Simplicity is the Key

Think of your website like a retail location with dozens of visitors walking by the front window.  Your home page is similar in nature to the display window.  If someone visits your home page and leaves without clicking a link this is like someone walking by your window and not coming in. 

An effective window display is simple and specific.  It captures the attention of prospective clients quickly and easily.  As you walk through a mall notice the displays that capture your attention, and notice the ones you walk past.  Most likely the ones you walk past either don’t communicate well or they’re not relevant to you personally. 

As you begin to develop your home page put a list of key word phrases together – a list of words and statements someone would type into Google/Yahoo/MSN to find your site.  These ideas will form the foundation on which you’ll build your entire web site, especially the home page.

You’ll want to incorporate these ideas into the design as well as the copy over an over again.  Put these statements right up front on the web page along with some strong visuals.  Don’t put too many words on your home page (remember, it’s just like a window display).  The goal is to engage a visitor, not tell them everything you do right up front. 

Think about how you’d like people to “walk” through your site – create specific “sections” so people can find what they need right up front so they don’t have to “hunt around.”  Think about what action your visitors should take and help guide them from the home page, to some interesting content, to some deeper ideas, and then to an action step.  

Take a look at how our website is set up (www.sinatraco.com).  You’ll notice three specific services across the top (Website Design & Development, Marketing Services & Branding, and Ecommerce), and very few words.  We’ve also added some links down the left side for easy access to key information. 

Also notice that we have many services, and few of them are listed on the home page.  The key is to keep your home page simple and uncluttered, while providing some specific entry points.  Visitors can see right up front some samples of our work and some testimonials and not much more.  As people dive deeper into the site they’ll gain access to more and more information that will help to meet their needs. 

Our goal is to have visitors fill out the “Free Consultation” form so we have a button on every page that leads to this form.  We provide many links to interesting content found in this blog.  Our hope is people will read this blog and gain a sense of what we’re about, how we approach web design, and acquire some helpful ideas that may impact their business in a positive way. 

Conclusion

I think the most important element of any home page is simplicity and focus.  Let people know who you are and what you’re about right up front (with as few words as possible) and then provide a few specific entry points into the site.  Too many choices on the home page will often lead to confusion, which will lead to visitors bouncing to a different site.  Check your web logs to see what percentage of people are only viewing your home page.  If more than 50% of your visitors ”bounce” off your home page you may want to consider redesigning your site and making it more specific and simple. 

If you have any questions feel free to fill out our form: http://sinatraco.com/consult.html 

We have found that this assumption is often seriously off base and the statistics prove this true.  Ask your new clients if they visited your web site and you may be surprised by how many did.  I just saw a statistic in Entrepreneur Magazine that said, “41% of consumers say a frustrating online experience would make them less likely to shop at a retailer’s physical store.”  I believe this statistic also holds true for any local business, not just retail.

Other statistics from SEO RoundTable (8/22/07) show a significant trend toward local searches:

• 2.2 Billion monthly Internet queries have a local intent
• 82% of local searches resulted in contact with a local business
• 93% of local search conversions (sales) take place offline

Clearly, there is a “Silent War” taking place among local businesses.  People are looking at company web sites before they decide to contact the company – this is especially true with the 20 and 30 somethings.  Sadly, many small business owners have no idea how many people are visiting their web site, and don’t understand the value of a strong web property.

Importantly, your prospective clients have access to your web site as well as all your competitors.  If they don’t gain a good impression from your web site or find what they need quickly, they’ll visit your competitor’s web site a few seconds later and you’ll be none the wiser.  It is a ”Silent War” because a tremendous amount of business is won and lost via the Internet and company owners often have no idea. 

I would recommend that you install Google Analytics on your web site and look at your traffic each week.  Check out how many people are visiting, from where they’re visiting, what pages their visiting, and how long they’re spending on your web site.  While this data sounds complex Google has done an excellent job presenting all this data via graphs and charts.  Plus, it’s a free service from Google.

Also, check out your competitors web sites – does your web site measure up?  does it communicate effectively?  does it present the same kind of information?  This kind of competitive analysis is essential because often your web site will be your first impression.  If it looks amateurish, so will you.  If it’s hard to navigate and looks “low-end,” so will you. 

The local search trend has grown significantly in the past few years.  The way in which people interact with companies is evolving quickly and includes research on the web. If your clients/customers are not finding you via your web site now, they certainly will in the months and years ahead. 

Presented with this information, some company owners overreact and go overboard with their web site.  I worked with one small company who was spending tens of thousands of dollars per year on web development.  We were able to lower this expense significantly and provide a more professional web presence. 

You don’t need a high-end web site with all the gadgets and animation.  You simply need a professional web site that is easy to navigate and communicates what you’re about.  I would recommend that you avoid both low-end ”create your own” web site software as well as high-end Flash web sites.  Find a place in the middle and recognize the web site is only one part of an overall brand-building strategy. 

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com  

The Google Principle

Google has been highly successful for one reason: They do one thing better than anyone else.  Importantly, their focused approach is reflected in their design and communication.  Use the “Wayback Machine” from above and take a look at what Google’s web site looked like in 2000.  You’ll notice that in almost 8 years there is virtually no change to what you see to day.  Do the same thing with other search engines like Yahoo! and MSN and you’ll see significant differences. 

This exercises uncovers one of the most powerful principles in building successful companies: consistency and focus. While Google focused on one thing, Internet search, and kept their offerings concise, other search engines tried to diversify their offerings.  Yahoo!, who once focused wholly on search, added dozens of other offerings, which watered down their search offering and gave Google a competitive advantage.  If I need to find something on the web, I’m going to go to a place that pours a large percentage of their resources into this functionality.

A small business can do the same thing.  Ask yourself what you can do better than any other company in Massachusetts?  What is your specialty, and how can you maintain focus on what you do best.  A fantastic book about this subject is Good to Great by Jim Collins.  A good overview of his ideas can be found in this pdf document: click here

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

Creating a powerful brand, whether it’s a small business south of Boston or a large corporation, comes down to the feeling people have about your company.  Often it starts with a simple web search, reading your web site, and perhaps making a phone call or visit to your company.  Each stage of this burgeoning relationship provides a business owner access into the mind a consumer and prospective client.  

Each interaction is building block.  Each connection builds on how your company is positioned in their mind.  An amateurish web site.  Poor printed materials.  Less than satisfactory sales copy.  Each step should be considered by a company owner.  Perhaps the most important part of the relationship is after the research has been done and human interaction takes place.  This is the part of a brand that will make or break a company.  All the fancy marketing materials in the world cannot overcome a bad experience. 

The most essential part of brand building is the experience a company provides for its clients.  If the experience is positive, then the logo, web site, print materials, etc. all reinforce this experience.  When your logo comes back into their purview in the future good feelings come to mind.  Perhaps a personal recommendation to a friend is the result. 

A friend of mine recently shared a helpful article that speaks to this issue.  This quote was his favorite part, and I agree:    

“What do companies like Nordstrom, Jet Blue, Amazon and Dell have in common? They have built their brand value on providing a positive experience for their customers on- and offline. Successful companies match business objectives with customer needs. They combine ongoing testing, feedback and improvement cycles into their daily practices and invest in listening, learning and modifying the user experience to create positive returns in revenue and loyalty.” click here for full article…

Design, look and feel, etc. are an essential component to a brand, but when it comes down what’s essential, it truly is about the customer experience.  Regardless of company size, the more thought and energy that goes into creating positive customer experiences the better. 

The experience a customer has with your company is key, which is covered in detail in the article mentioned above.  In addition to some of the ideas in the article, some companies have gone beyond the specific customer-company interactions and have found some success in building a community.  Some community/experience building ideas include:

• Sending thank you cards
• Remembering birthdays
• Creating an online discussion board about your products (hint: don’t delete negative comments – be real!)
• Personal phone calls after a service has been provided
• Email newsletters with valuable information (not sales pitches)
• Referencing past interactions (a good Customer Relationship Management system is key)
• Annual company party for existing customers
• Sending random gifts for no apparent reason
• Golf tournament for customers (maybe a charity event)

Your company is unique.  Create your own list.  Ask your customers about what they think – develop an ongoing feedback system that includes surveys, phone calls, personal email, etc.  Engage your employees in the creative process.  Have fun!

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

Here’s the link:

http://www.slideshare.net/coolstuff/the-brand-gap

Leave a comment and let everyone know what you think.

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

Recent Studies Reveal an Explosion of Local Internet Searches:

• Google, Yahoo, MSN are all providing local search functionality
  (is your website listed?)
  
• 82% of local searches contacted a local business; 60% made a purchase
  (are you taking advantage of this powerful new trend?)
• Some 93% of local search conversions take place offline
  (customers look online, but buy in-person, and the company owner often has no idea!!)
  
• 2.2 billion monthly Internet queries have a local intent
  (Is your website ready?)  

70% of your prospective clients will look at your web site before they call or visit your company.  Is your website ready? –

• Does your website give a powerful “first impression?”
• Is your website designed to capture leads, or is it simply an online brochure?
• Does your website provide added value to visitors in the form of unique content?
• How does your website compare? – Most business owners have no idea how much new business is being won online…

Here’s a link to the source of this information as well as some good advice about how to implement a solid local search campaign: click here

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

The three elements of a company brand that come together to create a memorable customer experience are:

1. Operations
2. Customer Contact / Service / Culture
3. Product / Service

These three elements of a company converge to create the brand.  If any of these pieces are missing or done poorly, the brand will struggle to gain the attention (and hold the attention) of clients and prospective clients.  The key is to create memorable client experiences in the most efficient way possible. 

While the product/service and customer contact/culture are consistently discussed in relation to brand building, one of the most essential pieces of brand building that is often overlooked is operations.  A company needs to run efficiently to produce profit and connect with clients.  Inefficiency results in poor client experiences, overtaxed employees, and a low-grade product or service. 

Often, the hardest part of brand development is operations because it is the “dirty” part of building a business.  While creating cutting-edge packaging, customer contact centers, and landing the big sale seems exciting, creating workflow diagrams, processes, and IT systems does not exactly get one out of bed in the morning.  Yet, without doing the heavy lifting of operational development a company can struggle to “deliver the goods.”

Once these three elements are in place the foundation of the brand is established. Now, design elements, web sites, and print materials can bring it all together and establish the company in the minds of customers.  The key to success in this stage of brand development is consistency over time.  You don’t want to change the design and logo as the company evolves, which is why you want to make sure you get this right the first time out of the gate. 

If you have to go back to the drawing board a few years later, much of the goodwill you created could be lost to some degree.  People will associate your company with the design elements and if it disappears so could some of your clients.  The look and feel of the company (logo, colors, images, etc.) are the mental bread crumbs that connect the experience an individual has with the company and the organization that creates that experience (i.e. I went to a presentation last week that made a lot of sense…  I can’t remember the name…  it’s that company with the duck…  what’s that name again??). 

Nicely designed marketing materials and strategies are not the brand, but rather the connection or bridge to the overall brand, which is the interaction (or experience) each customer has with your company. 

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

Small to mid-sized companies can expend a great deal of resources on marketing initiatives by putting all their chips on the table in one campaign.  Many companies have gone this route and some have done very well while others have been driven into financial ruin, much like a rouge trader makes big “bets” and either wins big or loses everything.  This is especially true with small to medium sized companies who often don’t have the resources to absorb mistakes. 

Marketing diversification can come in two forms:

• Diversification of communication tactics
• Diversification via phases

Multiple communication tactics – Using a wide variety of marketing tactics like direct mail, web marketing, brochures, and the like can help lower risk because you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket.  This is a fairly straightforward technique that many small and medium sized businesses are aware.  

Multiple Phases – When you begin to work with designers and web developers they’ll often want to deliver a full spectrum of marketing materials from web site, to logo, to print brochures, business cards, newspaper ads, etc.  Many businesses who are either beginning to gain momentum or are desperate for sales could easily spend $10K to $20K to redevelop their brand and begin to execute some marketing initiatives.

I usually recommend a different approach.  Begin with a simple web site that expresses what you believe are your key messages.  Drive some traffic to the site and watch how people interact with the different pages.  What pages are the most popular?  On which pages do visitors spend the most time?  From what city did they visit?  From what page do they exit your web site?  Then change the messaging – experiment with different ideas and continue to observe.  Determine how many people take an action (sign up for a free newsletter, for example), and how they got to the stage of taking an action.  Watch how people are interacting with your web site (Google Analytics is a free tool that will allow you to easily track your visitors in this way).

The advent of electronic media is a marketing expert’s dream.  You can test a wide range of ideas and messages and pinpoint what makes your customers take action.  In the past, this kind of intelligence could only be had through expensive market research or pricey direct response campaigns. 

While this kind of research can take months to complete, it will give you a good sense of what people find the most important about your product or service, what messages are resonating with prospective clients.  And it will not cost very much.  Another way to get good market research inexpensively, is by asking some of your existing clients to visit the new web site and ask what information they found the most valuable, what they liked most, etc.

Once you’ve done some basic research, then begin to use these lessons to develop other marketing pieces like direct mail and brochures.  Not only will these initiatives be more effective, but you’ll lower your risk substantially.  Companies can spend more money on risky marketing initiatives than on many other facets of their business.  When done right, it can have a dramatic positive effect.  When done wrong, there is no way to recover the losses.

The key to marketing success, is patience and research.  Take each step slowly and don’t feel like you have to build everything in a few months.  Marketing and branding is a process that happens over time, not a “one hit wonder.”  More importantly, building a brand is about far more than a few slick marketing pieces and mailings.  It’s about creating positive and memorable experiences over a long period of time (more about brand building in future posts).  

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com