Why your website is probably money wasted?

To begin this discussion we must first determine a website’s purpose. There are two types of a web presence the first is a presentational website. This type is to give information to prospects about what it is you do and what you can do to help them.

The second type is an e-commerce website this site is to sell products. There are the variants, those that do both, usually a service based business will go with the variants. Ultimately, no matter which website you use it is a marketing tool. If you cannot gauge its effectiveness and measure its results then you have wasted your money, period.

Let us take this conversation to marketing for a split second. Many of us drive down the multiple highways in beautiful America. On virtually every highway, there are more billboards then we can count. Occasionally you will look at one that will grab your interest. Well now, here is my question, have you ever stopped your car on one of these highways to write down the number of the company you just saw on that billboard? Probably not, but if by some slim chance you did, did you ever pick up the phone and call them again probably not.

Interestingly enough, companies spend millions on these billboards and ultimately they do not work. That is, if you are gauging the effectiveness of how well these billboards work, by how often they make your phone ring. This is because these billboards are for brand awareness not to increase immediate sales which is why only the large corporations with money to burn should even think about using this form of marketing

That story was to help you see what many of the SOHO websites are like. They are nothing more then billboards on the information highway. This problem is easily fixed once recognized, but our web designer is usually concerned with his Michelangelo masterpiece, not the effectiveness of your website. The SOHO owner understands the need for a web presence but usually does not stop to think about how his/her client will use the website.

A web site correctly designed, is designed from the client side first not from the business side first, allow me to explain. Client side first simple means what we want our client to do once the get to our site. Many sites show off the company, this is what was meant by business side first. When a client comes to you website they are listening to WIFM RADIO (what’s in it for me... radio). As business owners, we are usually very proud of our business, especially if it is profitable, so much, so that sometimes we forget we are to be of service to our clients. The point is, when you go to a website are you looking for a company or a product? Chances are your clients are looking for a product too. With that being said, spend more time showing off the products and trying to retain precious client information i.e. name, phone, and email. Then displaying the pretty pictures of the office building, the conference room, and your exquisite staff because ultimately your clients don’t really care. All they care about is getting the service that you offer as cheap as possible with as much quality as you present it to be.

Web Traffic- More then likely as a small business you will have to generate your own web traffic with all the information on the web and all your competition on the web, it will be difficult for you to get to the top 10 ranking without a sizable investment (don’t worry all is not lost keep reading ). So what do you do? You begin by redesigning your website to become a functional marketing tool not just a billboard. As an example if you were an insurance company give them the opportunity to request a quote by filling in there vehicle information (lead generation). If you were a real estate agent have a form for there information so you can call back with apartment availability. This will produce a functional website, one that you can capture prospects information and enhance your chance of turning a billboard into a functional marketing tool!

Drive Your Web Traffic – Chances are you are already engaged in some form of marketing for your companies’ product or service. What we do now is push our marketing efforts towards our web campaign. To drive web traffic, in our previous example of the real estate agent, all of his marketing pieces should now read “go to www.someoneneedsrealtor.com for free apartment availability search” now anybody looking for an apartment in his area will be able to put there information in and check availability while you, as the real estate agent will have generated a new lead.

In conclusion, if you are a small business you will need a web presence no question. The only question you should have is, what is the website for and how will it be used? Once you have answered those questions then you can have your web designer create his Michelangelo and your marketing tool.

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