Websites have become an integral part of any successful business. A website indicates that you are current in all areas, including the latest communications technology. Having a website is not only an effective marketing tool; it also allows your customers and suppliers access to your company at their convenience. Websites are non-threatening mediums for potential customer to explore your business at arm’s length. Because this removes personal contact some control is lost; therefore it is vital that your website has clarity, as a lack of clear information will cause your prospects to look elsewhere before you even get a chance to talk to them.

Think of your website as both a marketing tool and a front line staff person. This is the first impression that many customers will have with your company. And they may spend 5-15 minutes with your website on first visit

Too much information can be dangerous. Many companies do not consider how easy it is for the competition to get all of the details on your company, including prices, with the click of a button. Make sure you are not giving away all of your trade secrets. At the same time, you want your potential customers to have some sense of where you stand in the market. Don’t post sensitive pricing information, but do give enough information for a customer to understand that your company can meet their needs. Use your website to help the right customers to find you.

If you offer too much information on your website, you may eliminate the need for potential customers to contact your company directly. A website is an effective marketing tool, but it should not have all of the marketing control. Never underestimate the importance of personal contact with your clients.

Use your website:
To give vital company information – post your phone, fax, e-mail and mailing address as well as your location. Ensure you have direct contacts throughout your site such as e-mail links
Show your mission statement so that prospective clients have a chance to get to know your company and what it represents.
To educate your customers – include newsletters (put back issues of your newsletter on your site and let people know newsletters are available online), upcoming and past events, charity involvement, special promotions, awards, reward programs, contests, question and answer capability.
To build relationships – post staff pictures and biographies. This allows your customers to put a face to a voice and name.
Have links to cross-promoters. Linking your site to cross-promoters, and vice versa, greatly increases your exposure.
To build trust – include testimonials, a client list, and warranties.
- As a visual enticement – attract interest with photographs of your product, customers, building, events, and virtual tours.
As a means to present large amounts of information – displaying catalogues, inventory, and links to suppliers makes this a very affordable marketing tool.
As a means to obtain customer feedback through online surveys.
As a medium to quickly update changes. Printed material is costly to change. A website is not.

Designing your Website
Any good website design process should start with content. Your navigation, the tools and technologies you use, and your budget should all be determined after you decide what kind of information will be on your website and how often you will need that information to change. Are you putting a catalog online? Are you going to need to regularly publish a list of events? Does your product or service require extended information or some sort of virtual tour? Or does your website simply need to present information and marketing messages that will seldom change… Having these kinds of questions answered before you approach a web designer will ensure that you get higher value out of the design process and that your designer can more effectively meet your needs.

To find a good web designer, ask around. Check out business associates and cross-promoters’ sites. If you like the site, ask them who designed it. Most web designers will have an online portfolio. Check it out, then go to those websites, and see if the customer is still using that site design. Check references: sometimes great looking sites ran over budget, took too long to build or simply don’t meet the project requirements.

Always get quotes, but make sure you give your designer the right information. Will you need a catalog? Will you need contact forms? Will you need to be able to receive payments through your website? All these things will increase the cost of building a website.

When you get the quote, make sure that you include some way to maintain the website in the future. Will the designer make the changes for you? If so, what are their hourly rates? Will you need to make the changes yourself? If so, what kind of software can the designer recommend? Like certain cars, a poorly built website with no maintenance package can end up costing you much more each month than it’s worth to you.

Once you get the quote, make sure that everything you’re building into your website is going to give you good return on your investment. A virtual tour of your facility might be exciting, but if it costs you $15,000 and you run a bakery, people are more likely to want your address and a coupon for a free bagel than to see the inside of your kitchen, fascinating as it might be to you.

Getting it out there
You will need a domain name in order to run a website. Make sure that you search for a name that is easy to spell and remember, and that represents your company, product, or service. When you register your domain, make sure that you are the owner. Don’t let an employee register the name with their personal credit card; if they leave the company, then legally they own your “front door”. Make sure that ownership of your domain name is clearly yours.
Put your website address on everything you print. It takes up very little space but it can open up doorways to your business.

Think about search engines. There are 2 kinds of search engine strategies:

1) Most businesses simply need to make sure that the website has well written copy, good page titles and good metadata (metadata is the description of the website that visitors don’t see but search engines do – think “keywords”). Avoid frames and home pages with no text and lots of graphics – search engines can’t read pictures. Have your website submitted to the major search engines (Google, MSN) once. Once you’re in their system, they come back to check up on you automatically.

2) The second option for search engine strategies is investing in a search engine optimization campaign. A well built and properly written website will score well in search engines on its own, but an Optimization expert will give you recommendations on how to score higher. This is usually done by looking for what words web users actually use in search engines (i.e. if you call yourself a “home revitalizer” but web users always look for “interior decorator” then using that kind of language in your website copy will bring more traffic) Your optimization campaign could also include ongoing paid submissions to major search engines which can help your site rate higher on the search results list.

Remember, search engines are only one way to bring traffic to your website. Most of it will come through word of mouth, your business card or your advertising.

Written by Lori Colborne, President - LSL Marketing Consultants
Lori Colborne is an international keynote speaker, consultant & author of “Innovative Marketing Made Easy!