Move Your Corporate
Web Site Into the Fast Lane
Back when the Web
really started to take off, and everyone jumped on
the bandwagon with a web site for their company, it
may have been enough just to "be there"
with your company or product literature. But that's
no longer the case. The competition is just too stiff to
have a mediocre site that is a regurgitation of your
printed marketing literature.
A typical corporate
web site has information about the company, its
products and services, locations, contact
information, employment opportunities and maybe some
press releases.
Think about it: if you
were your typical customer would this be enthralling
to you? Sure, maybe you'd learn something about a
business like contact information and how long
they've been around. But would it make you want to
come back again? Would you return to this site to
look up the same old basic information? Not a chance.
As a corporate web
site, you need to get into the minds of your typical
customer. Who are they? What types of information do
they need? What hobbies or interests do they have?
What news stories and articles might interest them?
If you mainly sell to businesses in a specific
industry, it should be easy for you to identify their
typical needs and interests.
Your goal should be to
turn your web site into a starting point for your
typical market. For example, if you sell equipment to
the forestry industry, you should be the
"starting point" for the forestry industry.
Your goal should be to have your typical customers
set your site as their browser's home page or at
least as a prominent bookmark in their browser.
There are several
services and features that you can add to your Web
site to make this possible:
- Offer excerpts
and links to news stories that relate to
your industry. Keep these fresh.
- Create a
periodic e-zine (electronic magazine/ newsletter)
for your industry. This could have articles,
tips, and news items for your industry.
Produce your newsletter at least monthly and
send it via e-mail to people who subscribe to
your web site. Be sure to point people back
to your site for more information by
providing links within the text of your
e-mail newsletter.
- Add a little
humor that your audience will
particularly appreciate. This could be in the
form of jokes or cartoons.
- Conduct
periodic contests to gather visitor
information. You could give away a free
consultation, a free product, service, or
even hats, T-shirts or other gifts that would
appeal to your typical customer.
- Provide
mechanisms for searching other
industry-related web sites.
- Offer sales
strategies and marketing techniques to
your sales people and distributors.
- Offer
information on inventive ways to use your
products and services.
Use your imagination.
Get into your customers' minds and make your site a
resource they can't resist returning to again and
again.
