The
Black Hole in your Marketing Plan
MAY 2002
In the years
before the Internet, marketing strategies were easily planned
and executed. Companies spent umpteen dollars in print and/or
broadcast advertising geared towards getting the prospect to call
or visit for more information. In was relatively simple. Create
an eye-catching ad and supply the prospect with your phone and
fax numbers. If the prospect needed more information, he had to
make contact with the company and was referred to a sales professional
who would close the deal.
Then came
the Internet. Companies continued to spend umpteen dollars in
print and broadcast advertising, but the prospect now had a third
option to acquire more information — the company's web site.
And there lies the problem.
Few web sites
are geared towards "closing the deal." Most companies
are still struggling to determine what content should be at their
web site unaware that they aren't getting the opportunity to make
contact with the prospect as they continue to pour thousands
of dollars into off-line advertising geared to send prospects
to their site!
Most small
to mid-sized companies don't even spend $5,000 per year on their
web site. Worse, many are "do-it-yourself" sites that
do not show the company at its best. While you may be very proud
of little Johnny being able to create a web page - you're shooting
yourself in the foot. Learning HTML or using an HTML program like
Front Page, is not rocket science, but to expect little Johnny
to know anything about marketing, copy writing, graphic design, layout, and scripting is simply unreasonable. Most company
owners don't have all of those skills, why would poor little student
Johnny?
Your web site
is the first impression a prospect gets about your company. If
the design screams "amateur," your company is likely
to be dismissed by serious prospects, much as you would dismiss
the guy who approaches you on the street trying to sell you a
"Rolex" watch.
Here are just
a few things a professional designer considers when designing
a site:
Does the
client want to look like a big company?
This may give the impression that the goods or services are expensive,
but well worth the money. If the answer is "yes," then
the designer strives for a corporate look. If the answer is "no,"
then the designer strives for a more intimate look - a feel that
a company is professional and able to give personal service.
Why would
a visitor come to the company's site and what would they expect
to see?
It never ceases to amaze me how companies bury their products
and services at a web site. It's not uncommon to see menus like:
Contact Us, Products, About Us, etc. So, let's see what happens
when a visitor comes to a site like this.
- The visitor
types in the domain name given in the ad, looking for more product
information.
- Click #1:
He now has to click on "products" to find a specific
product. Chances are he is now coming to an index of products.
- Click #2:
Now he has to click again on the specific product or product category.
Get the
picture? The visitor has to click a minimum of two times to
view information on the product he is seeking (more if there
are a lot of products grouped by category).
Now, change
the main menu to include either the specific products or product
categories, and you've eliminated at least one click. There,
on your home page, is the product he is seeking! No reason to
leave this site without the expected information.
What
does the company want the site visitor to do?
Does the designer need to create an online store, quote system,
live help, or a specifications library? How much information
is the company willing to share on the Internet? Tough, but
important questions. The visitor has to be guided to do whatever
the company expects and it's the designer's responsibility to
direct him to this action.
Conclusion
Companies can continue to pour thousands of dollars into off-line
advertising and see dwindling return on their investment, or
they can wake-up, trim some of those advertising dollars back,
and invest them into a web site that is professional, effective,
and current. Partnering with a design firm, like Web-Kare, that
has a solid sales and marketing background is the best way to
plug that black hole in your advertising strategy.
