Is Your Website Outdated?
A Web site can be your number one marketing tool if you keep
refreshing it with new information and make it valuable to your
target market.
How long has it been since you made any changes to your Web
site?
For many companies, once they put up a Web site, they are done.
Yeah, maybe they will add some current news events now and then,
but generally a finished Web site is not something a company
thinks about too much. It functions as an electronic brochure
for them and that's the end of the story. But should it be?
Let's begin to answer that question by looking at the main
reason people use the Internet: to find information. Is the
information on your Web site the most current available or is it
dated?
How many of you have visited Web sites that list the last update
as 2004? Or how about a Web site that lists a copyright date of
2005 and shows a visitor count of 1500? Sad, isn't it. Sad
because these companies haven't figured out that a Web site is a
dynamic marketing tool that constantly needs review and tweaking.
I'm not talking about drastic, complete overhaul; I'm talking
about making changes based on your target market and how they
buy. Even if you feel your company only needs a Web site as an
electronic brochure you need to think about how your target
market buys.
Who is Your Target Market?
Who do you want to visit your Web site and buy your product or
service? If you haven't done an analysis of your target market
recently, you might want to take a look again. Businesses
change, markets change and your target audience changes.
Think about what's been going on in your business in the last
six months. How are things different? *Have you started selling
new products or are you offering new services? *Have you taken
your business in a new direction? *Are you becoming more
targeted as to who you do business with? *Are you now targeting
a specific industry or demographics that you weren't six months
ago? *What are you doing that's bringing your most money? *What
are you doing that is not bringing in money? *Have the buying
patterns of your customers changed? *Are there any business
trends that are affecting your business? *Is the local business
economy affecting your business? *Have you done a recent survey
to find out who your competition is? *Have your surveyed your
customers recently to find out their needs? *Have the goals for
your business changed?
By answering all these questions you will have a current market
analysis of your customers and be better prepared to meet their
needs.
How Does Your Target Audience Buy?
That may seem like such a basic question, but the answer can
make or break a business on the Internet.
For example, do you accept credit cards on your Web site?
Someone who sells a service such as a consultant or a business
coach may feel that there is no need to accept credit cards
through their Web site because they are not selling any product.
However, you could be wrong if credit cards are the way your
clients buy. Maybe they would prefer to just go to your Web site
to make their payments rather than taking the time to send you a
check.
What if your customers are a little nervous about using their
credit cards on the Internet, have you considered offering a
PayPal payment system? For a small business, PayPal is a very
cost effective way to collect money online without going through
the cost of setting up a merchant account and paying its monthly
fees. You can make it easy for people to give you money when you
know how they buy. Now let's look at your Web site itself.
Make It Easy For Them to Buy
It doesn't matter whether you are selling a product or a
service, people need and want information to help them in their
buying decision. The easier you make it for them to make that
buying decision, the more likely you will be the one who gets
the sale.
Right now I'm working on a Web site for a small online business
that has plenty of competition for the products it is selling.
However, when I reviewed the online competition it became very
clear that none of the sites did a good job of organizing the
information so that the consumer could easily make an informed
decision. Some of the sites had good information, but it was so
scattered throughout the Web site that the visitor had to really
look to find the information.
After talking with the owner and identifying the demographics
and buying habits of the target audience, I completely
reorganized and rewrote the content to meet the needs of the
buyers. The content was rewritten to specifically appeal to an
audience of women ages 35 plus. We grabbed that niche market to
stand apart from the other online competitors who were trying to
appeal to everyone.
>From a navigation viewpoint, I changed things to make it easier
for a visitor to buy the products. Instead of three to four
clicks to make a sale, a visitor only has one or two clicks to
buy a product.
As soon as this Web site goes live with the changes, this online
business is going to be racking up the sales because we took the
time to analyze the target audience and how the target audience
buys. You can do the same thing with your Web site.
Make sure your site's information is timely, interesting, and
reflects the changes in your business in the last six months.
Think like your customer, make it easy for them to buy and
you'll never go wrong!