Going Global: Making Sure Your Website Works For You!

The main elements of websites must create credibility and trust in the first four seconds! The most important question that has to be answered for your potential clients is, “What’s in it for me”!

Trust and credibility is established by creating a relationship with the customer and being in your customer’s world. Address their needs and their concerns. Imagine your clients, current problems, solve their problems and dance with your customers!

Top 13 Website Tips

1. The first thing most people do is look to other web sites that they think are visually aesthetic, and they use that as an example of what they want. Don’t do that – because web designers are not competent to know your clients’ needs. You, as the business owner or CEO, have to think about that website from the client’s needs, first and foremost. Start with a blank piece of paper and start with the user in mind.Realize that they don’t care about the owners or the management UNTIL they know what you can do for them. Once they know that, then they look for credibility. For example on Google when you go to their site, you get a SEARCH box. You don’t get Google is invented by two guys, blah blah blah” You get what you came for, Search Solutions! Does your first page address your clients’ need?
2. Have a clear vision as to what your “Most Wanted Response” (MWR) from the website is. Just like any other marketing material, its purpose is to move people through the sales process. Once you know what the purpose of your site is, everything should be designed around that and calls to your “MWR” should be integrated into everything. www.ted.com is one of my favorite web sites – you know what they do and what they want you to do right on the home page.
3. Track everything, and don’t take your tracking results personally. Use Google analytics to track your performance, page views, inquiries, and purchases. It may take a little while to find out what works and what doesn’t, but test it, track it and, most importantly, know its effect on your sales. Just because you think it’s a good idea doesn’t mean it really is.
4. If your site needs to target various segments, each with different needs, then either build sub-sites (sites within sites) or a new website and domain all together. Each sub site can have a different look and feel to it. Remember that the MWR, or Most Wanted Response, will be different. For example an oil company needs to realize that the general consumer or motorist doesn’t really want to know about how latest drilling technology has reduced their operational costs.
5. Have your contact details on EVERY page! If your aim is to attract investors, buyers, readers, new employees or whatever your goal is have a system in place for immediate response and for tracking people who respond to you. Make sure follow up communications is designed to move people through the sales funnel. Use your response system to build your own internal database of clients, potential clients wherever possible.
6. Case studies, testimonials and client feedback need to be sprinkled throughout your website rather than on a testimonial page. Why? Think about it; the last time you went to a website, were you looking for testimonials?Who is actually looking for a testimonial page when they spend the time to come to your website! Sprinkle testimonials around the website, and link testimonials to MORE testimonials, and create a lineage of credibility. If you do happen to have 15 testimonials, turn that into a more productive sales strategy – 15 reasons to buy our valves!
7. Make your website “globally friendly”. Ensure you use global language, address time zone issues, global sizes, standards, and measures. There are many free websites where you can do easy conversions for things like currency, time, measurements, etc. Make it easy for your client to do business with you in their language or their currency.
8. KiSS IT – keep it simple, stupid. Your client wants to find what he or she is looking for quickly and easily. Keep things very simple, easy to read, and not-complicated. Look at google again! One box on a page. Effective websites are simple websites. The more clutter on your page, the more clutter in your clients’ mind!
9. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. You could spend a lifetime building a website, but, at some point, you just need to stop and say, ‘this is good enough”.
10. Your budget for your website needs to be twofold. The first part of your budget to build it and the other half to promote it. Once its online, then promote it to the hilt.
11. Update your website so it’s fresh. Change your prices consistently as your office prices change. If it’s a daily thing like the price of oil, then automate it. Keep things fresh by using many of the automated programs or widgets that will keep your website up to the minute. Be sure not to use widgets that are not absolutely necessary for your clients’ ability to buy what you are selling. Widgets, rss feeds, automated oil prices and stocks need to be specific and relevant.
12. Don’t date information on your site unless you are planning to keep it up to date. For example posting the latest news on your site can be helpful, but not it if’s the latest news you posted two years ago, it will dissolve your credibility immediately.
13. Pick a domain name that’s easy to remember and says what you do. Profile your product not your company. For example greatvalves.com, oiljobs.com, drillingsolutions.com, or petroleumshow.com. (Think about two people on the golf course talking about your company … Golfer A says “Hey check out www.______. com they’re great!” Make sure your name can fit in the blanks and don’t use hyphens!

Sunil Jaiswal believes that keeping abreast of technology is vitally important for every business owner in today’s marketplace. As an online, tech- guru- consultant, Sunil enjoys helping businesses harness technology and implement new methods that achieve their goals faster.