While we obviously have a vested interest in the continuation of websites… the truth is, they remain at the very centre of the digital marketing ecosystem; the interconnected components and channels that businesses utilise to promote their products or services online.
Your company's website serves as the central hub for information about products, services and your brand, and it’s where all your digital marketing efforts converge. It's the destination where potential customers are directed from channels such as social media, email campaigns or online advertising.
Your website is also arguably more accessible to your entire customer base then social media. While you’ll have a pretty good idea of which platforms your customers are using – not everyone will be on Tik Tok and, if they are, they might not be on LinkedIn.
It is the library for your business and your content hub, providing details about your products and services, company history, mission, values and any other key information that potential customers and existing customers may seek.
As this key cog in your marketing wheel, your website has to work for you – like any marketing you invest in. Many digital marketing efforts drive users to take a specific action, such as making a purchase, filling out a contact form or subscribing to a newsletter. This actions typically take place on your website; it is your conversion point.
Your website can track customer behaviour, site traffic and other key metrics; data which helps you measure the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns. In turn, this enables you to make informed decisions about the direction your business is taking.
If your website is at the heart of everything you do, then it has to play its part and convert those potential customers who have arrived from somewhere else. That could be via one of your social media platforms, or it could be via a real life encounter. Nowadays, conferences, exhibitions and award ceremonies are firmly back on the agenda after the pandemic, and we are out networking again.
If somebody has met you, the chances are they will check you out afterwards on LinkedIn and also on your website. For this reason ‘meet the team’ pages are key to establish credibility.
As a consumer, you might have had a business recommended to you and, again, you are likely to check out their website. Your reputation can be made or lost at this point. If your website confirms the interaction somebody has had already, then that’s great. However, if your website doesn’t have the same branding or ‘feel’, they will soon click away.
Importantly, your organisation’s branding and culture should be consistent across all your platforms. If you are a ‘fun’ business, a client should feel that at all the touch points. If your business is ultra high end, your website should reflect that.
Potential customers also want to be assured that you care about your business and are investing in it. In addition to design that reflects your business ethos, good photography also matters. If you’re looking at team photos and they are poor quality or a variety of styles, that this can put people off.
As a shop window to your business, then your website should offer a straightforward buying journey. We’ve all been in a store on the High Street clutching a potential purchase and then wandered about for a while look for the tills. Sometimes if you can’t find that till, the staff you meet in your quest aren’t helpful or, once you’ve found the till, the queue is really long… then you might abandon that purchase.
It’s the same on a website. You’ll want to find contact information –perhaps the address for the business or a phone number, or you might have a question. If enquiries can be addressed easily, typically via FAQ or chat, then you are more likely to keep potential customers engaged.
In rather the same way as you might pop back into a shop to look at a purchase, a potential customer might make a few visits to your website to have another look, to give themselves additional confidence in your brand. As we’ve said in a number of blogs previously, the most valuable page on our website today is our case study section. Here potential clients can read about the support and services we have provided to similar businesses.
Contact us or call our team at Target Ink on: 01892 800400.
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