1. Building a following.
Most site lose out on the opportunity to save some marketing dollars by not having a “sign up” form on their website. Whether it’s a “’sign up for our newsletter”, “sign up for updates and specials” or simply a register button doesn’t really matter. The point is to capture the contact information of visitors to your site that have an interest in the services or products you provide. This will save you marketing dollars in the long run as you build a list of interested followers you can email market to.
2. Interacting with your customers.
If the popularity of social networking site like Facebook and Twitter don’t convince you that web users want to be heard, he’s me telling you. Web users want to be heard! Oddly, most corporate and business sites have not established methods of communication via their web sites for client feedback and input. One great way to do this is via a blog. Remember, a blog doesn’t have to just be about blogging. You can also use it as a simple Q&A forum. The communication is instant and users and comment on their own time and responses are updated instantly for the world to see (if you choose to have it that way).
3. Tracking client usage.
Every site should be equipped with some sort of analytical software. But just having it is not enough. Site owners should be evaluating usage statistics weekly to determine what their clients are looking and coming to them for. Traffic analysis answers those burning questions most of us marketing professionals have like; What’s working? What’s not working? Are we meeting the needs of our potential clients? Is our website appropriate for our market? I could go on and on here. Depending on your budget their are different types of packages out there ranging from free to pricy. In fact, most hosting packages come bundled with the stats but never get looked at. Before you hit the net for your next round of business development research, check out the gold mine of information in your own back yard – your web stats.
4. Educating.
I’ve tried but I can’t possibly think of any business that is not in a position to educate their clients or potential clients in some way. So I am truly baffled at how seldom I see informational content on corporate web sites. Education is a great way to engage your sites users and attract visitors to your site. Incase you haven’t heard, successful websites are primarily built on good content. If you don’t know where to start, think of the questions you are most frequently asked by clients and address them in an informative way. Your clients will love you for it and potentials will have faith that you know your business.
