Increasing numbers of customers are using websites and web search engines to compare products and services and shop for bargains. Some buy online and others use websites to gather information before visiting stores or making appointments.
Businesses that intend to survive know that they have to develop a web presence. The use of Internet applications is also a green business strategy that can reduce waste and increase efficiency.
But merely having a website isn’t enough. The competition is heating up. Smart business people are learning that their online marketing strategies can employ traditional techniques, but that they must be tweaked to meet the needs of the online customer.
Direct Marketing on the Web
On a basic level, marketing and advertising are conducted to increase customer awareness. But print ads and yellow pages ads are declining in effectiveness as fewer customers subscribe to the paper and use the web instead to search for restaurants, doctors and retail stores. As websites replace the effectiveness of traditional formats, business owners have responded by getting online.
Effective Websites
Web customers come and go at the click of a mouse. The speed of traffic that hits a website requires attention-getting and keeping devices. If a shopper doesn’t see what he or she needs, the business has lost a lead or a sale.
Therefore, effective websites employ:
- Up-front information – The purpose of the website must be immediate. Few companies need Flash introductions. They only slow the searcher down. Make sure a business website opens in a compelling manner that is consistent with the offline business.
- Simple Layout - A clear and consistent layout respects the customer. It says that the business owner knows the customer's time is valuable.
- Headlines – They need not be cute or clever. What does the business offer? Say it first and foremost, as in “Affordable 24-7 plumbing services: Same day service guaranteed.” Headlines should reflect an answer to the target customers’ needs. Headlines aren’t about the business owner's background or personality. It’s the customer …
- Contact Information – This is often the reason for customer contact by web. Place contact information at the top of the page or other easy-to-find location.
- FAQs – Customers are probably searching for something specific like a waffle maker or a set of 250-count baby blue queen-sized sheets. There are frequently asked questions. Put yourself in the place of the customer who is not seeing or touching the product in person and answer his top ten questions. Keep it short, fact filled, and to the point.
- Lead Collection Tools – Provide a form or response tool that asks site visitors for their email address, but do so subtly. The most customer-friendly way to get an email address is to give the customer something in return, such as a coupon or free industry report.
- Offer – Always make an offer. Offer a newsletter. Offer a buy one-get one for half off coupon. Offer something that is likely to require the customer's reply.
- Call to Action – The most important two words on a website are “click here.” The customer has a trigger-happy finger on the mouse. Don’t let his need to click go unnoticed!
Formula for Success
An effective website gets to the point, collects customer information, and makes as offer, all as quick as a whistle. Pretty websites may be nice, especially if the product is upper end, but simplicity and efficiency are much, much more important. Customers use the web because they expect it to be quick. They go to the web to save time and money. Don't make them leave you.
Successful business owners integrate a web strategy with their traditional marketing message, but place the emphasis on respecting the web customer’s need for speed and clear information.
Finally
Don’t despair if traffic is low at first. It takes awhile for search engines to find a site. Website owners also have to be proactive by using traditional advertising to boast their site, registering a site with search engines, buying print and pay-per-click ads, and participating in link exchanges where you put your website address on an allied business site in exchange for placing their link on your website.
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