What does a Small Business need from their website?

"Business Link has seen a dramatic rise of enquiries and support offered to individuals considering starting a business. 29%* more 'pre-start' individuals have had help from the Service in the South East in the last six months compared with the same time period last year. Over 14,800 individuals have been supported with information and advice since April 2009."

SEEDA

Typically, as individuals face the realities of redundancy brought about by a recession, many turn their thoughts towards setting up their own business.

Many of these new businesses start off in the smallest possible way - a one-man-band offering services, products or expertise in their particular field.

However small your business, there are key considerations that need to be addressed to ensure the success of the business, and these considerations need to include the way in which you market yourself to your future customers.

This article is aimed at giving the new business, no matter how small, some idea of the best ways of marketing themselves on the internet.

WHAT DOES A SMALL BUSINESS NEED FROM THEIR WEBSITE?

Any business looking to increase their customer base and market themselves effectively needs a website. This is not a luxury any more; it is a necessity. Even if you are a one-man-band, you don't need to market yourself as such. Customers have faith in businesses that appear to have credentials, a successful trading history, happy customers and a proven track record. If you look as though you set up your business yesterday with a budget of £5, there is not escaping the fact that you will be perceived as a "here-today, gone-tomorrow" business, no matter how well qualified you are as a supplier.

There is no doubting that some individuals can just about get away with presenting a business card that has clearly been generated by a slot machine, but if you are serious about your business, do you simply want to "get away" with the cheapest possible forms of advertising?

Your website could be the best investment you make, and it really need not cost the earth. However, it is essential that you think carefully about what it is that you want to achieve through your website.

1. What is your business?

2. Who is your target market?

3. What is unique about you, your products or services and therefore..

4. Why would a customer come to you as opposed to one of your competitors?

5. How do you want to be perceived?

6. What do you want your website to do for you? Generate enquiries? Sell something?

Your business plan will provide most of these answers, but if you don't have a business plan, then you really need to make sure you know the answers to the above questions so that you understand fully what it is that you are trying to achieve through your business in the first place.

Having clear objectives, you then need to think about the key ingredients necessary to make a successful website.

The following are our suggestions:

1. Aesthetics.

Please don't go for the cheapest website solution you can find. A poorly designed site can have a seriously detrimental effect on your business. This is your shop front and the first impression that a potential customer could have of you and your company. As it is, on average, 98% of all website visitors will leave your site without bothering to contact you. Don't increase your statistic to 100%! The way in which you want your business to be perceived will have an impact on the way your site should be designed. A professionally designed site will make your job so much easier.

2. Work.

Make your website do some work. At the very least, visitors should be encouraged to contact you, so you can start to collect some data for future marketing. Offer website visitors something in exchange for their email address and name. Have an area on your homepage where you can feature a special offer or a new product - something that will ignite the interest of your customers.

3. Engage.

These days, your website is not enough. Social Media has exploded in recent months, and one of the new key words in internet marketing is "engagement". You need to engage with your customers in every way possible, and social media (sites like Twitter and Facebook) now allows you to do this in ways not previously possible. A blog also allows you to communicate with your customers in a direct, personal and informative way that keeps you uppermost in their minds. You website, then, should encourage potential customers to follow you in the world of social media, so that you can spread your message and engage.

4. Find.

A professional will ensure that your website is built to comply with latest standards. Having a well constructed site is part of the process of ensuring that your website can be found in the major search engines. But that is one part. There are many facets in successful search engine promotion - key words, relevant content, back-links, using social media, accessibility....a potential mine field for the new business. In the near future, both video and audio are going to play in increasingly important role in your successful on-line marketing, so yet another consideration!

5. AIDA

Keep it simple. Stick to the principles of successful marketing and make them work on your website:

A - Attention. Make sure your website grabs the attentions of your customer within 8 seconds.

I - Interest. Focus the landing page (usually your homepage) content so that it creates real interest.

D - Desire. Make the site visitor want to contact you.

A - Action. Always make the Call to Action easy to find. If you want customers to call you, ensure your phone number is very visible. If you want them to email you, have the simplest of forms on every page.

A lot to take in, but it can be achieved.

We, at Argent Ram Media, have developed SESOME - Search Engine and Social Media-ready websites that are ideal for small and start-up businesses. With a limited budget, you need to know that you will have a website that will work for you in the most effective way possible.

Have a look at our Sesome website - http://www.sesome-websites.co.uk/ for details.

If you would like more information on Sesome Websites, please call us - 0845 009 5396. Alternatively, email Ian Rutter ian@argentrammedia.com

Argent Ram Media is a company that specialises in providing a range of marketing solutions for all businesses, from the small one-man-band up to the largest of multi-national companies.

Website Design and Development
Design for Print
Email Design and Campaign Management
Micro-Site Marketing
E-Commerce
Internet Start-Ups
Marketing Consultancy
Search Engine Marketing
PR
Digital Advertising
Digital Screen Marketing