Why Doesn't My
Small Business Web Site Sell?
-- by Jeremy Cohen, http://www.bettermarketingresults.com
-- http://www.redtienda.com/english/newsletter70.htm#1Many small
business owners are disappointed by the ability
of their web sites to generate new business.
Simply having a web site does not guarantee its
effectiveness as a marketing tool. If your web
site is unable to consistently generate new leads
and prospects you may well be disappointed in
your investment in your web site. Does this sound
familiar? If so, you may be making one of several
common mistakes made by small business owners
when they decide to turn to the web for more
business. Here are five common mistakes that can
hinder the marketing performance of your web
site.
Failure
to Measure Traffic Every so often when I speak
with someone who is dismayed at their web
site’s ability to generate revenue I am
surprised when they tell me they don’t know
how many people visit their site each month, day,
hour, etc. Measuring the traffic to and through
your web site is critical for understanding the
marketing prowess of your web design and the
effectiveness of your advertising efforts.
If your
web site enjoys lots of traffic, say over 1000
visitors a day, but generates one or two sales a
month you can be pretty sure there is a
deficiency in your web design. If you are not
measuring traffic to your site you do not provide
yourself an opportunity to identify and correct
the problem. Your web design should lend itself
to helping you get your visitors to take the
action you want, buy something or provide you
their valuable contact information.
On the
other hand, if your web site generates a small
amount of sales and you don’t know that only
fifty people are visiting your site each month
you deny yourself the ability to realize that you
have a fantastic web site and that marketing it
better will lead to a significant increase in
revenue.
If you
are not measuring your web site’s traffic
you are missing opportunities to increase your
ability to generate sales and be more successful.
Two providers of web metrics are webtrends.com
and webstat.com.
Poor
marketing message Another reason web sites fail
to sell is that they do not do a good job of
delivering a compelling marketing message.
Without an excellent marketing message you risk
your visitors hopping off to another web site
because they do not know that you have what they
want or need.
One sign
that you may have a less than stellar marketing
message is that it does not speak directly to the
consumers who become your clients. Your marketing
message should identify exactly whom you help. If
you help more than one population you can easily
cater your marketing message by changing just a
word or two. Be sure your marketing message
clearly indicates whom you help and you will
notice an improvement in you sales success.
Another
sign that your marketing message is not hitting a
homerun is that it does not clearly demonstrate
that you provide what your customers seek. If you
sell handbags and your marketing message is
“glamour can be yours” then you are
missing the boat as this marketing message fails
to indicate at all that you sell handbags.
To
correct a dysfunctional marketing message make
sure it clearly identifies your target market and
the results they seek. Once you have a great
marketing message you can use it in your web site
and your other marketing material as well.
Don’t
See Big Picture Another common shortcoming of
small business web sites is that many fail to
realize a fundamental marketing concept: most
consumers who make a decision to buy something
make the decision to do so after 6 - 8 contacts
with some form of marketing for a particular
product or service. Failing to realize and act
upon this marketing fact will hinder your ability
to grow your business.
The
purpose of marketing is to establish your
business in the marketplace so that consumers
think of you when they are ready to act to fill a
need or desire. By regularly getting your
marketing message in front of your market you can
help them associate what you do with what they
need. You can also attract more clients by
demonstrating your expertise to clients in your
marketing material.
Poor
design Do visitors to your web site do what you
want them to do? If they are not it may be the
design of your web site that is preventing your
visitors from taking the action you want them to
take. The design of each of your web pages is
instrumental in guiding the actions of your
visitors.
So what
constitutes good design? Good design stems from
the skillful integration of graphical and textual
layout, color, shape and choice and flow of
content. If your site does not have the content
your visitors seek you will strike out each time
someone visits your page. If your web pages
don’t put what you want your visitors to see
immediately in front of them you will miss
opportunities to sell. If your choice of fonts
and colors make your pages difficult to read your
visitors will likely move along to another web
site they can understand more easily.
To
identify if your web pages suffer from poor
design ask yourself the following questions:
- Does my
text stand out over my background color?
- Does the design of my site focus my
visitor’s attention where I want it?
- Does my content give my users what they want?
If you
answered ‘No’ to any of the questions
above you can improve your ability to get your
users to do what you want by taking steps to
correct anything that may be wrong.
Failure
to Focus on Client Needs When people visit your
web site you want them to read through the
content of your site. By doing so your visitors
develop a sense of how your product or service
can help them. If your copy doesn’t focus on
your clients’ needs and desires they will be
off to another site in a blink.
If your
visitors are quickly leaving your web site it may
be because your copy does not focus on their
needs. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
Don’t focus on the process or method you use
to do your job Don’t focus on your existing
clients Don’t focus on your experience
Don’t focus on the quality of your product.
By making
any of the above mistakes you detract attention
from the reasons that are going to help your
clients make the decision to buy from you. You
may be very proud of your accomplishments, and
you should be, but focusing on them does not
address your clients' needs and will do little to
help you sell more effectively.
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