There are really two aspects to your marketing. The web site is normally created to market a product, service, or perhaps a mission. It has a specific goal, and the web site designer needs to know that goal before starting the design. The second aspect is the marketing of the web site. For the purpose of this chapter, we are primarily looking at how to market (promote) the web site, and this involves two paths - one is on-line, the other off-line.
The Four
Steps of Marketing
There are
four basic steps for the marketing of your service or product: Getting
your customer's attention, building the relationship, positioning, and
the actual getting the commitment - the call to action. Each of these
is important for your success. Don't just jump to the getting the commitment
if you want success. Let's take a brief look at each of these steps.
Getting Your Customer's Attention
We live in an information-dense world. Your web site is in the search
engine with (in the case of Google) or over 8 billion pages. Your classified
advertisement in the newspaper is buried with others. Almost any approach
you take to distribute your message is going to be competing with others.
How do your competitors get the attention of their customers?
To be successful, you also need to first learn how your customer makes
decisions; i.e., walk in their shoes. More and more people, for example,
are using the Internet search engines to make their purchasing decisions
- not the printed yellow pages. Even if they use a brick-and-mortar
store, they often will do their web shopping on the Internet as well -
either for information, to find out who can help them, or for the actual
buying. Do you have a web site in those search engines? Can you design
that web site so they come back again and again? What are the basic needs
of your customer? Why do they come to the Internet? How can you take advantage
of that to get their attention? Also, did you know that the major search
engines - Google, Yahoo, MSN - all have a yellow pages directory (with
maps, driving directions, etc.for businesses) that is separate from their
search engine database? And you can add your business to this directory
without charge!
There are several ways web designers use to get your attention. Flashing
text is generally considered poor taste. Animation may be good if the
animation is part of your message, but even repetitive animation can be
tiresome.. Eyes move to the animation, drawing the user's attention. If
you use animation, be sure it carries your message or it's a distraction.
The words you use are important. Do you know the hot words that generate
the response you want? (Our SEO book list 33 you can use and 17 you should
probably avoid.)
Building
a Relationship
Today you generally no longer can close a sale on simply getting your
customer's attention. Today, you have to build trust through a relationship
with your client. This takes time. Why should they buy from you? What
is your credibility? You generally do not have enough trust with your
client initially to know what the keyword phrase - the hot button - is.
The key strategy here, then, is listening. He or she will tell you the
hot button if you listen. Through your relationship, you are listening
for clues about their need as it relates to your product or service. Sometimes
the need may not relate to your product or service, but you still can
help them. Do it - build that relationship and trust.
This means if your website is your marketing vehicle, you need to be able
to keep your customer returning and interacting with your site. Newsletters,
contests, blogs, and more can help you build this interaction and relationship.
You want their email address for your database of clients, and you need
to give them something to get this. Also, during this process, you are
qualifying your clients.
I have a friend that is a professional photographer. He sends me free
screen-resolution samples of his work occasionally, which constantly acts
as a reminder of his mission and credibility. Who do you think I'll turn
to first when I need professional photography for a site I am designing?
Positioning
Positioning implies placing yourself of value to your client relative
to your competitors. In what way are you unique relative to your competitors?
Support? Are you certified? Lower price? Closer geographically? Do you
provide extra benefits? Are you communicating those benefits effectively?
Several people sell WebPostion Gold for example. We sell it with a free
copy of our e-Book. What extra benefit can you provide? Often you should
lead with those benefits.
What testimonies can you provide? Several people sell e-books on the Web.
One of these sellers leads with a long, long page of testimonies on their
e-Book with pictures of the customers. With some of the testimonies, the
customer hasn't even read the book they are promoting. Now that's a good
trick!
Your strategy is to increase the value of your product or service relative
to your competition. Clarify that value. Increase your credibility.
Close the Sale
Do you know this is the step that most people leave out? For whatever
reason - probably fear - people often fail to ask for the commitment.
This is also the phrase that you deal with objections. Anticipate your
objections ahead of time and be prepared to answer them. Is price the
problem (benefits worth the price)? Your geographic location? Don't need
it now? For a web site, add an FAQ page that deals with the objections
and your answers.
(Adapted from Search Engine Positioning and Web Site Promotion, by Carl Townsend)
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