As a business or brand, squeezing the best out of every bit of your digital marketing budget is key to success. Any edge you can get over competitors is priceless, and as we've come to discover, your website is no different.
Let's think about your targets. Why do you even have a website in the first place? Let's say, for example, you're after contracts with large organisations. Take it a step further; let's say your dream client lands on your website, congrats!
They're checking you out. Yes, done right your website is a superb piece of marketing collateral. With your potential customer now window shopping, it’s critical you have content backing up your credentials, and that you answer any questions they may already have.
This is a prime chance to show the world you're the real deal, that you can and do handle big contracts. It’s a chance to build trust and confidence with those seeking you out, a chance to sell without selling. Isn’t that the dream?
If your website doesn’t have that ‘edge’, for many this is where the dream ends. The dream client is after quality, but they hit a poorly organised site that's out of sync with the rest of your branding and alarms start going off in your customer's mind. They're out of there quicker than you can say “Mark Zuckerberg”.
And it's so often the little things that make the difference. The visual aspect is key, with web design being very much a visual medium, we make split-second judgements when we pull a new website up before our eyes. Rubbish content, bad stock photography, misspelt words, branding stretched out of proportion... they all generate doubt in your customers’ mind and can cause damage to your brand.
But the visual aspect isn’t the only important aspect to get right, making sure things work smoothly is key too. The user experience is just as critical. Can they get from page to page easily? Is that Twitter feed broken? Does your contact form send messages into the ether? Does it take an age and a half to load? This all takes a toll on the user who was originally pumped that they'd discovered the perfect supplier.
Taking care of your website shows that you deal with everything else with care. If your main window to the world is a generic Wordpress template with some stock images, what does that say to the world? How does that make you look compared to competitors? Does it look like you’re capable? Does it look like you care?
The solution to all this is to put some time aside, take a fresh look at your website, and approach it with care. A successful web project needs to take into account many things, including your business aims, your users’ aims, your brand guidelines, marketing channels, aesthetics, user experience, well-written content, SEO friendliness, ongoing maintenance, etc. But above all, put some thought into how it leaves your target audience feeling. Do they feel confident enough to hit that enquiry button, or do they switch tabs back to your competitor?
If your website doesn't currently have that 'edge', have a browse through our blog to find out more about best digital marketing practices and how to apply them.
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