How can I make sure my website is working for me?

Remember the old adage "I know half my marketing works, but I don't know which half"? Well, it appears that very few businesses undertake a formal evaluation of their web investment. However, before you upgrade your site, it's worth taking a long hard objective look at what customers or other visitors think of it.

Everyone is getting smarter at using e-marketing and we're all much more confident about using the 'net' too. The diagram below shows that effective use of e-commerce, as part of your marketing mix, can make you better at marketing your current products and that by using e-commerce you may also be able to develop new products or services based on customer feedback. This insight can enable you to drive right over your competitors.

For many companies their websites are now an important part of their marketing strategy. Gone are many of the websites which were basically 'literature in cyberspace', designed by the IT department, with little appraisal of how the site integrated with the company's marketing strategy.

Now more and more marketers are controlling the content, and ensuring that the investment is justified by the return. The big advantage of the web is that it draws together like minded people, and allows another channel of communication, one that is two-way. The 21st century sites are often interactive and can deliver real added value to the visitor, for example:

• Doing things that can't be done offline
• Matching brand values with the customers' needs/ beliefs
• Segmentation
• Project collaboration
• Integrated communications
• 'Viral' marketing
• Generating new revenue streams.

Even so, many companies seem to forget the basics like download speed, navigation through the site, an easy to find contact telephone number, and even spelling mistakes. Yes, we are continually surprised by the number of websites with spelling mistakes and poor grammar on the 'Homepage', let alone the rest of the site. Would you really let that printed glossy corporate sales literature out of the door with simple mistakes like that in it? Remember your website is available for everyone to see, so don't let it let you down!

A survey of what customers would really like from your site is straightforward and will help confirm your strategy, whilst a professional brainstorming session can bring freshness and innovation to the site's content and design.

At leading Edge we are able to give a marketing-focused, objective view on your website's power and effectiveness. We have provided this kind of service to a number of public and private organisations seeking to maximise the value from their e-marketing strategy.

Case Study - Website re-vamp for a manufacturer

When a long-time client of Leading Edge decided it was time to completely re-vamp their website, they turned to us for advice on the design and content.

Our brief was to produce copy that clearly puts over the company's brand values to their core customer base. With so much content on the web it is vital that customers see a benefit to them, otherwise their visit will be short.

We started by looking at the words for the 'Home' and 'About' pages. These pages are important to the success of the website, as they instantly give a customer or potential customer a clear understanding of what the company stands for, and outline what their core offering is.

The aim is to use simple language using the keywords that visitors will identify with. The opening paragraph should contain a hook that will catch the readers' attention and ensure that they are drawn into the rest of the site. We made sure that we highlighted why the company's offering is superior to their competitors. Also that the copy mentioned all the keywords that visitors will search for when using website search engines, such as Google.

As part of the review we suggested that the company put pictures of senior directors and other key personnel on the website, in order to get across to visitors that their values are all about building relationships and being responsive and approachable. Key sales personnel are now also featured on the site allowing the customer to find the best point of contact quickly.

The new website now looks more professional and the copy on the main pages is now less technical and more focused on the customers' needs, with the in-depth detail available below if the visitor is interested in finding out more.

Always remember that your website should be designed to help the visitor find what they really need, so avoid flashy designs and keep the main pages simple and to the point.

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