Newsletter Vol. 7, 2007
Did you try out our 5 Minute IT Health Check last month? This month we have a quick 3 Question Website Health Check for you, plus some great Website examples to get your business creativity flowing.
In this issue:
- Website Health Check - is your website delivering?
- WOMOW - word of mouth on the web
- Responding to your client's emails - Are you beating the UK stats?
- Case Study: An Online Party Plan - a brilliant opportunity for viral marketing
Best wishes,
Heather Maloney
Website Health Check - is your website delivering?
The following three questions will help you assess whether your website has a good bill of Health:
What message will a visitor to your website receive in the first 10 - 20 seconds of visiting your site?
The easiest way to work this out is to ask a few friends or colleagues to point their browser to your website and tell you what they see in the first 20 seconds, making a note of where their eyes are drawn to. If you can watch the person use your site, even better; you should be able to tell where they are looking and then ask him or her immediately what they learnt from your site.
The obvious follow up question is: "Is this what you want your visitor to learn about you in the initial few seconds?"
Is it easy for your visitors to get in contact with you from your website?
Links to an easy way for your visitor to interact with you e.g. an online form, should be in clear view, even jumping out at the visitor, in the places on your website most likely to provoke a response from your customer e.g. on a page describing your products / services or stating what you have achieved for your clients.
An example from the eNudge website: on the front page there are no fewer than seven links to either subscribing to our newsletter, signing up for eNudge or getting in contact with us. We know we could do better! But throughout the eNudge site you will find many places where we encourage visitor interaction e.g. the Publications page where we invite people to subscribe to our newsletter.
Are you receiving a steady stream of enquiries from your website?
This is where the rubber hits the road. If your website is not generating leads for you, you have to question what is going wrong. If you have visitors coming to your site, and no one taking the next step (whatever that might be), one or both of the above questions need addressing.
If you are not getting visitors, you need to consider a pay per click online advertising campaign, search engine optimisation, and you need to take a look at your offline marketing.
If you respond to this newsletter, we are happy to meet with you and provide an on-the-spot analysis of your website; obligation free. Of course, feel free to send this newsletter onto your colleagues.
Quotable Quote: "A word from the mouth is like a stone from a sling." ~ Spanish Proverb
WOMOW - word of mouth on the web
Word of Mouth is a key way that businesses receive new customers. A new Australian business is taking advantage of the
growing social nature of the web to helps visitors find the service they are looking for, based on recommendations provided
by other visitors.
You can check out the website here: http://www.womow.com.au/ and get involved to help increase the number of reviews of businesses, and at the same time have the opportunity to win a prize or two. I'm personally very impressed with the features of this site.
Responding to your client's emails - Are you beating the UK stats?
It's a pet hate of mine... you go to a website and send an email asking a question, and you don't hear back. Well, this hit the news in the UK recently. See the news item on our website News page entitled: UK companies ignoring customer emails.
Do you have processes in place to ensure that website enquiries are responded to in an appropriate timeframe?
An Online Party Plan - a brilliant opportunity for viral marketing
Contact Point has been delighted to work on the recent website re-design and development for Genre. Genre is an
importer of fashion handbags and accessories, designed with the high fashion labels in mind, but provided at a fraction
of the price. The new website allows customers to run their own online party, inviting guests to "attend" online. The
host can then earn rewards to apply to their order, including donating 10% of the total of the party to a registered
charity of their choice.
The viral nature of the online party makes it an amazing way to not only increase sales, but also reach a wide audience as visitors are motivated to tell their family and friends about the site, as guests to their online party.
Checkout the new website at: www.genre.com.au
Contact Point - Helping businesses to reach their potential through Information Technology