How Your Target Audience Sees Your Web Presence
You may not be eBay or Amazon.com, but if you have a website, you’re in the business of selling online. Most companies rely on their web presence to build awareness of their products and services. In some ways, their sites function as brochures. But unlike a brochure, a website offers opportunities to share exciting news quickly and inexpensively. You may not accept orders and process credit card payments, but your website should be an effective sales and marketing tool.
Take a look at your site – does it reflect the value of your products and services in today’s economic environment? Consider the point of view of your target audiences. Targets typically include current customers, prospects, job seekers, and the press. Depending on your business, other targets may include suppliers, partners, former employees, and regulatory agencies.
Current customers – what have you done lately?
Is your website up to date and compelling? Existing customers will lose interest in a static website, and you will lose a marketing opportunity. Websites must change to reinforce the value of the business relationship.
- A newsletter can direct customers to the site for exciting news on product launches or industry awards. Make your company newsletter accessible online or start an Email subscription list. Chances are your hosting company offers affordable, easy-to-use tools for maintaining a list and sending Email updates.
- The changing seasons (tax time, holidays) are reliable sources of new content. The business calendar and market conditions provide relevant fodder for B2B-oriented firms.
- Create a Q&A area where your company’s experts tackle issues of concern in your industry.
- Check out your competitors’ sites. How can you top their content?
Your employees may be the best source of new ideas. Encourage them to brainstorm ways to reach and engage existing customers.
Prospects – what is so great about you?
To differentiate your business, you must communicate the unique value of your products and services. Recognize that the value changes over time, depending on the economy and competitors’ moves, among other factors.
- Descriptions of products and services are marketing messages, not sacred scriptures, and should be updated regularly.
- Create new case studies and testimonials. Touting last year’s achievements is dangerous if the technologies or methods used have become common or obsolete.
The Press – only recent news is fit to print
No news is bad news. If the “What’s New” section reads like last winter’s calendar, you project inertia. If you can’t commit to regular updates, you may be better off removing the news entirely.
View your website from your targets’ perspective, and you will discover new ideas for making your website an effective marketing tool that showcases a vibrant organization.
We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a complimentary assessment of your online presence, let’s have coffee.
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Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: "Write It Down"-A Website for Writers
Discussion: How Your Target Audience Sees Your Web Presence
For most of my professional life, I relied on word of mouth to spread the good-cheer about my psychoanalytic practice. It worked very well. But when I moved and attempted to re build a practice in a different part of the state, I saw that there were no mouths who knew me to spread the word. I build a decent web-site and got feed back from a few professionals who said they like it very much.
It feel to me like a made a brochure and got 1500 of them printed and now they are sitting on my desk..As good as I may think my web-brochure might be, it is not finding new audiences and it is costing to keep it on line.
I would post the web address here, but do not know if that is "legal" or "kosher" to do.
Posted by albert dussault
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Publishing and editing professionals
Discussion: How Your Target Audience Sees Your Web Presence
From someone just in the process of designing their website, thank you for a very useful link. Something as simple as looking at your site as if you are a customer would not have occurred to me, as it's too easy to get carried away with making it how I want it. But I'm not my customer!
Posted by Clare Annand
Clare,
I'm glad it helped.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: "Write It Down"-A Website for Writers
Discussion: How Your Target Audience Sees Your Web Presence
This advice is all fine and good, for those of us with only one site. How should I manage seven?
Posted by Mike Shields
Mike,
The same way.
Are you managing seven web presences for the same business or seven unique ones?
If they are for the same business I want to understand why 7 and what is the purpose of each.
You can call us and ask for Michael to discuss your specific situation.
Best regards,
Michael
As many as 98% of visitors are leaving websites without ever contacting the company!
Yet most companies continue to spend thousands on SEO to gain more targeted traffic… rather than revisiting the marketing message they are conveying once their prospects arrive.
Most websites have NO clear message or call to action whatsoever. As if there is an expectation that visitors will ultimately figure out the desire marketing objective.
Well the numbers are in, and getting more traffic to the site is certainly not the answer!
Chuck