CounServe
- a simple idea, whose time has come.
CounServe
- a simple idea, whose time has come.
What's the principle behind CounServe?
The idea behind CounServe is a simple one - it is the principle employed by a group of people acting cooperatively for their mutual benefit, sharing skills and resources for the common good.
For any one counsellor it is both expensive and complicated to set up a website. If they group together the costs could be shared between them and the skills of a few in the group could be used for the benefit of the whole group.
People visiting your website will live within a few miles of your counselling room. It will not matter to a client in Aberdeen that your website bears a definite similarity to another counsellor's in Aberystwyth. The similarity of website owned by counsellors in Blackpool and Brighton will be of little concern to clients in either town. Using this simple principle we can spread the costs of a professional website over many, making the cost much lower for each participant.
How does it work?
We have registered a domain name (CounServe), bought space on the web and signed up with a professional ISP (internet service provider) who will let us use the web space commercially. This ensures a high quality service which does not crash at weekend, or become unusable on Sunday mornings. The costs of accessing these facilities are spread across those who register with CounServe ensuring that each counsellor gets a high quality service at a low cost.
Do the people behind CounServe have experience of running websites?
You bet! www.allanturner.co.uk started in 1996. In internet terms that is the stone age. I have been building counselling websites for myself, associations and individuals since before people could see why it was a good idea.
OK, so it's a good price and you know what you are doing. Why would I want a website?
Some people now get a lot of clients from their website - this tends to depend on the level of competition in your area. I live in Milton Keynes, where there is a lot of competition. I do get clients as a consequence of web searches finding my website (3 sessions a year pays for it!). However, I would not claim that it produces a lot of clients.
I think that for most of us a website is more about the overall credibility of what we are doing as counsellors. On letterheads and business cards it adds an obvious credibility and professionalism. I think that it is in directories where it really comes into it's own. By directories I mean the BACP directory, Yellow Pages or your local town directory. Prospective clients are faced with a baffling array of claims from counsellors competing for their attention. How does the poor client decide who to phone? If only they could find out more about these counsellors before phoning.
Are you ahead of me? With a website address in the add you can give prospective clients the answers to most of their question before they even phone. They are going to feel much more confident about calling you, as opposed to your competitors, if they know more about you. I see a website as an important part of a counsellors overall marketing strategy.
I know how to get my e-mail and I can use my browser, but I can't do any complicated stuff. Could I handle this?
Yes, that's where our experience comes in. We have put together an on line form which asks questions that a counsellor will easily understand. (They would probably baffle a computer geek!) You simple answer the questions, some are simple tick boxes. The system sends us all the information we need and within a short time we build the website for you.
All the information on your website will be unique to you and within your control. We fit it into standard formats, which is another part of how we hold the cost down. You can even choose the colour scheme and "theme" of the site that you feel will reflect your personality and counselling style.
This sounds good, Can I proceed immediately?
Yes. Click this link now and you will go straight to the first page that collects the information we need to build your site. If you are the kind of person who likes to go ahead immediately they have spotted a good idea you will be pleased to know that you can even pay on-line. You do not have to wait for this.
If you prefer to think about things before rushing into them bookmark this page and come back in a day or two.
If you would rather fill in a paper form and send us a cheque, click here.
Other places you may want to go from here: