The
report is intended to help those who wish to build their own sites from
scratch, using template-based online design sites. Such sites have a purpose
for which they are fit, but the
templated structure is not right for everyone. They enable a simple, well-structured
service presentation which is fine for simple business propositions.
If
you have a creative flair, you can push the advanced options to their limits to
round the otherwise boxy corners that are inherent when filling templates.
What
the report is particularly good for is to help review the structure, content,
support and efficiency of your existing website and to structure the ‘wish
list’ when considering a re-build or re-brief.
What
today’s blog intends to add to this, is the broader consideration of a website
review –? Has your website grown (as many do) by simply ‘bolting on’ additional
messages, services and whims so it resembles what was once a desirable suburban
residence, now spoilt by random, unsightly conversions and extensions?
When you last closed
the office door and took your phone off the hook to read your website (what do you mean
you don’t review it?) did it say the
right thing, in the right way, in the right order, to be clear to an audience
you’d be pleased to do business with, so they can action the right levels of
contact?
Let’s
consider those key points again:
Does your website say
the right thing;
We
all spend time reviewing and refining the corporate message – from a succinct
elevator pitch, to finely tuned correspondence, e-mail marketing, advertising,
corporate literature and blogs. But is the message on your website still singing
from the same hymn sheet?
In the right way;
‘It’s
not what you say but how you say it.’ For those of you who have been on an intime PROFIT seminar,
you’ll know from the sales presentation parts of the itinerary the presentation
– tone, style, posture – are as if not more important than the content. In the
same way, tone and structure can add enormous power to the words you say on
screen. Line breaks, paragraph lengths, column widths, font, colourways and …
punctuation. Is your message written in such a way that the viewer will be able
to actually read it.
In the right order;
This
is crucial to a website and there are two sides to this coin. Imagine yourself
standing by the podium about to present your business, services and ethos to a
room full of prospects. You start with a sensible summary of what’s to come,
then move logically through the process from one theme to the next, ending with
a closing summary and chance for the floor to ask questions. So, that’s the
home page, service development ‘chapters’ and contact call-to-action.
The
flip side is that we do not know which page the viewer will start at or where
they will go next. Because of this, each page must have its own start, middle
and end with a clear, single-proposition opportunity to act and make contact.
To be clear to an
audience you’d be pleased to do business with;
It‘s
really very simple. Your web copy, structure, content and style should be built
with your audience profile, needs and authority in mind – as should any
corporate message and language.
So they can action the right levels of contact?
For
the viewer to confidently click that all important contact button, the benefits
they’ll gain by doing so must be clear and appropriate. We know what we want
them to do and how, but how do we impart what they will gain and why? What’s in
it for them? Again we need to properly understand our intentions and our
audience needs. If we are just list building then perhaps free gifts,
information and discounts might be appropriate. But if we are talking to senior
decision makers for mutually beneficial corporate benefits then it’s the ‘benefit
to need’ clarity that counts.
This,
like each of the points above, is a massive subject in its own way.
To begin the process of clarifying
your
proposition to build your business,
say hello to intime PROFIT today:
