need to persuade them to buy something, or to tell us who they are, and give us permission to reconnect with them.

Too many Web pages tail off with no call to action or directions about where to go next. If you don't issue a clear invitation, you again leave it to visitor to work out what to do - and you run a big risk of losing them.

So at every point on every page where visitor might be thinking "Tell me more", or "How do I get this?", provide a clickable link to next step, to your shopping cart, to your newsletter subscription page, or to whatever you want them to do. Don't wait until end of page - they may never get there! Look for emotional "tipping points" on every page where they're ready to talk more with you and grab them in moment!

Diluting Connection

Of course, it's all too easy to undo all good feeling that we create by frustrating or annoying visitor, or simply by giving them a dead end.

One of my favorite bugbears is site search engine that allows me to enter my query, and then tells me "No results found. Please try again with different search terms".

How is that supposed to make me feel? What was wrong with my keywords or my parameters if search page allowed me to select them? Am I being stupid? Or do you really not want to help me?

Your visitor is clearly looking for something, and has taken a step towards connecting with you. So how about a results page that lets them know that you can't immediately answer their question, but offers a link to your contact form so that they can send a question, or some tips or suggestions on how to find more information.

The ultimate customer service feature is an opportunity to interact with a live assistant - if your site offers this utility, search results page is a perfect place to maximize its visibility.

So how "Emotionally Connected" is your Website?

I hope that I've sparked your curiosity enough to take a fresh look at your Website.

Think about specifically why visitors are coming to your site, what might be on their minds, and review your copy and navigation accordingly. Think about new customers and existing ones, employees, media - everyone who might have a reason to visit. Are you doing everything that you can to create an "emotionally connected" experience for everyone?

The right mix will gain you significantly higher time spent on your site, more calls from pre-qualified leads, more signed contracts, happier repeat customers, attention from new markets, offers of strategic alliances and collaborations, and insights into creating successful new products and services.

(c) Philippa Gamse, 2005. All rights reserved.

Because of different technology each company utilizes, receivers are not compatible with every company. For example, if you subscribed to XM but then wanted to switch to Sirius radio, you would need to get a new receiver that was compatible with Sirius. Some satellite television companies include satellite radio service in their channel packages, and you can receive transmission through your television satellite dish.

This is cool part. The music, talk show, sporting event, etc., are recorded digitally in a studio, after which message is encoded. The encoded signal is sent to satellites from ground stations (Sirius radio based in New York; XM based out of D.C.). The satellites then relay signal to receivers in your car or at home. The receivers contain chipsets that decode signal and play it through you stereo. In urban areas where taller buildings might block signal from satellites, ground repeaters or transmitters are used to resend signal, eliminating pockets of dead space.

XM uses two satellites to cover continental United States with their signal. Sirius radio uses three satellites to form a satellite constellation. The way they are set in orbit ensures that each satellite spends about 16 hours at a time covering U.S. and that there is always at least one satellite over U.S. at any given time. WorldSpace satellites beam three signals each to increase amount of territory they are able to cover with their three satellites. All three companies have reserve satellites ready to launch in case one of their satellites stops working.

Satellite radio technology looks like it’s here to stay. It is ideal for those that live in areas where normal radio reception is poor, or for those willing to pay a little each month to not have to listen to commercials. Chances are good that soon every new car you buy will have satellite radio installed, and that more and more homes will be equipped for it. I have only covered basics. It is definitely worth your time to find out more about what each company has to offer.