Goal-Setting, Tweaking Mean Web Site Results

By Jocelyn Desmarais



Before approaching the subject of designing, or re-designing, a web site, consider your primary goal and how you will measure the success of your endeavor. Web sites can serve a variety of functions and help a company achieve any number of measurable goals. There are four major areas that a good web site can improve upon. They include:

Marketing and Advertising Businesses most commonly establish their legitimacy to potential customers through their web sites, as customers often check the Net to learn more about a company before engaging in any transactions. Therefore, an excellent site enhances credibility and validates your company.

The web site can offer a solid, professional first impression and entice leads to contact you. On the other hand, an unattractive, outdated or malfunctioning site can chase potential customers away before they get past the first page. To consumers, the quality of your web site represents the quality of your product or service.

If your competition has a web site and you don't, then they're getting business you don't have access to. If your competition has a better web site than you, then you're likely losing customers to them, so use your web site to distinguish yourself from the competition.

You can do this by checking out your competition's web site regularly, so you can find out what needs they are meeting that you may not be, or identify areas where they have fallen short, thereby offering you the opportunity to step up. Help your customers to comparison shop and prove that you're the best choice from the start.

Your web site may appeal to potential customers, but have you thought of ways to keep your current customers engaged? If you consistently keep your site updated with promotions and other marketing tactics, your customers will check back more often to see what's new and likely direct others to your site. Keep your site dynamic and interesting by posting quizzes, offering giveaways, coupons, polls, bulletin boards and even games.

Information and Communication Offering newsletters is one way to establish a mailing list and remind visitors to come back and see what's new. Other ideas include posting articles that may be relevant to your clients, or any information of interest related to your field. You can also link to other useful resources on third party sites. The more information available to a visitor, the more likely they are to stick around a while, or maybe bookmark your site. The more often a user visits your site, the more likely they will spend money on your product or service.

Increased Sales and Decreased Cost Who doesn't want to increase sales and lower costs simultaneously? Potential sales gains generated by selling your product on the web can't be overlooked. If you want to increase your business, you have a couple of options. You can obtain more square footage, which allows the opportunity to showcase every product; add several additional high traffic locations; or pay employees to work 24/7. But compare that to the cost of a web site, which has the same effect as all of those ideas combined, by simply directing people to your online store. It's a good idea to consider a store locator, because if a customer can't find you, they can't buy from you.

Consider offering gift certificates or coupons if you can't afford an e-commerce site. If you have an e-commerce site, make sure it's working properly and that you accept credit cards though a reputable company. Most e-commerce ventures fail because their web site is not functional, attractive or marketed properly. Remember, a well-designed, user-friendly site should result in increased sales.

Automation and Paper Reduction There are practically limitless ways in which a web site can be used for automation and paper reduction. In addition to focusing on pitches and information to customers, consider developing not only a site for sales and marketing, but applications.

Customers will almost always e-mail a form before they hand carry, mail or fax it. It simplifies their life, centralizes your information and saves time necessary when waiting by the phone or fax machine. It's also wise to store data in remote locations, with someone else responsible for backups. You can also display scheduling information, allowing clients to pick a time to meet with you before calling, or have notifications sent to your e-mail address when specific actions occur within the application or web site.

After identifying areas in which you would like to improve your web site, set goals and work with your web designer to devise a plan for measuring its effectiveness. Often, people will answer quick survey questions online that you may be able to use for evaluation. You can collect information, store it in a database and retrieve reports online that can prove valuable in evaluating the usage on your site, so you can determine what is working and what isn't.

Be sure, however, to follow up with changes to areas that are ineffective. Remember, your web site should always be a work in progress. It's a living, breathing, changing concept, with a calculated purpose.



Jocelyn Desmarais is the director of operations for Acer Design, LLC. Visit the company on the Web at www.acerdesign.com or contact her at 410-672-0244 or jocelyn@acerdesign.com.