10 Quick Steps to Get the Most From Your Business
1. Own your business’ Web address. Your Web address is also known more formally as a URL (uniform resource locator) or a domain name. But simply put, it is your business’ address on the Internet (www.smithinspections.com for example). Many Web site companies register a Web address with your name but keep ownership of it. You might be a hostage to their service and not even know it. If you did not register the address yourself, check with your Web designer or Web marketing provider. Or, call us and we’ll look it up for you.
2. Put the ASHI logo on your home page. If you are eligible to use the ASHI logo and brand, do so. It lets potential customers know that you are credible and that you provide a premium and professional service. Is your ASHI logo an up-to-date version? An old, tired or sloppy graphic makes you look old, tired and sloppy. (See ASHI Logo Use Policy, at the end of this article.)
3. Check your site for “old school” Web design standards. Scrolling text or “cute” animated graphics send a message that you are not keeping up with the times. Replace it with crisp, clean static graphics and text.
4. Contact information should be clearly accessible from the home page and in your navigation. Can visitors to your site find your phone number easily? Customers will move on if you make it difficult to call your business.
5. Review your site immediately, checking for misspelled words or outdated information. Either will make your business look like the lights are on, but no one’s home. Review the entire site every six months.
6. Put a professional logo on your site. Web users today distinguish between businesses that look professional online and those that do not. That home inspector graphic that looked great 10 years ago might not look as great to the newer generation of customers
7. Add your photo to bring your site to life. People like to buy from people – not from faceless companies. A photo helps customers make a ‘connection.’
8. Use all of the assets that ASHI has provided such as the virtual home inspection tours. For instructions on how to add the Virtual Home Inspection Tour to your Web site, go to the Real Estate Professionals section of www.ashil.org and click on “Linking Info” in the right-hand column.
9. Get rid of any irrelevant items on your site. If you are not a mortgage broker, why do you have a mortgage calculator on your site? Hasn’t the customer already purchased the house? Keep your site clear and focused on you and your services.
10. Don’t link off to too many sites as a way of providing “content.” Use your site to deliver key information about your business. If you find relevant information from other sources, request permission to reprint it on your site with attribution rather than linking to it. You may have paid a lot of money to get visitors to your site; keep them there so your marketing efforts can pay off. That said, your link to ASHI.org shows consumers that you are a pro and will educate your customers if they are ‘researchers.’ If they do the research, they’ll know you are the right inspector for the job.
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What to do if you don’t own the Web address you have been using…
Some Web design firms or Web site building companies will list themselves as the “registrant” of the web address that their clients use. That means they own the address. If that is the case, you have a few options, but no guarantees that you will get to own that URL.
1) Contact the firm and ask them to transfer the “domain name” to you. They may ask for a fee to do so. If they refuse, ask your attorney what your legal options are.
2) Go to www.whois.sc, enter the Web address on the form on the first page. It will return information on when the address will be available again. Once you know that, you can try registering for it on that date.
3) Forget the past and try selecting a new Web address.
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Check the Policy Before Using the Logo
For a complete review of ASHI Policy and Procedures covering the use of the logo and of the name of the American Society of Home Inspectors, visit the Publications section of the Member Extranet on www.ashi.org.
Use of the logo, name and acronym of the American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc.® is covered in section 18 of the Policy and Procedures Manual. The most recent revision to the policy was to allow Candidate members of the Society to identify themselves as such orally and in all written formats. Nevertheless, use of the ASHI logo, defined as the official graphic symbol of the American Society of Home Inspectors, continues to be restricted to Members and Level 2 Candidates.
• A C-2 or Level 2 Candidate has successfully passed the National Home Inspectors Examination, the ASHI Membership Exams and the ASHI Candidate Report Verification program, and has performed a minimum of 50 fee-paid home inspections.
When a Level 2 Candidate uses the logo, the word Candidate must appear immediately below it, and the Candidate’s name below or adjacent to it.
• A Member of the Society is an individual who performs inspections of residential real estate, and who has met the requirements and been approved for Membership as determined by the Board of Directors. Currently, this requires that a Level 2 Candidate perform an additional 200 fee-paid inspections.
The word Member must appear immediately below the logo, and the Member’s
name below or adjacent to it.
• A company that has an ASHI Member at each office location (including branch, franchise and similar type offices) whose home inspectors are all ASHI Members or Candidates may use the ASHI logo in promotional activities. Any company wishing to use the ASHI logo must list all home inspectors operating in each office on the ASHI registration form. The ASHI logo shall be used without the words “Member” or “Candidate” when used in company promotional material.
ASHI Affiliates have separate logo
Affiliates of the Society are individuals or companies providing products and/or services to home inspectors and the home inspection profession. Affiliates may not use the ASHI logo, but have their own logo. Placement of the ASHI Affiliate membership logo on the Affiliate company’s main Web site is permitted provided a link to the ASHI Web site home page or affiliate page is made available either through the Affiliate membership logo or a separate link located in the immediate vicinity of the Affiliate membership logo.
Miscellaneous dos and don’ts
Display of all types of ASHI’s logos should be consistent and only appear in black, PMS 289 or in reverse. No other color or alteration is permitted.
Any use of the ASHI logo or name must not create the impression that the inspection service is being provided by the American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc. The ASHI logo or name shall not be displayed in a manner that would be misleading to the public as to the user’s relationship to the American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc.
Logos are not to be altered, defaced, incorporated into any design or drawing, or used in such a way as to imply that they are part of the individual or any company name.
Logo use privileges are not transferable, not assignable, and are not available to subsidiaries, related interests, clients, customers or anyone outside of the principal
ASHI Affiliate organization as identified on their application for membership.
The ASHI Bylaws provide for disciplinary action if any of the logo policies are
violated. What’s more, misuse of the ASHI trademark is a violation of the United States trademark and service mark laws.
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