Plan For Success
Plan For Success
The best way to create a user-friendly, powerful web site is to plan for it. If you’re going to invest time in building and promoting your site, you want to be sure that once visitors get there, they’re converted into buyers. Start by analyzing where you are at the present, where you want to go, and what steps will take you there.
If you compare the internet to a mall, then your web site is a store in the mall. A profitable store includes a well-trained staff, attractive displays inside, a nice sign out front and a killer window display. A store alone won’t make sales. You have to attract people inside, convince them you have something they need, and encourage them to act.
The same is true for an internet business. You have to attract customers and then sell them your product or service.
So, in this example, the store is your web site, the sign out front is your domain name, the knowledgeable staff is your content and the in store displays are the photos on your site. All you’re missing is the window display. And that is your marketing plan. It is the “it” factor that draws people in. And there are many ways to do this online:
• Banner ads
• Ezine Ads
• PPC
• Search Engine Marketing
• Joint Ventures
• Affiliates
Identify your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
This statement is the headline for your web site and all other marketing material where your business name appears. It communicates the benefits of doing business with you and identifies what differentiates you from your competition. In short, why should they do business with you instead of someone else.
Your USP should instill excitement about doing business with you or finding out more about what you offer. Position it at the top of your home page and underneath your logo throughout your entire web site.
USP Tips
Avoid general statements and vague terms like “the best,” since anyone can make that claim. Instead, speak directly to your ideal market, and address their wants. Explain what it is that makes you the best or what you do better than others. And use this USP in all of your marketing materials for greater consistency and overall impact. Not only does it help your prospect gain a clear view of your company it can help you stay focused when making key decisions.
The Difference between Features and Benefits
A feature is something the product or service has. The benefit is the emotional statement to show prospects what they will get and how they will feel as a result of using your product/service.
Example of feature statement: Health Food products made with all natural ingredients.
Example of benefit statement: Natural health that keeps you fit and
younger looking.
Write for Your Target Audience
Know your target audience. Are you B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer)? It makes a difference. Do you sell wholesale or in bulk? Do you only take small orders or large orders? Be specific, let people know what you do and if they are in the right place. Keyword selection is important in helping guide the proper traffic, but we’ll address that in depth later. To start, just assume that people are going to come to your site confused and uncertain. Guide them through the site and show them exactly what you have for them. If they are unsure, they’re out the door. If you convey immediately what you have to offer that perfectly fits their needs, you have your chance to win their business.
As you pull all these things together remember that your site should not cater to your preferences, but to your visitors’ preferences. If it isn’t converting, reexamine it for flaws and try testing to determine what brings in the best results.
Plan For Success - To learn more about this author, visit Jennifer Horowitz's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Plan for Success
The best way to create a user-friendly, powerful web site is to plan for it. If you’re going to invest time in building and promoting your site, you want to be sure that once visitors get there, they’re converted into buyers. Start by analyzing where you are at the present, where you want to go, and what steps will take you there.
If you compare the internet to a mall, then your web site is a store in the mall. A profitable store includes a well-trained staff, attractive displays inside, a nice sign out front and a killer window display. A store alone won’t make sales. You have to attract people inside, convince them you have something they need, and encourage them to act.
The same is true for an internet business. You have to attract customers and then sell them your product or service.
So, in this example, the store is your web site, the sign out front is your domain name, the knowledgeable staff is your content and the in store displays are the photos on your site. All you’re missing is the window display. And that is your marketing plan. It is the “it” factor that draws people in. And there are many ways to do this online:
• Banner ads
• Ezine Ads
• PPC
• Search Engine Marketing
• Joint Ventures
• Affiliates
Identify your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
This statement is the headline for your web site and all other marketing material where your business name appears. It communicates the benefits of doing business with you and identifies what differentiates you from your competition. In short, why should they do business with you instead of someone else.
Your USP should instill excitement about doing business with you or finding out more about what you offer. Position it at the top of your home page and underneath your logo throughout your entire web site.
USP Tips
Avoid general statements and vague terms like “the best,” since anyone can make that claim. Instead, speak directly to your ideal market, and address their wants. Explain what it is that makes you the best or what you do better than others. And use this USP in all of your marketing materials for greater consistency and overall impact. Not only does it help your prospect gain a clear view of your company it can help you stay focused when making key decisions.
The Difference between Features and Benefits
A feature is something the product or service has. The benefit is the emotional statement to show prospects what they will get and how they will feel as a result of using your product/service.
Example of feature statement: Health Food products made with all natural ingredients.
Example of benefit statement: Natural health that keeps you fit and
younger looking.
Write for Your Target Audience
Know your target audience. Are you B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer)? It makes a difference. Do you sell wholesale or in bulk? Do you only take small orders or large orders? Be specific, let people know what you do and if they are in the right place. Keyword selection is important in helping guide the proper traffic, but we’ll address that in depth later. To start, just assume that people are going to come to your site confused and uncertain. Guide them through the site and show them exactly what you have for them. If they are unsure, they’re out the door. If you convey immediately what you have to offer that perfectly fits their needs, you have your chance to win their business.
As you pull all these things together remember that your site should not cater to your preferences, but to your visitors’ preferences. If it isn’t converting, reexamine it for flaws and try testing to determine what brings in the best results.
Plan For Success - To learn more about this author, visit Jennifer Horowitz's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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