| Every
so often when I speak with someone who is
dismayed at their web site’s ability
to generate revenue I am surprised when
they tell me they don’t know how
many people visit their site each month,
day, hour, etc. Measuring the traffic to
and through your web site is critical for
understanding the marketing prowess of
your web design and the effectiveness of
your advertising efforts. If your web site
enjoys lots of traffic, say over 1000
visitors a day, but generates one or two
sales a month you can be pretty sure
there is a deficiency in your web design.
If you are not measuring traffic to your
site you do not provide yourself an
opportunity to identify and correct the
problem. Your web design should lend
itself to helping you get your visitors
to take the action you want, buy
something or provide you their valuable
contact information.
On the
other hand, if your web site generates a
small amount of sales and you don’t
know that only fifty people are visiting
your site each month you deny yourself
the ability to realize that you have a
fantastic web site and that marketing it
better will lead to a significant
increase in revenue.
If you
are not measuring your web site’s
traffic you are missing opportunities to
increase your ability to generate sales
and be more successful. Two providers of
web metrics are webtrends.com and webstat.com.
Poor
marketing message
Another
reason web sites fail to sell is that
they do not do a good job of delivering a
compelling marketing message. Without an
excellent marketing message you risk your
visitors hopping off to another web site
because they do not know that you have
what they want or need.
One sign
that you may have a less than stellar
marketing message is that it does not
speak directly to the consumers who
become your clients. Your marketing
message should identify exactly whom you
help. If you help more than one
population you can easily cater your
marketing message by changing just a word
or two. Be sure your marketing message
clearly indicates whom you help and you
will notice an improvement in you sales
success.
Another
sign that your marketing message is not
hitting a homerun is that it does not
clearly demonstrate that you provide what
your customers seek. If you sell handbags
and your marketing message is “glamour
can be yours” then you are missing
the boat as this marketing message fails
to indicate at all that you sell
handbags.
To
correct a dysfunctional marketing message
make sure it clearly identifies your
target market and the results they seek.
Once you have a great marketing message
you can use it in your web site and your
other marketing material as well.
Don’t
See Big Picture
Another
common shortcoming of small business web
sites is that many fail to realize a
fundamental marketing concept: most
consumers who make a decision to buy
something make the decision to do so
after 6 - 8 contacts with some form of
marketing for a particular product or
service. Failing to realize and act upon
this marketing fact will hinder your
ability to grow your business.
The
purpose of marketing is to establish your
business in the marketplace so that
consumers think of you when they are
ready to act to fill a need or desire. By
regularly getting your marketing message
in front of your market you can help them
associate what you do with what they
need. You can also attract more clients
by demonstrating your expertise to
clients in your marketing material.
Poor
design
Do
visitors to your web site do what you
want them to do? If they are not it may
be the design of your web site that is
preventing your visitors from taking the
action you want them to take. The design
of each of your web pages is instrumental
in guiding the actions of your visitors.
So what
constitutes good design? Good design
stems from the skillful integration of
graphical and textual layout, color,
shape and choice and flow of content. If
your site does not have the content your
visitors seek you will strike out each
time someone visits your page. If your
web pages don’t put what you want
your visitors to see immediately in front
of them you will miss opportunities to
sell. If your choice of fonts and colors
make your pages difficult to read your
visitors will likely move along to
another web site they can understand more
easily.
To
identify if your web pages suffer from
poor design ask yourself the following
questions:
- Does
my text stand out over my
background color?
- Does
the design of my site focus my
visitor’s attention where I
want it?
- Does
my content give my users what
they want?
If you
answered ‘No’ to any of the
questions above you can improve your
ability to get your users to do what you
want by taking steps to correct anything
that may be wrong.
Failure
to Focus on Client Needs
When
people visit your web site you want them
to read through the content of your site.
By doing so your visitors develop a sense
of how your product or service can help
them. If your copy doesn’t focus on
your clients’ needs and desires they
will be off to another site in a blink.
If your
visitors are quickly leaving your web
site it may be because your copy does not
focus on their needs. Here are some
common mistakes to avoid:
- Don’t
focus on the process or method
you use to do your job
- Don’t
focus on your existing clients
- Don’t
focus on your experience
- Don’t
focus on the quality of your
product
By
making any of the above mistakes you
detract attention from the reasons that
are going to help your clients make the
decision to buy from you. You may be very
proud of your accomplishments, and you
should be, but focusing on them does not
address your clients' needs and will do
little to help you sell more effectively.
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