Website Design Goals
Affordable, search-engine-friendly websites are made in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
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What do you want to accomplish?
Do you want to attract new customers?
Say you are a restaurant
owner who would like to fill all your empty tables. You're already in the
local phone book and your phone company has even listed your restaurant in
one of the online yellow pages, along with 50 of your closest competitors.
If only your phone number and address are listed when some of your
competitors have website giving an overview of their menu, who do you
think Internet customer will visit first?
Just like you would, they will check out the websites first, find three or four restaurants that appeal to their appetite in an area where they want to go. If you don't have a website or your website doesn't attract their attention, they may never come your way. But if you do have a website, it doesn't have to be a big one. A page to tell the world who you are and where you are, another page to give them your lunch menu, and another page to give them the dinner menu. If you also do catering, you may want a page for that. That's it. Keep it simple, keep it quick, keep it attractive.
Do you want to provide customer service?
Sometimes customer service is as easy as giving your
customers an easy way to contact you. If, for instance, you sell real
estate, client contact is the name of the game -- you give out you office
number, your cell number, your fax number every chance you get. But do you
give out your www and email addresses? People buy houses on the web these
day. People use email as often as they use the phone. Put your listings up
on your website and put your email address on every page of your website
and everywhere anyone might be motivated to contact you.
Do you want to reduce employee time on the phone?
No, voice
mail is not the answer. All voice mail does is delay the time between the
phone call and customer contact which makes customer mad. But having an
"Online Help Desk" will often answer basic questions about your
services and where you are located and even your email address. When
customers do call, the call is a productive call. A FAQ page with an email
link inviting additional questions is a simple and effective way for
potential customers to initiate contact with you. If you have answered
their specific questions on the FAQ page, there is one less question to
answer when they call. If you haven't, you have already provided valuable
information that can move things along.
Our FAQ page answers questions we get about website design issues. A more complex way to do this is a Feedback Form. The value of a Feedback Form is that it allows you to collect addresses to build a database of customers for additional direct marketing efforts. The disadvantage is that people don't like giving out personal information to a website they've just met. They really just want to tell you what is on their mind and move on. If a Feedback Form is their only means of communicating with you, they will move on instead. If you really need a form, we will build it, but an email address on every page is often a better, more user-friendly, less expensive design option.
Do you want to reduce print advertising costs?
Create advertising material, user manuals, and even e-books as downloadable Adobe PDF documents and be assured the information will look as you intend no matter who prints it out. The customer who needs the information prints it out and you save on printing, storage, and mailing costs. Rather than going into the trash and then into a landfill, the downloaded material goes to the customer who needs it. A customer who prints product information from your website will often bring it with them to your store. With a website, you have reached your target audience, and you have saved money.
Do you want to build your brand?
Brand building is a multi-prong
thing. Most small business owners advertise through the phone book yellow
pages, in their local newspaper; they give out business cards and other
promotional items to build and reinforce confidence in their brand name in
the minds of potential customers.
National and international businesses do the same thing on a grander scale -- trade shows, product catalogs, television advertisement, etc. Major dot-com companies even advertise on television on Super Bowl Sunday. When you pick up a business card or brochure, or when you see a television add these days, it often says, "For additional information, visit our website."
A website is an economical and efficient form of advertising. It lets you tell customers a lot more than you can tell them on a business card or in a brochure or even a 20 second TV spot. It is in the public eye 24 hours a day, day in and day out, every day of the year. Where else can you advertise that cheap? What does your website say about your business?
Do you want to sell more nationally advertised products?
Many manufacturers do not sell products on their websites,
but point potential customers to local retailers. Your wholesalers spend
tons of money advertising the products you sell. If you have a website,
they will point customers to your business and you can take advantage of
national and international advertising campaigns. Let your product
manufacturer pay the bill for advertising while you're serving customers!
Do you want to sell directly over the Internet?
If you want to sell products on the internet, i.e., conduct
e-commerce and sell to a national or international market online, you will
need a products database and online catalog with an order and fulfillment
system. Our technology partner, Kudzu
Web, can create the databases and e-commerce systems you will need to
blend your website into your other business software.
Do you want to build relationships?
Building relationships is another
word for networking. You build relationship with customers by providing
them the services they want at a reasonable price. You also build
relationships in your business community. If you sell shoes and the store
next door sells dresses, coordinate your advertising campaigns to get the
most benefit for both of you. You can do the same with your website links.
If you are a bridal consultant,
exchange links with shops that sell bridal gowns and other wedding related
things. And, if you come across useful sites the world
should know about, link to them even if they don't link back.
Do you want to streamline operations?
Look around your business and think about the things you would like to do faster, better, and cheaper. If you want to grow your business, maximize staff performance, and improve profit margin, then send us an email and tell us what you want your website to do. We can help you build that website.
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If you want to know more about web design, visit our FAQ page. If you're interested in business operation, visit our small business section. If you have questions on this topic, you may contact us at: info@oakridgewebdesigns.com
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