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What is the Purpose of Your Web Site?
On the Internet you see the multitude of purposes a web site can have--a personal home page where you can share your experiences and photos with friends and family, to educate, to inspire, to demonstrate expertise, to test the limits of technology, to sell, to comfort, to dazzle, to intrigue, to puzzle, to stimulate. Business webs, whether your own or a web for your client or employer, should have a clearly defined business purpose. This purpose drives all other decisions, from content to language style to level of detail to design.
Success can be measured in many ways, however, the primary business goal should be a carefully targeted communications vehicle, thoughtfully designed, that (ideally) adds to the bottom line. The more precise you can be about what you want to achieve, the better your chances for success. Here are some business purposes for a web site and some typical elements of each. A good web site consultant or developer will help you think through your purpose and identify your key audiences long before the artist starts to create cool graphics.
[Prospecting][Sales][Business-to-Business][Education]
[Advertising][Customer Support][Recruiting]
Client/Customer Prospecting
It's okay to offer an ``online brochure". Especially if the site is full of hyperlinks that let readers find their own way around and get to information they want, you can offer lots of vital information. One valuable aid to make this kind of web site work for you is reply forms. These can be in the guise of ``joining" to gain access to certain nonpublic information, surveys and questionnaires, or registrations for free products or contests. There's no printing or postage involved and you will get your ``brochure" into the hands of hundreds or thousands of prospects you might not meet reach any other way. If you let the information from the forms generate a database of information, you will be able to follow up with your prospects.
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Direct Sales
On-line shopping, without a doubt, is the wave of the future. Recent studies have shown dramatic increases in people purchasing items from the web, especially now that secure servers are more widely available, and that trend is forecast to continue. People like the immediacy of being able to see an item, get answers to questions and buy on the spot without having to disconnect their modem from the telephone line in order to call. An on-line store needs the same thought about options and convenience and equipment that a mall store does. Some of the elements you will need include a secure server, a ``shopping cart" program, an online catalog/database program, a fax and/or 800- telephone number, and a checkout program that will total sales, calculate any taxes, add in shipping charges and take credit card information. Be sure the shopping cart program feeds a database of customers so you can follow up later with special offers or thank yous.
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Business-to-Business Sales
For business-to-business sales you can offer a catalog of items at costs far lower than traditional print catalogs. With thoughtful categorization and hyperlinking you can include literally thousands of products, photos, descriptions and prices. You can permit on-line ordering, or telephone or fax ordering, from the computer or in traditional ways. On-line catalogs are much easier to keep up to date and don't require a lot of expense. A moderated message board of threaded discussions can also be useful. Create categories for your main product lines or for new products, have categories by industry specialty or by other affinity topic, and then get people talking about your subject. Your satisfied customers will be your best and most credible sales force. Let your particular product line, and your particular customer base, dictate the design and feel of your web site.
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Education
Whether your organization is a foundation or a business or a local government, an important function your web site will probably serve is education. For businesses, sales by education is very effective. For public welfare organizations, it's the main purpose of their business. Education web sites typically contain a lot of archived articles, references, data, links and news that give people reason to come back regularly and to spend time on the site while they are there. For businesses, an on-line newsletter is less expensive to produce and will probably garner higher readership than printed versions. Up-to-date industry information and product information can provide reasons for customers to visit regularly. Archiving back issues creates an enduring source of information and increases your web site's overall value. Creating live on-line seminars and providing ``chat" rooms can also serve your key audiences and help to generate a loyal following to hear your selling messages.
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Advertising
Advertising is a common purpose for a web site, yet it's deceptive. With traditional advertising, you could find ways to force your ads into the line of vision or the consciousness of prospective customers. A web site is hidden. It requires the prospect to know your web address and to enter it (or surf) in order to get to your site. Design and marketing, and even advertising your web site on other web sites, can get people to visit. If you want people to stay and learn about what you are selling, however, you need to provide more than a static corporate brochure. Use the latest techniques in animation--Java applets, Java script, animated images--to make the experience memorable, entertaining and even humorous. Then you will gain a following who will come again and will remember your company or your products or your message...the purpose of advertising.
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Customer Support
Many companies are using their web sites to reduce the costs associated with customer/product support. A web site is an excellent place to put in-depth product information, troubleshooting tips, samples of new products, ``fixes" for known product problems, or automated status reports on orders. The web is a good repository for product sheets, catalogs of parts and spec sheets, as well as repair manuals and listings of local service locations.
Recruiting
Finding good employees is always a challenge. Previously you had only local newspapers or bulletin boards or word of mouth or professional recruiting firms to fill openings in your organization. Today many of the large organizations who hire a lot of college graduates do extensive recruiting and prescreening on the web. By posting job openings or specific qualifications required, you have the potential to reach far beyond your traditional boundaries and reach other qualified individuals outside your area who are looking to come there for other reasons. Take advantage of the potential for finding good employees--include openings or job descriptions on your web site.
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Whatever your purpose, design your web accordingly. Tie it in to your overall business and communications strategy, and you will increase your chances of success. Frank Lloyd Wright, the noted architect stressed, ``Form follows function." Let your web design evolve from your purpose and you're already well on the way to success.
Copyright 1997 by Kaye Vivian, ABC (kvivian@cloud9.net). All rights reserved. Permission to reprint is granted providing the article is not changed and the copyright notice remains attached. |
