According to WWW Metrics, at least 80 percent of the people in the country now have access to the internet. In addition, Invesp reports that 80 percent of these online users have made at least one online purchase in their lifetime. With this many people turning to the internet for shopping purposes, it is vital for every business to have an online presences and an organized marketing strategy. A problem that many businesses incur is that some web design and marketing firms only offer SEO and web design services.
The problem with this is that if your business wants to stay competitive in today’s market, SEO tactics and a good website is not enough. You must also have a comprehensive marketing strategy. Below are some important elements of a well-developed marketing plan. Any marketing firm you choose to work with should offer all of these services as part of their marketing package. This will help your business stay competitive in today’s market.
Comprehensive Approach
While SEO marketing and a customized web design are important elements of any business marketing strategy, these features will not generate the traffic to your website on their own. Your business marketing plan must develop a comprehensive strategy that includes interaction with the consumers through blogging, social media outlets, and video and comment posting. Your website should be linked to all of these other online sources to generate the greatest traffic to your site.
Understanding the Customer
Creating a web design that generates traffic is not as easy as it may seem. You must first understand your typical customer and what their needs are. This understanding will help you, and the marketing company, customize a website that meets the customer’s needs. For example, if you sell women’s clothing, you certainly do not want to create a web design that is geared towards men. Instead, you want to create a website that will maximize the shopping experience for women. Taking a look at your customers’demographics is a very important aspect of proper marketing.
Branding
Your company branding is also very important and should be consistent whether you customers are shopping in-store or online. Any good marketing company will take the time to understand your company’s specific branding, mission and goals. This will provide a consistent marketing strategy across all marketing mediums. Without this consistent branding, your customers may be confused about the type of company you operate and the quality of the goods and services you offer.
Customer Loyalty
While building a great website is crucial for any business that wants to remain competitive, companies cannot forget about other advertising methods. This may include customer incentives, informational blogs, videos or workshops, and contest. The goal of these additional marketing methods is to build customer loyalty over the course of time. The better bond the company has with its customers, the more likely these people are to turn into lifetime customers. The customer must feel that the company cares about them and has their best interest in mind.
As you can easily see, a comprehensive marketing plan is more that SEO and creating a great web design. Businesses today are expected to be consistent, inform their customer on a regular basis, provide instant feedback, and be available 24/7. Do not settle for a marketing company that can only offer one or two services, instead choose a company that can help you develop a complete marketing plant that utilized several different mediums. In the end, this will help increase traffic to your website and boost your company sales.
Dominic Luca has been a proud company member for AWOA for 25 years. His main passion is web design which he takes very seriously.