Your website can be your most important marketing tool. You can use it to build relationships with new customers, manage relationships with existing ones, and launch new products and services to the market.
It used to be enough just to have a website for your business. But the days of the pure brochureware site - one that lists your services but doesn't provide an opportunity to really connect with your customers - are gone.
Now, consumers expect websites to be interactive, informative and interesting. And it's not all that hard to achieve. Below are ten steps to developing a website with real marketing punch.
Step 1 - Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Ensure it takes next to no time to upload, there are no 'heavy' graphics on the front page and even when you get beyond the homepage, information is easy to access.
Step 2 - Tricky graphics rarely convert into sales. Pop-up windows, clever animations and other fancy features distract potential customers from your key messages. They also annoy many people, which is probably not going to win you business.
Step 3 - Use plain English, not jargon, and clearly explain what you do on the homepage. If it's not immediately clear what you do, potential customers are unlikely to delve further into the site to find out.
Step 4 - Update your content regularly. People use the Web to find information and if you position your site as a place consumers can find credible, up-to-date facts about your industry (not just your products and services) they are more likely to return.
Step 5 - Don't change your navigation too frequently. People like to get used to the feel of a site and are more likely to return to sites with which they are already comfortable.
Step 6 - Optimize your site. Optimization is a process that helps to move your site nearer to the top of search engine lists. It works by ensuring that key words that match your product offering are stored in the site's metatags (this is what Internet search engines use to sort sites). It also usually involves paying for your site to be registered on popular search engines and directories. For more information on optimization we've included another article in this issue, 'You've Got To Google To Grow'.
Step 7 - Respond to email requests sent through to your site. Research suggests that as many as one in three companies fail to respond to emails sent through the contacts page - hardly a means of developing good customer relations.
Step 8 - Consider sending weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletters to back up your Web presence. But don't spam - make sure the people receiving the newsletter actually want to receive it.
Step 9 - Back up your online marketing efforts with your offline tools. Put your website address on all stationery and print or broadcast advertising. Even include it on your voice mail message.
Step 10 - Involve professionals. Unless you're a designer or a web developer, involve experts in the development of your website.
Follow these steps, and your site might become your highest earning sales person! If you don't have a website yet and are concerned about how to develop one we can provide you with information on an affordable and easy to implement out of the box solution. Just give us a call.
