Below
are some key business questions for every business to consider before
embarking on the creation of a web site. You need to be able to find solid
answers to all of the questions posed. Failure to do so will probably
result in a strained relationship with your web designer at best, and
a failed site at worst! You might find it useful to print this page and
consider the contents carefully.
When
you ask CONCEPT to design your site we help you through these and other
crucial questions so that relationships remain harmonious and your site
is successful.
From
a marketing perspective, the Internet can assist in the generation of
new customers and work as a means to add value to the service provided
to existing clients. As such, it is important to examine just how many
of your customers actually use the Internet. If you are planning to enter
new markets, it is vital to consider Internet use among your proposed
customer base.
Consider
whether your products and services are suited to selling over the Internet.
There are two main approaches.
Direct
Selling. Traditionally items such as Software, Records, Clothing and other
inexpensive commodities have made money through direct Internet selling.
People are suspicious of making large cash payments in advance purchases
from a company that may or may not exist. Also, there are still security
risks (perceived and actual) associated with giving credit card details
through the Internet.
Seed
Planting. Many service companies use this approach. In our case, our site
highlights areas of expertise and invites the prospective client to open
discussions with us.
How
you decide to sell over the Internet will largely depend on the type of
product or service involved. This of course links back into your customer
profiles.
Does
this sound obvious? Unfortunately, too many companies 'put up a site'
without giving due thought to it's objectives. A site may be visually
excellent and still manage to fail in it's purpose. What are the options?
What is to be the purpose of your site?
Your
site may draw attention to your organisation and give useful information
on who you are and what you do. It may be there to sell a particular product
or service in which case the design will lead your potential customers
towards a buying decision.
Your
company may provide a site as a community service. The site may provide
useful information on issues such as music, art, anthropology, gardening
or whatever. How does the organisation benefit? Let's take an example.
If anyone searches the Internet for information about the Rolling Stones,
they will eventually end up at this site. Why? Because we provide the
Rolling Stones Screen Saver as a service to the community. Has this service
helped to generate new clients? Yes.
What
action do you want the visitor to take consequent to viewing your site?
If your
intention to take up residence on the Internet is the sum total of your
marketing efforts then it will probably fail. Look at every aspect of
your marketing plan and work out how a web site will complement your overall
efforts.
It's
one thing putting up a site, it's another to spread the word around that
it exists. Marketing and advertising an Internet site falls into two main
categories, paid and unpaid. You can achieve considerable exposure without
spending money. Registering your site with search engines and informing
selected newsgroups are both free of charge. For paid advertising, banner
ads and purchased mailing lists are both viable options.
This
can be a tricky one. It is easy enough to monitor the volume of traffic
to your site by using a counter (you are visitor 1000 to our site, sort
of thing). However, what does that actually tell you? It gives you no
information on how long the person stayed at your site and the pages they
visited while there. It is possible to generate statistics for your site
using software designed for the purpose. This will give you an idea as
to where your visitors are located and the pages they are viewing. The
downside is that the information presented can often be difficult to understand
for the non-technical person. Another method is to give visitors the option
of requesting further information from your organisation. On-line forms
(such as those used on this site) are a perfect way of monitoring the
numbers of serious visitors to your site.
Below
are some key business questions for every business to consider before
embarking on the creation of a web site. You need to be able to find solid
answers to all of the questions posed. Failure to do so will probably
result in a strained relationship with your web designer at best, and
a failed site at worst! You might find it useful to print this page and
consider the contents carefully.
