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Three building blocks to a successful business website
by Rick Sloboda
Published on this site: January 27th, 2007 - See
more articles from this month
Are you planning to build or update a business website? The
following three questions will save you time, money and
frustration, and help you get the results you want.
What is your website's objective?
Who is your target market?
What's your position?
On several occasions, my colleagues and I have come across
business owners who spent upwards of $20,000 on website design
and development, with literally nothing to show for it.
The reason? They didn't invest time and effort to establish
their specific needs.
They rushed ahead. And as they went along, plans changed,
different ideas evolved and costly experiments ensued. The
targets shifted month after month, right up until funds were
finally depleted.
So how do you avoid this pitfall when it's time to launch your
business website?
Figure out what you actually need before you start sending out
any requests for quotes.
Here are three crucial questions you need to answer before you
build a business website:
- What is your website's objective?
The objective of your website is to support your business and
its goals.
For example, do you want to sell products online, generate
leads,
build a brand and awareness, attract members, generate feedback
or reduce call centre volume?
Here are the most basic business website categories and their
purposes:
- e-commerce - sell merchandise, increase sales, decrease
expenses
- Content sales - sell subscription services, generate
revenue via ads or subscriptions
- Lead-generation - generate sales possibilities,
usually for
high-priced products or services
- Self-service - improve customer service
and decrease costs, i.e. online help centre
When you're considering your business website needs, recognize
not only your requirements, but what your customer needs or
expects.
Base your website around building relationships and loyalty,
which will help you achieve consistent, persistent growth over
the long term. A short-sighted mindset will limit that growth
success. In fact, it could harm your very existence.
Thousands of business websites disappear daily, replaced by
thousands more of the same ilk. Industry Canada reports 50 per
cent of businesses do not survive beyond the third year.
A carefully planned and executed website can help your business
achieve sustained growth and stand out above the rest.
Who is your target market?
Before building a business website, you need to define your
target market and understand their needs and wants.
This is essential
to appeal to and connect with those you choose to serve. Before your
website can sell anything to your target
market, you need to be able to answer their questions and put
their fears to rest.
Where do you begin? Groundwork. Go where your target
audience
socializes. Go where they work. Go where they shop. Observe their behaviors, and conduct informal and formal surveys. As well,
study how your direct competition caters to them.
What does your target
market value? What makes them feel good?
And, quite frankly, what makes them reach for their wallets?
Your observations
and research data will gain you a sound
understanding of your target market's trigger points - what's
truly important to them. By focusing on these key areas, you'll
have an opportunity to make them noticeably better than the
competition.
Moreover, if you take the time to understand your customer,
you'll be better versed to provide customized and personalized
service. While conducting business in cyberspace, many
traditional business practices still apply.
What's your position?
You need to determine what market position you want to establish
for your brand. How do you want potential clients to view you?
What sets you apart from the competition?
Your business website can significantly
influence how you are
perceived, especially considering it's a common first point of
contact between you and your potential customer.
What's your image of
choice? Trendy or practical. High end or
affordable. Swift or steady.
Your image will evolve - for better or worse
- regardless
whether you take a proactive, reactive or passive role.
So be proactive
and shape how the market views you. Ensure your
business website conveys clear messages that reflect who you are
or strive to be.
You'll make a good first and lasting impression.
Rick Sloboda - is a Senior Web Copywriter at
http://www.webcopyplus.com
Free web site tool: http://www.webcopyplus.com/tools More web site tips: http://www.webcopyplus.com/faqs
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