Building A Business Website: Step 4
September 10, 2008
Step 4 in Building A Business Website:
Create a Website Strategy
Step 1 in Building A Business Website is to determine what you want your website to accomplish.
Step 2 in Building a Business Website is to perform a SWOT analysis. Identify your business’ strengths and weaknesses and determine if your website can help support your business where it is weak.
Step 3 in Building a Business Website is to know your audience. It’s essential to remember that you are not designing this website to please you. You’re designing your business website for your TARGET AUDIENCE.
Now, the fourth step in Building a Business Website is to create a Website Strategy.
In order to develop a website strategy you must first establish clear goals for your business website. Then, you need to establish how you’ll MEASURE your website performance. You’ll need to establish OBJECTIVES in order to measure your website success.
Objectives are the goals of the website while strategies are how you will meet your objectives. So, in order to create a website strategy, you must first set a measurable goal.
For example, if the goal (objective) of your website is to improve customer service, then you’ll need to find a way to MEASURE whether this objective is being accomplished. One way to MEASURE that stated objective is to monitor the number of customer support telephone calls. A reduction in phone calls with a corresponding increase in website traffic is a sign that the website is meeting the objective of improving customer service.
When you have established the objective and how you will measure whether or not those objectives are being met, you’ll then know which metrics to watch.
In the example above, if you didn’t know that the objective of the website was to improve customer service, then you wouldn’t know to monitor the volume of incoming calls for customer services. Without that important metric, you wouldn’t be able to determine whether or not the website was meeting its objective.
Creating a website strategy is simply how you’ll go about meeting the objective for the website. It’s amazing how EASY the whole website strategy discussion gets when you first establish an objective.
With an objective in hand, creating the strategy becomes the “easy” part of creating website success.
Key to Website Success: Define What You Want Your Website to Do.
November 19, 2007
If your goal is a successful website, then your website should be constructed with your business goals in mind. Remember, this is a VEHICLE for your business. Just as you would not choose an automobile to make the trip from New York to London, there are different TYPES of web sites you can choose to launch.
There are three general functions of web sites:
- WEB SITES THAT PROVIDE STATIC INFORMATION
- WEB SITES THAT ACT AS VIRTUAL STORE FRONTS
- WEB SITES THAT ACT AS MARKETING TOOLS
It is possible to create a single web site to act in all three functions OR you may choose to create separate web sites, each dedicated to a specific function.
Next: WEB SITES THAT PROVIDE STATIC INFORMATION
Planning Your Website’s Purpose
October 4, 2007
Planning your website‘s purpose is like mapping out a road trip. You identify in advance where you want to be so you can easily see which roads will take you to your destination.
Let’s say you’re planning to drive from Detroit to Miami. On your way, you’ll pass hundreds of intersecting highways that can take you east or west. You might think you’d only take roads that go south. But if you consult a trip planner or map, you’ll see that it’s necessary to take a few of these east/west highways to reach your final destination.
Without a destination in mind, any intersecting road will take you to interesting places, but few of those roads will take you to Miami.
Just as the key to a successful road trip is determining your destination in advance, the key to a successful web site is planning in advance. Determine the goal of your web site in relation to your business goals and you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful web presence.
Your Website as a Marketing Vehicle
September 28, 2007
In a world where web sites are considered “magic money makers” it sometimes helps business owners to think of a web site as a VEHICLE for marketing their business.
Thinking of your web site as a vehicle helps to put certain aspects of what your web site can and can’t do into perspective.
Before you PURCHASE a vehicle, you usually have an idea of where you’re going and what you will be doing with your new vehicle.
For example, if you’re a painter and you’re purchasing a vehicle to transport your ladders and painting supplies then you’re going to be purchasing a different kind of vehicle than you would if you were a traveling sales person.
While a sporty two seat sports car is a poor choice for the mother who needs to do her part in the weekly car pool, it’s a great choice for an image conscious consultant who needs to make a great impression on potential clients.
Just as different automobiles serve different purposes, different styles of web sites serve different purposes. Once you’ve designated what you’ll be using your web site to DO, then you can decide upon your web site’s design.
Common Assumptions That May Be Killing Your Website
September 19, 2007
Your small business web site is NOT a magic wand. (What an ugly way to start a conversation!)
I know, it’s easy to think of all things “IT” as “magic”. When the Nerd Herd guy sits down at your computer, he spends 15 minutes and is able to fix problems that you have been trying to solve for WEEKS; it’s easy to assume that everything is possible when it comes to IT.
Heck, one major electronics chain has even launched an amusing ad campaign where their “Nerd Herd” geeks fix not only computers, but also other amusing situations such as transmutation and a doomsday device.
Unfortunately, the less you know about computers, the more likely it is that you think all of this “website stuff” is fairly easy and can be done by ANYONE who isn’t you.
The purpose of this post is to help you learn what you don’t know so you can begin putting your web site to work as a powerful marketing tool!
So let’s start with YOUR web site.
Most small business owners make a LOT of assumptions about their web site.
- Many business owners ASSUME that all web sites are traffic magnets… they are not.
- Many business owners assume that their web site developer is a marketing expert and will intuitively design their web site so that it is not only easy for users to use, but also easy for the search engines to navigate.
- Many business owners assume that their web site will do everything a web site can do instead of what it was specifically designed to do.
- Many business owners assume that all web sites can be easily and effectively indexed by the search engines… they can not. As a matter of fact, some web sites are actually designed (most frequently, unintentionally) to keep the search engines OUT. (I actually designed my previous web presence at Virtual Impax in this matter to keep the hoards of people wanting free web development advice from finding me and my site.)
- Many business owners assume that their web site is an instant success marketing tool that doesn’t need any support.
- Many business owners assume the web developer knows all there is to know about creating the perfect web site for their particular business
Many business owners assume that their web site is a “Set it and forget it” marketing tool. This is one of the most deadly assumptions.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Stay tuned. I won’t leave you hanging!
Assumptions can only hurt you and your business if they remain unspoken and unknown.
Remember, your web site is a MARKETING TOOL! It is not a substitute for marketing/advertising but rather it’s another FORM of advertising and marketing for your business.
Believe it or not, the television commercial production company with which I work experiences the same assumptions as listed above. (Just substitute “web site” with “television commercial”) Business owners come to them wanting a television commercial which, in one airing, will allow the business owner to retire to a lifestyle of wealth and ease.
Again, your web site is a MARKETING TOOL! If you purchase a rake, set it carefully in your front lawn at the beginning of October and expect to come back in November to find your leaves neatly raked into piles… well, unless you hire a young strong back that is NOT going to happen. You purchase a rake to move leaves around but you don’t expect the rake to move the leaves for you on it’s own.
The same is true of your web site.
YES there are ways to DESIGN your web presence so it contains certain elements which can AUTOMATICALLY handle some of your most dreaded marketing tasks, but think of such applications as leaf blowers and garden tractor attachments. These elements can make moving leaves EASIER… but they do not function without direction on your part.
