Your website may have more power than you think.
As
the world turns increasingly towards the internet for almost any possible
need—from grocery shopping to buying I-pods to finding a soul mate—it’s
important to keep in mind the vast quantities of content available on the world
wide web. In January 2009, the average web-using American went online 62 times,
visited 115 domains, viewed 2,580 web pages and spent nearly 75 hours online, according to data
from Nielsen Online.
But you can and should use these
numbers to your advantage. Since people are already online, all you have to do
is direct them to your site, and keep them there. And trust me, you want to.
Three of the top four marketing channels for generating quality leads are
online: websites, e-mail marketing, and SEO (search engine optimisation).
According to a report done by the American Business Media and Forrester
Research, 62% of business-to-business marketers said industry specific websites
are effective at generating new leads.
Think of your website as a way of
fishing for clients. Your bait has to be appealing enough to attract all sorts
of fish, and luring them toward your hook is the first step to a successful
catch. Will the fish bite, or will he
keep swimming along?
Websites are often the first point
of contact for potential clients. You only get one shot at a first impression,
so you need to make it a good one. The first thing to think about is the
overall appearance of your site—is it eye-catching? Are there flashy colours?
Can you navigate around easily? Visually attractive websites form a positive
impression in users’ minds, and this impression sticks—despite any successive negative
experiences that may occur. Researchers from Carleton University have found
that the brain makes a decision about any given webpage is just 1/20th
of a second. You don’t have much time to impress, so drawing the customer in
straight away is essential.
Now that you’ve captured their
attention (“I think I feel a tug on my line!”), you need to keep it. 75% of web
users judge the credibility of an organisation on the design of their website,
according to a study done by Stanford University. If you’re site is poorly
designed, contains spelling errors, communicates poorly, or takes more than
four seconds to load—sorry, mate, your fish is going to set itself free and
swim away to the more promising bait on the other side of the lake.
Don’t rely on taste, either. Your
bait may be worthy of a five-star restaurant in New York City, but if it
doesn’t look appetising, no fish out there will give it a second glance.
The same goes for websites. It doesn’t matter how superior your product is, or
how much better you are than your competitors—an initial negative impression
from a poor or slow design can steer customers away from your website. They’ll
find a more attractive, better designed website, and will never get a taste for
how great your company really is.
After all, there are plenty of
other fishermen out there, and they’re all doing everything they can to
out-fish you. In 2008, $412.2 billion was spent on
marketing and advertising in the US, with over 30% of those billions spent on
company websites and other online advertising.
As newspapers and print journalism shift to an online medium, so too are
marketing strategies. Spending on websites and profile pages rose 26.8% from
August 2008 to August 2009. When marketing professionals were asked in which media they intended to
spend more money this year, two thirds of them said “my own website.”
Competition is harsh, but Melon Media can help you accomplish your needs.
In 2007, 17% of
retail sales were influenced or made on the Internet; this number is expected
to rise to 43% by 2012. With the proper tools, your website can bring in
customers from all over the world, dramatically increase sales, and improve
your company’s reputation before a single phone call is made. So find that
perfect bait, cast it out in the vast ocean of World Wide Web users, and watch
your business grow like the pile of fish beside you.
For examples of what NOT to do,
check out the most poorly designed websites
of 2009
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