Maximise the ROI from your Web Site
Your web site is the greatest opportunity to engage and educate your customers and potential customers about your products and services. Now, more than ever, you cannot allow poor web site design and navigation to turn customers away from your business and into the hands of your competitors.
Today 393,373,398 Europeans use the Internet, that’s 48.9% of the population of Europe. Source www.internetworldstats.com. Web sites have become the most essential element of the marketing mix and these days most businesses have a site but it’s not enough just to have an online presence you have to have an effective one.
Everybody sets out to create a well designed and effective web site so why are there so many poorly designed and ineffective web sites out there? The answer is often that the core marketing principles of adopting a customer centric approach and insightful planning are missing from the process.
Start by defining what the web site needs to achieve for your business and define your on-line strategy as to how those needs are going to be met. Next create some web site objectives and goals and make sure they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound). Research your market sector and analyse what your competition are up to regarding their positioning, branding, messaging and very important for your search engine optimisation, the keywords they are using.
Put your users at the centre of your planning
The user experience is a critical success factor for the site and it is important to appreciate that they will have different needs. As in any marketing communication initiative the target audience should be analysed and segmented into groups of similar needs and the navigation, messaging and content should be targeted accordingly.
Planning the content and navigation needs to be carefully considered before pen is put to paper or the first mouse clicked in the design phase. It is a good idea to draw up a site map which shows every page in the web site focusing on navigation and sub navigation. Include search engine optimisation as part of your plan as it is much more effective to optimise the site from the start. Your keywords affect the site structure and navigation and influence content.
Choose the technology to fulfil the web site objectives and don’t use the latest hot techniques unless they serve the needs of the site and enhance the user experience. Flash animation and video can be very effective but they are no substitute for a well thought out and easy to navigate web site.
Perception is Reality
Consider how your brand image is going to work online and the impression it is going to create in the minds of your users. As marketing gurus Ries and Trout say ‘perception is reality in the minds of your customers.’ If your brand is creating a poor image of your business then consider a re-brand (or brand refresh) before launching your new web site. Below is an example of a brand refresh and website re-design created by Breathe Marketing for Opex (the original site is on the left and the new one on the right).
Your web site should be at the heart of your marketing communications and it is important to make promotional plans at the beginning of the web site redesign process. If you don’t promote your site no one will read the fabulous new content you have spent hours preparing! Look at an integrated approach using creative online and offline tactics to drive traffic to your site.
Minimise your risk and maximise your return
Your web site is probably the most important element of your marketing communications mix. Web technology is becoming increasingly complex and it requires a high level of understanding and expertise to design and build effective web sites. Hire professionals who can demonstrate the right marketing, technical and design skills to deliver your web site objectives and be wary of trusting this critical task to anyone else.
Effective web sites result from the right planning, the right marketing approach, the right branding, the right content, the right design matching the right technology.
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