When All Roads Lead to the Web

These days it seems a web site is compulsory, if your business (however small) is to have credible marketing presence.
The web is often the first place your customers look when they’re …

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6th September 2007 at 9:01 pm

These days it seems a web site is compulsory, if your business (however small) is to have credible marketing presence.
The web is often the first place your customers look when they’re deciding to buy.  And increasingly it seems that it’s the second, third and fourth place they look too.  Our world is so virtual these days that very few people have a ‘real’ shop window – moreover customers don’t want to pay the extra that having premises will undoubtedly layer into your product’s pricing.
So we’re agreed the web is important.  But so many small businesses still struggle to get their web site working for them.  The standard fall back position seems to be 6-8 static pages that do no more than reproduce the pages of a brochure, (A brochure that in many cases never got printed, because these days people prefer to look at the web. . !)
So this week, I wanted to show you a great example of a simple web site, done well.  It’s one I happened on by accident in my quest for personal development.  But subject matter and the actual service to one side, have a quick click on this link and when you get there watch out for these features that make this site so hard working:

•    It clearly identifies the target (thirtysomethings – very clever cos it probably gathers in a lot of fortysomethings who haven’t moved on yet)
•    He clearly articulates what he does in buyable chunks (writer, speaker, coach)
•    He connects directly with the issues and concerns of his audience in order to engage them
•    He adds value through additional available content (and the downloads are pretty good!)
•    If you’re interested enough to want to read more, he’s got you signed up for a newsletter before you know it.
•    And he’s got some of the knobs and whistles – like a blog, clearly signposted from the web, which means his web is likely to be clearly signposted from his blog. . . he’s even got video testimonials!

Whether you like the style or tone and regardless of whether you’re interested in the products and services at all, this is a well thought out site that pulls its weight in a way most small businesses could learn from.  It makes the most of emerging web function (that 2.0 stuff) and it benefits from the most valuable small business resource going – plenty of thought.

Bonus Ball

And as a bonus ball, if you’re a pre-birth small business.  i.e. someone currently being a wage slave and researching like crazy to figure out what your small business is going to be. . .sign up for the Ezine and have a read of the sample chapters from ‘Find a Career that Fits.   They’re great!

#646464

Sara is a marketing specialist with a wealth of on-line and traditional experience. With award winning credentials as an advertising writer, her career also spans the disciplines of planning and strategy for both B2B and consumer clients. Having worked for one of the the UK's biggest non-London agencies, Sara now works on a consultancy basis for clients large and small. http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/blog

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