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Whether you're concerned with business-to-business, or business to consumer, whether your organization is large or small, commercial or nonprofit...
There are some fundamental questions around your website and technology strategy that should be addressed to ensure success.
Otherwise, you risk missing opportunities, and not maximizing the return on your investment in your online presence.
12website for Sunshine Coast website success: Caloundra, Buderim, Brisbane business web design.
If you haven't visited your own website for a while, look at it
again in light of these questions:
Maybe you are just not getting "them in the door - your website homepage ".
Take your time - this is the key to one successful website or
a number of successful websites linked together.
12website has been redesigning and upgrading poor performance
websites for over 7 years using these guidelines. Web site Redesign
Contact us for help.
1. Does your website present an appropriate image of your
company?
Marketers talk a lot about branding, and consistency of message.
Does your company site reflect how you'd like your customers to
feel about your business? Is it sophisticated, and professional
looking? Does it speak directly to visitors in language that
they'll understand, and in ways that relate to their issues and
needs?
Image is also about public relations. Publicity is a powerful
marketing tool, and reporters are increasingly looking for
stories and information online. Does your website offer a media
center? Does it offer comment on current events in your
industry? Do you face up to the bad news, and spin it to your
advantage? Whatever you may think of Microsoft, check out their
extensive Press Pass area at:
www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.asp
2. Does your Website suggest potential for new or currently
untapped markets?
In almost all the sites that I've consulted for, we've
identified markets or audiences beyond the "real-world" customer
base of the business.
This may be because the site extends the geographic reach of
your marketing. If you have good content on your site, it may
also be because visitors looking for your subject area find you
in search engines and come to read your articles and white
papers.
Either way, if you find many "non-traditional" visitors to your
site, you should assess whether they constitute a possible new
market area for your business. Beware of Fast Profit or Fast Talk.
3. Does your website suggest potential for new products or
services?
A clear understanding of your visitor needs may also encourage
you to consider new products or services. On the Web, bundling
expertise into downloadable, for-sale content provides valuable
new revenue streams for many businesses and non-profits.
You can find great clues for development ideas by tracking the
keywords entered into your own site search engine. These show
what visitors expect to find on your site - and therefore what
they expect your company to offer.
4. Does your Website provide continuing added value for existing
customers?
Most site owners focus on acquiring new customers and fail to
maximize the opportunities to support and service existing ones.
These include password-protected areas where your clients can
follow the progress of their projects, share documents with you,
etc. Personalisation and pre-populated forms (i.e. which are
automatically filled in with the customer's details) help to
create a feeling of value and save time for your visitors.
Check the average response time for a contact from your Website.
One of the top complaints about major company sites is that e-
mails are not answered in a timely (hopefully 24 hours or less)
manner.
5. Does your website support your internal operations and
employee needs?
This question relates to whether you're making the best use of
all available technologies and integrating them with your
online operations.
Example applications to consider include:
* Instant messaging - fast becoming a serious business tool
* Knowledge bases - continually updated databases that can
provide automated customer support on a 24/7 basis
* Streaming media - perhaps for just-in-time training or
on-the-spot manuals for your operatives
* Intranets and extranets - which are really just fancy names
for password-protected employee and client areas.
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