When people do business on the web, they often lose sight of the competitive environment they live in simply by existing as a website. This is an important fact for business owners and how they relate to their online consumer.

Say you have a website that sells hats. Now, imagine the website as a brick and mortar that sits in a strip mall full of stores that sell hats. To your left is a hat store and to your right is another hat store. Next to those stores are more hat stores and so forth. Online, this is exactly what your potential customers see.

If I am a customer walking in this strip mall, why would I want to choose your store? Does your store invite me to shop? Does it stand out from the other shops or does it get lost in the clutter? This is how customers view websites. Imagine they are walking down this row of shops deciding which one to enter. They may enter your shop simply because you are the store closest to their car. If your store is far away, there better be something that catches their attention and encourages them to take the trip to your store.

Once a person decides to enter your store, what will they see once they arrive? Is your store well organized so that your customer can find exactly what they are looking for? Or is the store a disheveled mess?

When designing a website, it is imperative that you think of your site in this way.  Good usability makes it easy, convenient and pleasant for someone to shop online or else they’ll simply walk out of your store and move on to the next. After all, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of stores selling the exact same thing.

Users want to be able to find things quickly and with as little distraction as possible. They do not want to have to sift through unnecessary clutter. If your site appears this way, they can move on in just a couple of clicks.

Website Design, Website Usability Content, Online Content, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Small Business

Ad Age article today states 73% of women said the recession has fundamentally changed the way they think about saving and spending money vs. 57% of men. Could it be because women are the ones shopping for the family, so they feel the effects of rising grocery bills combined with lower incomes? http://adage.com/u/5R3YZb

Marketers, whether packaged goods companies, clothing manufacturers or luxury retailers all need to adjust their efforts. The article goes on to state the they need to market to women’s “rational” side. We’ve been advising some of our clients about this very thing for months.

Position your items as basics, essentials, and smart buys.

Marketing advertising, Marketing, Online Marketing, Recession Marketing

Was just reading a really interesting article in AdAge ( http://adage.com/article?article_id=138673 ), about WPP, the holding company for such advertising behemoths as JWT, Y&R and Ogilvy. It’s probably not a shock to anyone that their profits are down 47% in 2Q 2009, given the economy and marketers need to cut back ad spending (media, production, and creative costs).

What I found really interesting about the article is the shift in where they made their profits. The article states that “More than 61% of the holding company’s revenue came from nontraditional services such as direct, digital, PR and research.” Back when I was a worker bee at JWT, media (as in broadcast and print) was a huge profit center. Considering the huge cross-section of clients they represent, it’s an important shift.

Digital Marketing, Marketing advertising, Online Marketing

I recently tweeted about an article in Search Engine Land, written by veteran SEO Jill Whalen, titled “85 Reasons Why Website Designers/Developers Keep SEOs in Business.” I think Jill nailed the problem some web designers have with SEO, but it actually brings up a bigger issue that we talk with our clients about almost every day.

Simply put, web designers and developers are not marketing people. So, Jill is absolutely correct in her list of reasons why they keep SEOs in business. But there can be an addendum to that title, and it can include reasons why they keep SEOs, Usability and Marketing experts in business.

Web designers and programmers keep up with web design trends, the latest programming and available technology. That’s enough to keep most of them busy. And some are really very good at what they do.

But it’s unrealistic to think that they can also keep up with the latest usability standards, SEO (which is a constantly moving and changing field), and user behavior trends, all of which should be incorporated into the layout, architecture and wireframe of a website. And of course, the website content needs to incorporate messaging based on consumer insight, and that generally should not fall to the web designers either.

So the next time you’re looking to design or re-design your company’s site, keep in mind that there are different areas of expertise that all need to come together to create a successful website. It should incorporate the right technology for your needs and a design that accurately represents your business, and a marketing edge that will convert users into buyers.

I understand why, especially in this economy, designers and programmers want to market themselves as broadly as possible. But once you break it down, it’s easy to see why it would be so difficult to have true expertise spanning so many areas.

Website Design Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design, Website Usability

Your website is out there representing your business 24/7 and can be a great resource in generating leads for your sales team. Below are a few simple things you can do to increase the quality and quantity of leads your site generates:

1) Write it so they can read it. Write your content for users who are scanning, not reading. Making it easy for them to find the information they need on your site makes it more likely they’ll contact you and not your competition.

2) If you have a “contact us” form, remove the phone number as a required field. Users fill out forms rather than calling so as not to have to speak with sales people. Removing the phone number as a requirement lets them know you understand this.

3) Add your physical address to your site. It gives users a sense of comfort that they are going to be dealing with a real company.

4) Provide valuable information users researching your products or services may need. The more you become a resource, the more they feel they can trust doing business with you.

5) Make it as easy as possible for them to experience your product or service on a temporary basis. If you sell a product, can they try it free for 30 days, or see a demo on your site?

And remember, the point of your website isn’t to tell them every minute detail of your business. The site content needs to move a potential customer or client to put your business on their “short list” of companies they need to consider prior to signing with anyone.

Your website should get you on that list. Your sales people should close the deal.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Content, Lead Generation, Leads, Online Content, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Small Business, Website Usability