Small Business Owners Prefer Obscurity to Growth

SEATTLE - May 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Online shoppers are more inclined to buy when they can see the person(s) behind the company, including name and photo. A retailer's "About" page (or "Our Story," "Company Info," etc.) is usually the second most visited, after the homepage.

Yet many business owners don't know the value of transparency. Convincing them of it is difficult. For these sellers, avoiding attention and in-person scrutiny is the precise reason they opened an online store. It's a benefit no store owner has.

These hidden owners don't understand why offering quality products is not enough to in today's marketplace. They think buyers are strange for wanting to know them better.

"I always tell my clients to imagine switching places with their customers," says Mike Devaney, a Seattle-based marketing consultant. "Flesh-and-blood people humanize a company and build trust. Anonymity builds suspicion."

“When they protest, I remind them that business isn't just about personal fulfillment,” he adds.

Publicity-shy retailers are often too close to their business to judge it objectively. Some stubborn types insist on not revealing themselves and no amount of objective data will sway them. Business owners only become comfortable with transparency when they how it boosts sales. Money talks, as the old saying goes.

Mike Devaney is a copywriter and small business consultant in Seattle, WA. He primarily works in the senior care industry. Contact him with questions at mike@mikedevaney.com or visit him at http://www.mikedevaney.com/