Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Websites
have come a long way from when they were little more than
glorified Yellow Page ads.
It used to be that companies used a web site simply to describe
a little bit about what they do and how to reach them. "Creative"
web design meant making it look pretty and maybe including a few
customer testimonials or a greeting letter from a company
executive.
But progressive companies are now looking to use their web
presence not simply to advertise but to aggressively push and close
sales. That stale, old-fashioned, advertising-oriented web site no
longer cuts it.
Companies who understand the tremendous marketing opportunities
made possible by the Internet are turning to website designs that drive the
marketing effort rather than just supplement it.
Creative Web Design Pays Off
Investing in professional web design can lead to a substantial,
ongoing boost to the bottom line. A modern, innovative website
will:
- Pull in business. Using internet techniques
such as search engine marketing and social media optimization,
creative web design will bring the customers to you.
- Encourage interaction. An effective, modern
website will have features that encourage customer feedback and
questions. These are opportunities to establish contact with
customers. They also improve customer satisfaction.
- Be tied directly to a company's objectives.
Unlike the websites of yesteryear, efficient websites of today are
designed with an all-encompassing purpose in mind-profit. Each
company knows its business strategy, and intelligent,
forward-looking web design is all about matching the website to
that strategy.
- Deliver a consistent message. It's been an
unfortunate tendency of many websites to not have the entire site
integrated with the company's core mission. Websites should deliver
a consistently "on-point" message about the company's purpose,
values, and benefit to customers.
- Provide measurement. Creative web design
includes the ability to measure the effectiveness of the website.
Tracking hits, page views, length of views, lead creation, and lead
conversion are essential. This provides evidence of the site's
effectiveness and aids in ongoing management of the site.
- Builds the company's brand. Let's face it-a
website that is unhelpful and boring creates an impression in
customer's minds of amateurism and slackness. Bad websites
seriously irritate potential and existing customers. On the other
hand, highly functional, customer-friendly websites create an
impression of your company as innovative and on top of the game.
Creative web design can even make customers enjoy being on your
site-and that creates a lasting favorable impression of your
brand.
The Bottom Line
A company that wants to compete in today's technology-driven
business culture can't afford to stick with an outdated, passive,
and ineffective website that might even be doing more harm than
good. Using a creative web design team, a website can be turned
into a revenue-generating, brand-enhancing tool for consistent
business growth.
Is your website paying off? Find out today!
