website strategies

Simple sells

Contrary to popular perception, customers do not like to be teased, intrigued, puzzled or captivated by mystery when they visit a website. In fact, they prefer not to think much at all – they want what they want, and they want it fast.

The simple truth is that the easier you can make it for your customers to buy or do business with you, the more sales you’re going to convert. 

Simple sells, but setting up a simple website is anything but . . .

Most people live very busy lives and we want our information in seconds, but ironically, creating a website that is fast, intuitive and compelling requires a reasonable budget, a ton of thought and lots of hard work to create.

A good website that gives you a good return on investment quickly, and goes on working for you 24/7, requires professional design, copywriting, photography, and engineering, not to mention search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).

Probably the biggest mistake people make is in believing that they’ve got to have a website presence – even if its quick and cheap – but having a website for the sake of it, is just as bad as not having one at all.

Here are five things to think about to ensure you end up with a website that converts more business quicker:

1. Know your customers. Who they are, what they like and what’s important to them.

2. Be very clear on your objectives. What specifically do you want customers to do when they visit your website? Buy, subscribe, pick up the phone…

3. Don’t leave it to the last minute. Haste makes waste.

4. Do be prepared to invest time and money in developing a professional business tool that does your organisation credit.

5. Think about how people are going to find you. Be prepared to market your website if you want it to work – that means promoting it through things like marketing collateral like business cards and brochures, vehicle signage, online and conventional advertising and content marketing.

Think about your website as a salesperson. It may cost you more to set-up initially, but the on-going costs are minimal while the website works 24/7, 365 days a year – and a website sells more too, and generates leads for your sales people to close.

Website Design and Development

Businesses and organisations, nervous in the knowledge that a website is essential if they are to survive and succeed, can be overwhelmed by the challenge and the complexity of new communications. 

It can be easy to go too far, too fast and too soon, running the risk of overlooking the basic building blocks that under-pin one's operation. It’s just as easy to hold back, delaying and deferring decisions in the hope that something will just “happen” for you.

Just how commonplace these dilemmas are – and how damning the consequences of either approach can be have been effectively outlined in this TVNZ bulletin. 

The ideal way is to simplify, demystify and develop the website design for the client, working through every stage to build sites that meets the clients' initial requirements while being capable of rapid expansion as needs evolve. This usually involves holding the client's hand throughout the process, guiding the client and educating them throughout this what can be a daunting process.

Once these initial structures and strategies are effectively in place, many business owners and managers quickly realise that their websites are in fact only one aspect of a broader digital strategy, and that they need to formulate forward plans to include social media, email marketing, electronic advertising, rich media . . . all cohesively working with their websites. Once again, the designer or developer should guide the client through these steps.

Skills, services and systems focus on ensuring a clients’ website is the central component of an ever-broadening universe of digital corporate communication. Brand personalities, identities and strategies are interlaced with evolving technical components, and with an ability to function within specific campaign and promotional requirements.

The developer should inter-relate closely with the clients’ in-house marketing teams to formulate website planning, develop assets and create an on-going maintenance programme that greatly enhances communication output. The websites should meet every need for functional efficiency, delivering the multiple channels of engagement that are at the core of today’s international business world.   

Your designer and developer/programmer should understand the ways into, through and beyond the Web – and grow your understanding as they work alongside you - the client.