Mighty Fine Online!

Monday 3 December, 2007

by Jane Toohey

It's worth getting your website right because as a marketing tool, a well designed and functional online presence is definitely a marketing must!

Business owners are always asking me the best way to build or update their website, and my answer is always the same: do you want to create a website, or do you want to create an online business?
There is a huge distinction.

1. The first option means you basically have a brochure that people can access via the internet. It's a great starting point but it isn't going to supercharge your business.
   
2. The second option has the potential to energise your business, bring you closer to your customers, and set your company up for growth and success. Your online environment becomes integral to the business as a whole.

I'm a huge fan of the second option because it can markedly increase the health of your business over time. 

If you're a tradesperson, beautician, restaurant owner, architect, lawyer or other service business, you might be thinking this doesn't apply to you, as you don't have many physical products to sell online. Think again! Creating an integrated online arm to your business will help you achieve some serious goals including:

• Identifying potential new customers
  
• Attracting a wider customer-base
  
• Engaging current and new customers
  
• Building loyalty and therefore retaining current customers
  
• Increasing sales from your customers
  
• Building your brand
  
• Receiving feedback from your target audience; and
  
• Tracking the success or failure of marketing campaigns.

Show me an internet sceptic in today's world, and I'll show you someone whose website has been treated as an add-on to their business, rather than the heart of it. And it's a common problem. Many websites were put up hastily a few years back and haven't been revisited. Some people spent huge amounts of money for sites that were all bling - but that didn't really do anything.

A lot of sites have become dated and ineffectual because they're so technically hard to update it has become a hassle. And more often than not, the website is seen as a stand-alone form of advertising, rather than a critical component of the businesses' operations.

The importance of having a regularly updated site cannot be understated. Restaurants have known for years that updating their ‘Specials' board not only invigorates their chefs but also their regular diners. It also allows the outlet to research new menu offerings, pricing and customer reaction. Updating your site and keeping it fresh and interesting reflects that dynamic glow directly to your business and products.

The good news is that though you will pay for initial set up and hosting costs, websites can actually save you time!

One of the best examples of this is the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section of your website. 90 per cent of people seem to ask the same 10 key questions, so by answering them before they're even asked, you save plenty of time responding to individual enquiries on the phone or via email.

Yes, it's great to speak directly with prospective customers, but by giving customers all the information they need straight up, they're actually in a better, more informed position to buy.

And once they've bought or expressed interest in buying, an integrated website then allows you to run loyalty campaigns so you can keep building the relationship. Such as:

• A water filter company might send a reminder a month before the filter is due for service (or send out warnings of e.coli outbreaks in the main city dams)
  
• A restaurant might remind a husband of his wife's birthday or anniversary date and offer a special bottle of wine with their dinner
  
• A nursery might send out December planting tips along with information on seed specials relevant to the time of year

And if you have a hard enough time remembering special dates, don't worry, you can set the website up once with all the relevant information and the offers will be automatically sent out.

It's important to stay top of mind with customers, and email marketing - being one of the most cost efficient and effective forms of direct marketing - is the way to go.

You can use email marketing as a medium for:

• monthly newsletters
  
• once-off "sale" announcements
  
• "tips and tricks" newsletters

It's so easy for customers to drift away, but by regularly being in touch with your customer base, they're likely to consider and select your business when the time comes to purchase. That's definitely what you want, and a good website can make that happen for you as an integrated function - simple!

So when you're thinking about updating or building a new website, think about:

• how easy it will be for you to update,
  
• how powerful its customer communications functions are, and
  
• how you will use it to increase sales.

Speak to a number of different providers and make sure they understand your key business challenges - including your budget! Plan your site's text using carefully selected key words to ensure you rank highly in organic search results. 

Source:ceoonline.com