Onward Internet Marketing, Inc.

Category: 7 Things

  • 7 Things your Website should do for your Business

    1. Incorporate your business brand into its design, content and features, giving your business a consistent message and appearance.

      Your business card just isn’t big enough to provide all the information your clients and prospects need. A website gives one publicly available spot from which your business can identify itself in a consistent manner. Brand consistency shapes what people think of you; this is not limiting, rather it frees you to express your message about services and products within a familiar, recognizable environment. This in turn will bring out trust and loyalty in your customers.

    2. Facilitate communication from prospects and clients to your business.

      Customers often wish to interact with your business in off hours, when you’re not available, or that’s just inconvenient. A contact form, and even online support can bridge communication between your customers and your business. Keeping the conversation going will build trust and loyalty.

    3. Identify customer benefits of working with or buying from your business.

      A 24/7 sales and support mechanism keeps your message out there. A well planned and executed website allows your customers to absorb your message at their own speed, without the need of personal efforts when they’re not needed

    4. Demonstrate your expertise, through whitepapers, FAQs, and tip sheets.

      Whether you find it difficult to “brag yourself up” or just become bored restating the same points over and over again, your website allows you to get the message right, and allow others to find your expertise in their own wan at their own pave.

    5. Enhance all other marketing. Online and Offline marketing campaigns should direct prospects and clients to an appropriate page on your website

      A business website becomes the fulcrum for all your marketing messages. A central point that organizes and delivers your message to your customers, and allows them a place and means to react to it. When all your marketing efforts have a common starting and ending point (the website) it becomes easier to build a business message that, in its consistency, draws prospects to your business.

    6. Educate prospects and clients, allowing them to interact with you from a more knowledgeable position.

      When your customers and prospects have a fuller knowledge of what and why they need, they will become smarter, better consumers of your business products and services. This will deliver prospects into your sales channel who are better prepared and more likely to make a purchase. It will also shorten your sales cycle.

    7. Provide a mechanism to analyze and evaluate who your prospects and clients are, what they need, when they need it, where they come from and why they need it.

      When you better understand you customers, clients, and prospects you will be better equipped to respond to their needs. Responding to their real needs, in useful ways will create trust and loyalty.

  • 7 Things: Reasons to Have a Business Website

    1. Credibility

      You have a business card don’t you? Can you image introducing yourself and your business without one? You have a business phone, right? Can you image trying to gain new customers without one? The same is now true of websites. Without a professional website you look small; you look temporary.

    2. Save Time & Money

      The cost of getting a website can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Dirt cheap websites start at $500; the best move quickly into 6 figures. Once you have it, though, it costs very little. A website built on a current CMS (Code Management System) like WordPress, allows you to update the site, adding your news, coupons, whitepapers, product pages, without calling in expensive professionals. You should rarely pay more than hosting costs, and those should be cheaper than your monthly phone line.

    3. Find a Wider Audience

      There are people looking for you. And in your wildest dreams, you would never think to look for many of them. Your website lets them find you. It lets them find out about you, without being invasive. They can begin to familiarize themselves with your business offerings in a way they feel comfortable. Once you make a real sales or marketing contact with them, you already have the beginning or a relationship. Now a site optimized for the search engines will do better at this than others, but all sites offer outreach to potential customers that previously eluded you.

    4. Be Available

      Websites ushered in the “24/7” world. Your customers can look up product information on their schedule, not just during your business hours. Your website doesn’t take breaks, it doesn’t sleep, its there. A contact form allows visitors to send you a message anytime, opening up a new communication channel. Posting news provides a mechanism to get product announcements and news out to your customers with minimal cost.

    5. Support Your Customers

      Let your web visitors find the product information they want with photos, graphics, videos and text. Allow them to find out the place and times of events without having to call and ask. Give them photos and images so they can understand your business and its advantages.

    6. Interact with Your Customers

      Provide a contact form so you customers can comprehensively communicate with you, even allow them to upload RFPs, their images, documents, and bid requirements directly in a way that you and your staff can easily find and share.

    7. Measurable Marketing

      What other marketing medium allows you to know exactly what people looked at, how long they took to look? No other marketing medium allows such immediacy in learning what people found appealing and to what they responded. Website marketing metrics are comprehensive and immediate, allowing you to quickly respond to the fluctuations in your market.