track with me. One of the chief reasons your company has a website is to demonstrate that you're staying up with the times, that you're on the cutting edge. You're seeking to communicate an image about your company that will register in the minds of your potential customers Professional marketers refer to this as brand development Your brand is the image of your business in the minds of customers and prospects Everything about your site--the quality of the design, the clarity of your wording the sense of interest and excitement the color scheme. the download time. and much more contributes to your image, and your image is your brand identity. Your goal is that when someone leaves your te they'll remember you--positively. And that the next time they come, they'll make a purchase r pick up the phone. Your brand image is also the trust the customer has in you There are no real shortcuts here. Major corporations spends millions of dollars to develop their brand image and keep it fresh in the minds of consumers. Is there any way a small business can compet Yes, your site can look every bit as good on the Web as a major corporations, and without spending the big bucks they do. Even though the Web is no longer a level playing field, small businesses can still compete for first impression 7.2.3 Developing Your Website Once you've developed a great product, your next step will be to develop a great website Your website must be specifically designed to sell your product Everything within your website should have one purpose getting your visitor to take action Words are the most powerful marketing tool you have. The right words will turn your visitors into Isomers The wrong words will cause them to click nd never return Your words are the entire foundation of your business. Your product, your website and your marketing strategies all depend upon your words. Fancy graphics don't make sales --words do Every word, sentence and headline should have one specific purpose-- to lead your potential customer to your order page. Write your website copy as if you are talking to just one person Identify a problem and validate that one visitor's need for a solution. Continue to write and explain why your product is the solution to their problem. Tell them exactly what your product will do for them -- why it will solve their problems and how. Pack your copy with benefits and more benefits Write to persuade --that's the bottom line The law of developing website goes like this: Setting up a website is like building a storefront on a dead-end street. If you want any shoppers, you must give them a reason to come The most wonderful site in the world is wasted unless people stop by to admire and purchase It's the same reason that most great craftsmen aren't millionaires; they've learned to make a great product, but don't have a clue about marketing So the first question you need to ask yourself, even before you build your company's site, is How will we get people to visit? Perhaps your marketing plan will look like this Banner ads for two months to boost name recognition Search engine positioning on HotBot and Excite in the first quarter, to include Infoseek Lycos, and alta Vista in the second quarter Reciprocal links with our industry organization and a paid listing in their directory A newsworthy contest in the third quarter, for which we'll try to get full media coverage through press releases and calls from a PR A company newsletter that carries industry news rather than just company drivel, to begin in the fourth quarter(though you should start collecting e-mail addresses now) Then decide which of these activities to cary out in-house and which to outsource, attach a dollar value to each, and provide for them in your marketing budget. Your marketing plan may look much different than this, but you must give visitors a reason to come Many sites I visit are pretty slim. Yes, they give information about the company and its services, but nothing you'd want to bookmark. What compelling content can you put on your site that will make someone want to return? Content is primary With excellent content, when you ask for a reciprocal link, you don,t have to ple because we're the greatest. "You can say, "Link to us because we offer everything a buyer needs to know to select the right lighting fixture "When you offer a public service, you suddenly become newsworthy. Trade journals and magazines begin to mention you, and traffic follows Give visitors a reason to come, and they willtrack with me. One of the chief reasons your company has a website is to demonstrate that you're staying up with the times, that you're on the cutting edge. You're seeking to communicate an image about your company that will register in the minds of your potential customers. Professional marketers refer to this as brand development. Your brand is the image of your business in the minds of customers and prospects. Everything about your site -- the quality of the design, the clarity of your wording, the sense of interest and excitement, the color scheme, the download time, and much more -- contributes to your image, and your image is your brand identity. Your goal is that when someone leaves your site they'll remember you -- positively. And that the next time they come, they'll make a purchase or pick up the phone. Your brand image is also the trust the customer has in you. There are no real shortcuts here. Major corporations spends millions of dollars to develop their brand image and keep it fresh in the minds of consumers. Is there any way a small business can compete? Yes, your site can look every bit as good on the Web as a major corporation's, and without spending the big bucks they do. Even though the Web is no longer a level playing field, small businesses can still compete for first impression. 7.2.3 Developing Your Website Once you've developed a great product, your next step will be to develop a great website. Your website must be specifically designed to sell your product. Everything within your website should have one purpose -- getting your visitor to take action. Words are the most powerful marketing tool you have. The right words will turn your visitors into customers. The wrong words will cause them to click away and never return. Your words are the entire foundation of your business. Your product, your website and your marketing strategies all depend upon your words. Fancy graphics don't make sales -- words do. Every word, sentence and headline should have one specific purpose -- to lead your potential customer to your order page. Write your website copy as if you are talking to just one person. Identify a problem and validate that one visitor's need for a solution. Continue to write and explain why your product is the solution to their problem. Tell them exactly what your product will do for them -- why it will solve their problems and how. Pack your copy with benefits and more benefits. Write to persuade -- that's the bottom line. The law of developing website goes like this: Setting up a website is like building a storefront on a dead-end street. If you want any shoppers, you must give them a reason to come. The most wonderful site in the world is wasted unless people stop by to admire and purchase. It's the same reason that most great craftsmen aren't millionaires; they've learned to make a great product, but don't have a clue about marketing. So the first question you need to ask yourself, even before you build your company's site, is: How will we get people to visit? Perhaps your marketing plan will look like this: ▪ Banner ads for two months to boost name recognition. ▪ Search engine positioning on HotBot and Excite in the first quarter, to include Infoseek, Lycos, and AltaVista in the second quarter. ▪ Reciprocal links with our industry organization and a paid listing in their directory. ▪ A newsworthy contest in the third quarter, for which we'll try to get full media coverage through press releases and calls from a PR agency. ▪ A company newsletter that carries industry news rather than just company drivel, to begin in the fourth quarter (though you should start collecting e-mail addresses now). Then decide which of these activities to carry out in-house and which to outsource, attach a dollar value to each, and provide for them in your marketing budget. Your marketing plan may look much different than this, but you must give visitors a reason to come. Many sites I visit are pretty slim. Yes, they give information about the company and its services, but nothing you'd want to bookmark. What compelling content can you put on your site that will make someone want to return? Content is primary. With excellent content, when you ask for a reciprocal link, you don't have to plead, "Link to us because we're the greatest." You can say, "Link to us because we offer everything a buyer needs to know to select the right lighting fixture." When you offer a public service, you suddenly become newsworthy. Trade journals and magazines begin to mention you, and traffic follows. Give visitors a reason to come, and they will