![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
A website is the most versatile and cost-effective marketing tool on the market. It is also an investment. After all, you are building a shopfront. In a nutshell, you can use your website to:
Enhance your professional imageBoost confidence in your business
5. Demonstrate your knowledge and expertise with tips, articles and editorials.
6. Build your credibility by displaying awards and providing testimonials.
7. Encourage potential clients. A free web hosting address can look dubious and show less commitment to your business.
8. Give staff details to humanise your business, to show that you are "real" people.
9. Provide background information on your business.
Provide current and useful information
10. Publish a catalogue or portfolio of your products and services.
11. Inform your visitors about the benefits and applications of your products.
12. Categorise information according to target audiences. For example, discuss benefits of a dishwasher to potential buyers and give installation instructions to installers.
13. Arrange table of comparisons of product specifications and prices to help your client's decision making.
14. Publish a newsletter.
15. List upcoming products, services, events.
Increase sales
16. Sell directly to customers without middlemen.
17. Take orders when clients are ready.
18. Generate extra income with affiliate programs and sponsorships.
19. Sell advertising space eg banners.
20. Provide enrolment forms and applications for membership.
Save on operational costs
21. Open your shopfront extended hours - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - at no extra cost.
22. Produce high-impact online coloured brochures that would be too expensive to print.
23. Save printing and mailing costs on newsletters, brochures and reports.
24. Update information regularly without incurring printing costs.
25. Save time on phone calls by providing answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ).
26. Advertise your job vacancies.
27. Shorten your sales cycle by streamlining your operations.
Expand your client base.
28. Expand your reach to new global markets.
29. Collect names and addresses using viral marketing eg "Tell a friend".
30. Send special reports to visitors who provide you with their contact details.
31. Link with suppliers, clients or complementary businesses to attract more traffic to your website.
32. Increase client base with special offers and newsletter subscriptions.
Implement promotional activities
33. Link offline and online advertising and promotion to feed on each other.
34. Use email marketing and save on direct mailing costs.
35. Experiment with new promotional ideas and measure their effectiveness.
36. Create loyalty programs for repeat clients eg vouchers, special offers.
Create a favourable public image
37. Provide a list of links to promote your partners and associations.
38. Promote your community spirit and involvement.
39. Publicise your environmentally friendly practices.
40. Provide a press media kit.
Improve your level of customer service
41. Display your policies and warranties.
42. Maintain visibility with regular email invitations to view new online information or promotion.
43. Provide a user guide with a trouble-shooting section.
44. Allow your customers to view and change their account details and pay invoices.
45. Improve your after-sales service with follow ups and feedback forms.
46. Archive information. You can make available past issues of newsletters and user guides of dated products.
Obtain information for market research
47. Collect information from visitors (eg age group, preferences).
48. Gather information from suggestion forms to develop new products or improve existing ones.
49. Test and evaluate new products without spending big dollars.
50. Use surveys to obtain primary data for researches and reports.
Marketing Cues extra tip
Use multiple domain (or subdomain) names to differentiate products and services, measure promotion effectiveness and attract more traffic to your website. For example, www.product1.com, www.product2.com and www.service1.com could all point towards the same website.
© 2005 Henriette Martel-Lawson
Henriette Martel-Lawson, author of "200 Marketing Ideas for Your Website", is a website strategist who helps businesses develop or convert a stale website into an effective marketing tool. Henriette is the founder of Marketing Cues, an internet marketing resource centre providing articles, reviews, free tools and lots of tips. Receive a free ebook when you subscribe to bimonthly WEBmarketingcues newsletter at http://www.marketingcues.com
Launching a new small business website is often a long... Read More
1. SiteSpinner V2 - On Sale www.deprice.com/sitespinner.htmSiteSpinner is a user-friendly... Read More
There is an ongoing debate about web copy. Some say... Read More
Anyone who knows anything about web accessibility knows that images... Read More
Alternate medicine finds its own place in the hearts and... Read More
80% of your Web site is Maintenance!Once your Web site... Read More
Through the explosive growth of the Web, companies have realized... Read More
Like wine cars get more attractive to collectors as years... Read More
Mini Websites are the most powerful and cost effective solution... Read More
So you want to have a website. You have gone... Read More
--------------------------------Why Should You Create a website?--------------------------------A. What do you want... Read More
August 8 2005, Macromedia announced a release of Studio 8.... Read More
Many millions of dollars are being wasted on promoting and... Read More
One of the most important parts of establishing a new... Read More
"What's in it for me?" you ask. "Why should I... Read More
The Internet is being used by local service business to... Read More
They might not be wearing a mask and carrying a... Read More
When we review the sites of potential clients, there are... Read More
Creatively marketing your corporate site takes time in the set... Read More
Q. Hey, Cathy: I'm just setting up a website. What... Read More
When visitors add your web site to their Favorites or... Read More
Everyone wants one.Everyone wishes they knew how to make one.SOME... Read More
Psychology is a long word which everyone thinks, "no, that's... Read More
When you consider the billions of individuals and companies on... Read More
How do you decide on the content, products and or... Read More
When you started reading this sentence you assumed lo acabaría... Read More
Does your website have a links/resources page?Do you exchange reciprocal... Read More
You have seen those web pages where they have the... Read More
Before you start building your site, ask yourself "WHY?". Why... Read More
Think up a name and check if yourname.com is available.... Read More
Selecting the Perfect Domain NameThe first issue I have with... Read More
Creating and maintaining an effective presence on the Web has... Read More
You don't believe in astrology but you check your horoscope... Read More
Are you, like many other website owners, frustrated at the... Read More
Here's something you may never have thought of before:If I... Read More
Many millions of dollars are being wasted on promoting and... Read More
"What's in it for me?" you ask. "Why should I... Read More
Below, I have listed 8 simple steps that you can... Read More
Web templates by nature are created to aid and ease... Read More
For years now I've been looking to start my own... Read More
You work hard to build traffic to your web page.... Read More
Although CSS layouts have been around for years, they haven't... Read More
Most interactive websites nowadays would require a user to log... Read More
In the big, wide online world there are millions of... Read More
So you want to take a look at a real... Read More
So you've decided to start an online work at home... Read More
What happened on your website yesterday? What about last week... Read More
What do you mean, you don't have a website for... Read More
Most web sites are more like stage sets than real... Read More
Affiliate programs are a great way to earn an income... Read More
Web Development Web Development |