EFFECTIVE BUSINESS INTERNET USAGE
If You Build It, They WILL Come...
But What will They Do When They Get There?
Every successful web enterprise is designed from the user out. Don’t ask “What should I do on the Web?” Ask instead.... “What do people WANT? And How do I best use this dynamic medium to service the unique needs of my customers, my vendors, my business?”
1. Use the Internet’s unique interactive capability for relationship building. Add value with interactivity in areas from customer service to ordering to transactions.
2. Use the Internet as a marketing channel. Integrate it into your marketing mix aligned with overall business goals and strategies. Reinforce brand identity and equity with your site URL throughout all marketing efforts. The Web does have PROFIT potential. Directly, or indirectly, a business website should lead to sales of products/services.
3. Follow a software-development process in building your Internet site. It’s not just about “advertising” or publishing. It has to include successful technology and transactions.
4. Keep your site “fresh and clean”. Businesspeople use the Internet like any other support tool. Graphics, animation, java, scripting, etc. should enhance the site message or efficiency, not the designer or programmer’s ego. Large animations and graphics that take too long to download can make a site unbearable and chase potential users away.
5. Think about privacy/compatability/security issues. Consider the need for gated areas, or private cyber-networks for key customers or suppliers, and standard encryption for on-line transaction processing. Check for browser compatability and standards compliance.
6. Potential customers do not find you, you find them. Placement of banner ads, utilization of keyword search purchases, link exchange alliances, should all be part of your Internet marketing strategy.
7. Track and analyze the clickstream on your Internet site. Where are people going or not going? Which search engines are sending you the most qualified traffic? How many people who visit actually purchase? What is the percent of Return on Investment? Log statistics are valuable pieces of information for continuing site evolvement and improvement.
BOTTOM LINE...
You don’t need a lot of money to have a successful site developed. You need enough money to fund a coherent strategy in a specific niche with a clear transaction stream..
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