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Site Strategies
A great site
is the combination of (1) a good idea, (2) excellent execution, and (3) top
customer care.
The better your site, the deeper your content, the
easier your sales process, and the more caring your customer service, it'll be
that much harder for any competitor to rise to your level of excellence. Your
site is part of your business and it must be integrated.
 | Pick a good domain name. The name
should be associated with your business name, if possible, or with the core
product or services you provide. |
| Visit your Competitors. Find out what makes a
site appealing or not so appealing. |
| Design the site to be people friendly. People
moving about the Internet will form an opinion of you, through your site, so
the design should welcome them. Slow, messy, cumbersome pages will
discourage people. They will go else where. |
| Include Your URL on Stationery, Cards, and
Literature. This is a no-brainer that's sometimes overlooked. Make sure
that all reprints of cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your
company's URL. And see that your printer gets the URL syntax correct. In
print, leave off the http:// part and include only the www.domain.com portion.
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| Promote using traditional media. Don't
discontinue print advertising you've found effective. But be sure to include
your URL in any display or classified ads you purchase in trade journals,
newspapers, etc. View your website as an information adjunct to the ad. Use a
two-step approach: (1) capture the readers' attention with the ad, (2) then
refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place
an order. Look carefully at small display or classified ads in the back of
narrowly-targeted magazines or trade periodicals. Sometimes these ads are more
targeted, more effective, and less expensive than online advertising. Consider
other traditional media to drive people to your site, such as direct mail,
classifieds, post cards, etc. Since 1999 we've seen TV used to promote sites,
though it is probably too broad for all but the most general product sites.
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| Develop an Web Based Service. It's boring to
invite people, "Come to our site and learn about our business." It's quite
another to say "Use the free kitchen remodeling calculator available
exclusively on our site." Make no mistake, it's expensive in time and energy
to develop free resources, but it is very rewarding in increased traffic to
your site. Make sure that your free service is closely related to what you are
selling so the visitors you attract will be good prospects for your business.
Give visitors multiple opportunities and links to cross over to the sales part
of your site. Don't forget about discounts for the use of the web site.
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| Issue News Releases. Find newsworthy
events (such as launching your free service), and send news releases to print
and Web periodicals in your industry. However, opening or redesigning a
website is seldom newsworthy these days. Placing your website URL in
online copies of your press release may increase link popularity some.
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E-Mail Strategies
Don't neglect
e-mail as an important way to bring people to your website. Just don't spam.
That is, don't send bulk unsolicited e-mails without permission to people with
whom you have no relationship.
| Install a "Signature" in your E-Mail
Program to help potential customers get in touch with you. Most
e-mail programs allow you to designate a "signature" to appear at the
end of each message you send. Limit it to 6 to 8 lines: Company name, address,
phone number, URL, e-mail address, and a one-phrase description of your unique
business offering. Look for examples on e-mail messages sent to you.
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| Publish an E-Mail Newsletter. While
it's a big commitment in time, publishing a monthly or bi-monthly e-mail
newsletter ("ezine") is one of the very best ways to keep in touch with your
prospects, generate trust, develop brand awareness, and build future business.
It also helps you collect e-mail addresses from those who visit your site but
aren't yet ready to make a purchase. Ask for e-mail address and their first
name so you can personalize the newsletter. You can distribute your newsletter
using listservers. If you're just getting started you can use free
advertising-supported programs. |
| Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers.
Your own list of customers and site visitors who have given you permission to
contact them will be your most productive list. Send offers, coupon specials,
product updates, etc. Personalizing the subject line and the message will
increase the results. |
So how can OSG7 help you?
| We will help you with the domain name. |
| We will help you with the design. |
| We will help you with a hosting platform. |
| We will help you market your site on the WWW. |
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