Keep your website in peak performance
with this
quick health check!
1 : Does your home page try too hard?
Have you noticed that many websites make it almost impossible
to find what you’re looking for? The opening page is often
a pretty but meaningless animated graphic. When you “skip
the intro” you get to a page that has five news headlines,
a dozen choices of buttons, text, product photos and a photo of
the factory. Your attention is drawn to a dozen places at once – and
all shout “me, me, me!”
 The
key to a good home page is focus. There should a single powerful
marketing message – preferably your core competence
or competitive edge – and it should get the lion’s
share of your viewer’s attention.
Saying everything to everyone on a single home page is clearly
impossible. Branding is about establishing your relevance in your
viewer’s mind. You will probably have to target just 1-2
key market sectors or products on the home page, leaving secondary
markets to “micro-sites” within your website.
The home page should reflect your company’s unique culture
or brand. Your home page will probably get 2-3 times the hits of
any other page on your website – so make sure it communicates
your branded image.
Finally, the home page needs to offer navigation to the key areas
of your website. By this I mean the key areas that your customer
is interested in, rather than the key areas that your CEO or marketing
department is interested in promoting.
2: Is it intuitive
Do you really know how your customer’s think? How they shop?
How they categorise themselves and your products? Many companies
create their website navigation buttons and menus around how they
view themselves – by department, by product, or by geographic
location.
Your customers and prospects are likely to have a very different
perspective of your company compared with managers and employees.
Once you have worked within a company for a while, it becomes difficult
to see your world like an outsider would. Logic is often in the
eye of the beholder.
So how do you identify your CUSTOMER's logic? The best long term
solution is to establish and use a system for measuring, testing,
and optimizing your website. Web statistics help you to:
- know who your viewers are and how they found you
- learn what visitors really want to know about and where they
spend their time
- understand the process that your customer’s follow when
considering your company or products
- increase the effectiveness of your public relations
- identify your errors and learn from your mistakes
Don’t forget that simply HAVING the statistics serves no
purpose unless you USE them to guide you in making regular, incremental
improvements to the website.
3: Is it human
Creating brand relationships is all about being human - that
means no corporate-speak, company jargon or insider acronyms. Make
sure the text you use is appropriate to your customer, his needs
and especially his terminology. Don't waste prospects' time with
PR "puffery". 4: Is it consistent
Websites evolve over time – that is one of their best features!
In doing so, some sections get left behind, while others keep getting
updated. Eventually, your home page and company profile present
one brand (usually something older since those animated sequences
are expensive), while the newer areas of the website have different
fonts, colours and language. It isn’t always easy to update
a big website all at once, but at least try to keep important elements
consistent. 5: Is it YOU!
If you took your logo off your website, would it still be recognizably “you”?
Often web designers take a “template” approach – they
have a great idea for a website and the next company who requests
one gets that idea, perhaps adjusted in a minor way. Or the developer
has learned a new skill, and needs a client to test it on. Try
to find ways of carrying your brand throughout your website – perhaps
in the tone of the copy, the colours or the way you display images.
At all times, your website should be consistent with your printed
and above-the-line marketing and public relations personality.
Does internet marketing sound like a complicated business? I
guess it is. Excitingly so. And one reason is that it combines
so many disciplines and communication skills.
And we haven't even touched on the roles information architecture,
consumer psychology, market research, sales, advertising, fulfillment,
customer relations, email marketing, and so many other factors
play.
InterComm integrates our experience in marketing, copywriting
and design AS WELL AS technology, ensuring that your website
attracts, serves and retains prospects and customers.
Your site will be uniquely your own, with a sound marketing
strategy derived from your competitive advantage and core competence.
For advice on effective corporate communication over the internet,
contact me on info@intercomm.co.za
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