Internet Marketing

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The reason the average website doesn't work is that people who build them are not clear about what they are doing.

A website (especially an ecommerce enabled one) is part of a marketing exercise. It is resoundingly, definitely not an excuse for elaborate art works and intricate designer workouts (this is marketing for the benefit of the web designer, but has nothing to do with marketing the site owner's business).

Doesn't really matter what the site is about - it will be trying to offer somebody something they (hopefully) want. Always the first step in effective web page design is understanding how it will fit into the overall ecommerce marketing plan.

Web page design (Marketing Style) must address a four stage process of:

1. analyzing and defining target group of potential users or buyers
2. capturing the attention of the targeted group
3. persuading the target to accept the propositions being offered
4. converting the targets into buyers by getting them to take some desired action

The real power of a website lies in the second stage - and it can only develop any real power there if the first step has been carried out thoroughly and effectively before the site building has begun. As most website owners expect the site to perform all of stages 2, 3 and 4 then the quality of work done in stage 1 must be superb!

So to succeed in phase 2 the website design must focus on benefits rather than features and resoundingly answer the customer’s question "What’s in it for me?"

To move into phase 3 the website must be designed to satisfy the customer's emotional rationalisation for buying the product - 'good' reasons customers can give for buying.

Such as:

• Be admired
• Be loved
• Be comfortable
• Do interesting things
• Feel good about themselves
• Have friends
• Have fun
• Save money
• Save time

And to be able to close a sale in phase 4 the website must be designed to satisfy the customer that buying from you is definitely be the best choice - there must be compelling reasons why the customer should do business with you instead of your competitors (usually this means price).

So you absolutely must design the website by considering the customer’s viewpoint.

The website must be much more than a store front for the products and services you wish to sell online. You are at a huge dis-advantage because the potential customer is looking at your website with all the human shopping resources running in real time - the dis-belief - the scepticism - the price-consciousness - but you don't even know the customer is looking - you have no right of reply and no chance to agrue or persuade - you are entirely dependent on the decisions you made before the site building began. So they better be right.

Content Is King and it always, always will be that way. People want information - they wanted it before the internet came along, and they will still want it after the internet has been replaced by the next fashionable medium.

All your sales text must be good quality; grammatically sound and with perfect spelling. If your writing is poor then the supposition is your product is likewise poor - bad wordcraft loses credibility that can't afford to be lost.

But before the wordcraft comes the research to bridge the gap between the outstanding work that was done in phase 1 and exactly how the site will answer the "What’s in it for me?" question.

Rev: 10th November 2004
©2004

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