What is your Web Strategy?

Marketing your business to the community has never been easy. Just two decades ago there were basically three choices; print, radio or television. Essentially all three of these remain today, although print media has seen considerable decline, radio and television have expanded their stations and channels. Now we’re in the age of digital communication, the web! Another choice has entered the marketing world and for most small business owners, the web is a mystery, a black hole they pour money into but mostly the web is a marketing opportunity few business owners have mastered. This ever changing world of technology has made marketing more difficult yet more powerful. There is no denying the power of communication and presence the web has brought to the business world.

What is a business owner to do? Start by accepting the fact that the web is here to stay and has become one of the most important strategies all successful businesses utilize to market themselves to the world. The web has not only become the “yellow pages” of the 21st century but has become THE source for information and communication the modern world turns to for commerce decisions, data gathering and solutions to problems. However having a website only because everyone else has one is not a reason to create and pay for one if you don’t already have one. The challenge small business owners really face is they haven’t developed a web strategy. In other words, not only do they not know how to present themselves in the digital world but they don’t know what message they should send.

The first question a business owner must ask is what they want their website to do. In answering this question the mystery of how to present your business will become clearer. The second question is how they will know if the website is delivering the desired results. Narrowing down the choices for the focus of a website will help with the first big question.

There are essentially three types of websites. 1) Customer focused, 2) Resource/information focused or 3) Sales focused. This is not to say that a good website must be one of these choices only, rather select one of these as the main focus of your website content.

Having a customer focused website is one rich with tools and information for customers to access during and after doing business with you. It will have industry or trade specific information, company credentials, certifications, product or service usage videos, and a log-in for customers to access further information, provide feedback and have an emphasis on frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) .

A resource or information focused website will operate more like a library. A repository of specific and useful information, communicated through words, examples and videos. Both this type of web site and the customer focused web site benefit from testimonials and a listing of past company achievements. A resource site will have lots of links to other sources for seekers to gather more information, along with blogs and date sensitive news.

The third choice is a sales focused website. This type of site is designed to drive purchases or create leads for your business. It will have a secure, competent and easy to access transactional shopping cart. It answers these specific questions, “What did the visitor need when they typed in the key word(s) search and found me?” What commodity were they looking for and is my company capable of providing it at a price that is competitive and profitable? Sales focused websites may not do direct selling but provide a gateway for prospective leads. If your product or service requires personal communication or a face to face visit, does your website incentive visitors to leave their contact confirmation so a contact can be made? Do you have a call to action, a reason they should leave their information or call your contact number today? Are you telling them just enough to pique their interest and leave them with a desire to know more? A sales focused site will include a lot of the information visitors need to make the decision to request the contact or to reach out and make the call. That information should include testimonials, a list of past satisfied clients, product warranties and satisfaction assurances.

Ruben Estrada our founder, had a rule he would quote when discussing website business strategy with clients, “Begin with the end in mind!” It’s so easy to get lost in this digital world. Between trying to be an “everything to everybody” web site, SEO’s, social networking, blogging, article marketing, video utilization and more, his point was to focus on the end, the purpose of your website. Beginning with the end in mind means to build a website strategically designed to serve your desired visitor, not to serve your ego or just to have a website.

Once it’s running, the next action step is implementing a system to continually measure the results, to assure you it is driving the results you desired.

If you’re still unsure about how to develop a high performing website or you’re unclear about the message you want to send or if you need to know what to do next, get some expert guidance by calling a professional business coach at Estrada Strategies.

Steven Lynn is a Business Coach at Estrada Strategies in Ontario, CA and can be reached at (909) 578-7000 or [email protected].