EMAIL MARKETING
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This could be your biggest and best way to market of all. Gather as many email addresses as you can and start your database. If you have a storefront, put a pad and pen out asking customers to sign up to hear about specials, etc. If you dont have a storefront, have a form on your site where people can sign up to be reminded of upcoming specials, events - whatever. Because every time you update your site, it is a reason to email the folks on your list and get your name out in front of people. I AM NOT CONDONING SPAMMING. These are addresses from people who have agreed to receive your emails.
Green's Beverages (one of my clients) has reaped the benefits many times over by collecting names and emails - we put a new wine on special - and bingo - the customer comes into the store...and typically buys more than just that one bottle of wine.
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| WEBSITE UPDATES |
Want to keep them coming back? Keep your site fresh. If visitors see the same content everytime they visit, they may not bother returning. This is where newsletters, freebies, specials, etc come in.
Adding video to your site is also an extremely popular way to attract traffic as you are making your content more interactive. I highly recommend a short clip either describing your product or service or any information that will highlight your particular niche.
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RECIPROCAL LINKS
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If you have colleagues with web sites or know of complementary businesses to your own, set up reciprocal links. The ol’ you scratch my back, i’ll scratch yours theory. It costs nothing - except the time to form the link. This way you are bringing in people from side doors as well as your front door. When I do this for my clients, I design it so that they never actually leave your site - an additional window opens leaving your site exposed.
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| NEWSLETTERS & BROCHURES & BIZ CARDS |
Any piece of marketing material that leaves your hands should have ample mention of your web address. Also, newsletters can re-ignite a client's interest and recognition of your service or product. It is a great addition to a web site and one shouldn't think that just because you have a site that the other forms of marketing are no longer necessary. One advantage to having a web site, though, is that you can publish your newsletter on the internet and email your customers with a link to this info. Many people now prefer to read this sort of info online and avoid the "paper chase!"
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| FREEBIES |
Give away some free advice or a discount to your online customers. e.g. “Tell Joe you saw his special on the internet and receive a free order of fries.”
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| SEARCH ENGINES |
The key words and descriptions that you share with me when I design your site come into play here. The engines seek out these “behind the scenes” words. While submitting your site to key engines is very important, it can also take time to get noticed. The major engine that I recommend submitting to is Google.
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| EMPLOYEE AWARENESS |
I can testify firsthand to how employee ignorance of a website can damage business.When shopping for a hot tub, the site I visited - nicely designed - had an online showroom. I picked out the two I was interested in and called the store to get the lowdown on availability etc. Well, the employee had never even visited the site. And when she inquired as to the availaiblity of the two tubs I was interested in, I came to find out they were no longer being produced. Double whammy!! So, make sure not only that your employees are aware of your URL (www.yourbiz.com) but that they have actually visited it, can navigate the site and are able to refer potential customers to the area that will answer pertinent questions. Ask for employee input as well. If they are on the “front lines” so to speak, they may have ideas that you had not considered, things to add to your FAQ section, for instance.
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| TESTIMONIALS |
Don't underestimate their power. Testimonials have been known to increase sales by 25% and more. The internet can be a very impersonal medium - and people trust people. The more you can do to “humanize” your web site, the more likely potential customers you will have. How to get them? ASK! Ask your current customers if you can quote them on how they liked your product or service. Always get permission and be as specific as possible.
Three key points to keep in mind:
1) Insure that it is believable. If it is far-fetched, you will reduce crediblity rather than build it.
2) Include as much info on the testimonial giver as you can - J. West from Austin, TX is far more believable than “a satisfied customer.”
3) NEVER make it up. A fabricated testimonial is not only illegal - it's just not ethical.
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| MERCHANT ACCOUNT |
If you are selling products or services online and don't already accept credit cards, you may want to rethink this. At one time it was relatively difficult to get a merchant acct if you didn't have a brick and mortar bldg- that is no longer the case. Many companies now offer the ability to biz owners who just deal with the web. The other option is a pay pal account. You pay a little more percentage wise to Pay Pal, but for a new business, it may be a more reasonable -and still secure - option.
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| DIVERSIFY |
It is also important to offer more than ONE specific item or service. For example, I am a web designer. I also offer videography, newsletter & brochure design... and I will come speak to your group to lead the way. I am able to incorporate all of these services on my site. If one area is slow, hopefully a second area will be booming.
Example: Jeff was the owner of a small sporting goods store. Just down the block a Super Sporting Goods store was moving in. Jeff was not going to be able to compete with the prices they were offering, so he asked himself, what can i do to beat this rap? Well, he decided to add a “used sporting goods” department. He advertised that he would buy and sell used equipment and expanded this used equipment to the internet. In time, this became the bulk of his income. He never would have diversified without the challenge. We need to think outside the box to prepare for unexpected change that can effect our bottom line.
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| PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS |
Depending on the focus of your business, there are many wonderful promotional products that you can imprint with your web address on them that will keep your site in frequent viewing range of your customers. Mugs, pens, stationery, coasters, and and and...
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
And last but not least, with the advent of social media, having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, for example will also greatly increase your exposure. (And this doesn't mean you have to share what you had for lunch. Most people probably don't really care about that...)
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So... as you can see, marketing is a very proactive process. And it requires patience. Unfortunately a web site is not the colloquial Field Of Dreams: "Build it and they will come" but rather: Build it, market it, market it, market it ... and they will come.
ATTENTION CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS!!
Maureen will gladly come visit your club or organization and give a complimentary consultation on the steps to getting a website. Just contact her at (360) 3920-1125 or email: sagebutterfly2@comcast.net.
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