| CRBJ Charter Member: |
|
|
| CRBJ Home > May 2006 | |||||
Make your Web site work for youBy Iain Macfarlane
It is a common story to hear business owners tell how they have a Web site and believe it will change their businesses because they are now "with it;" they are modern. But the sites aren't always effective. Here are four important points to remember when venturing into the world of Web site development. Know what you want your Web site to achieve. If you do not have a clear, measurable objective of the results you want from your Web site, it will in most cases fail to increase your business. Too many companies complain that their Web sites are costly masterpieces of design that bring them little or no return, even though they used a "professional" Web site developer. The reason for this is simple: Most Web page designers are skilled in design but not in sales, marketing and competitive brand positioning. Consequently, they don't understand what motivates viewers to spend time at one particular Web site yet steer clear of another one. It is critical that the developer of your Web site understand who your target audience is, what the competitive advantages are for your products and services versus your competition's, and what information will be critical to your potential consumers to help them make their decisions. Your Web site is a prospecting tool for your business. Don't make your primary goal to build the best-looking Web site. Visitors to your site are after information, not artistically designed pictures, type and video streaming. For businesses and corporations, the Web is an electronic version of newspaper classified ads, magazine ads, yellow pages or other such sources of business, product or service information. People spend a lot of time reading Web sites and looking for information. For that reason, information (not design) is king in Web sites! Reviewing a list of Web sites that have been proven to generate strong business may surprise because they are not recognized as "great works of design." In fact, many Web site designers and ad agency creatives would consider them "ugly." Make sure the pages on your Web site don't take too long to open. Web site visitors are in a hurry, particularly as they are used to high-speed broadband that is now available in almost all areas of the country, so don't frustrate them with pages that take too long to open. This is where good technical Web designers provide great value in the Web site development process. Make sure your Web site development is strong in both technical IT design capabilities and marketing and creative design services. Many companies make the mistake of looking for the "cheapest" price for Web design, only to find they have to start over because pages on their site take too long to open or don't provide the information to help potential customers make buying decisions about the company's products or services. Use what has proven to work in your print ads, TV ads, or in your brochures to generate business leads, and your Web site will also work and reinforce your successful advertising. Your Web site needs to be integrated with your other communication messages. Behavioral studies have proven that human nature never changes. People's needs and wants are inherently consistent; yet it is a common mistake to believe that visitors to your Web site will somehow be motivated by different communications than people who visit your store, your business or read your ads and brochures. This is not true and tends to be dreamt up by people who will try to convince you that you must have a creative approach that is radically different than your other communications because you are now working in this uniquely different medium called the Internet. Do not be fooled; visitors to your site wants information. They want to know the benefits of your product or service to make an informed purchase decision. They want to consider your offer and think about what you have for sale just like the potential customer who is in your store or reading your brochure. iainmacfarlane@action-international.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
|
||||