Your website.

Your most precious piece of marketing collateral.

Your home on the web.

You own it and you can do whatever you want with it.

You’re not at the mercy of a third party webspace like Facebook.

They make the rules and can change them whenever they fancy.

Or, if their popularity divebombs, taking your business presence and thriving community with them, you can lose all of your power in an instant.

Dramatic? Sure, but it CAN (and does) happen.

(That does not mean that you should ignore social media marketing – quite the opposite – but understand its place in your marketing overall).

Anyway, back to your website…

It’s where you want to direct everyone who comes into contact with you – whether that’s online or in person.

It’s where people can find out more about you, understand you, your products and services.

It’s where they learn the next step in your customer-provider relationship – whether that’s contacting you, booking a consultation or buying from you.

And, because your website is usually one of your biggest business investments you want it to be a hard worker. Dedicated and loyal, attracting a regular flow of prospects and sales into your business so that you can continue to grow your business with more ease.

To put it simply, your website should be the hardest working member of your sales team.

Build it and they will come?

A common sight I see are websites not being used to their fullest potential.

Many businesses – large and small – think of it as just a shop window. That visitors will be so wowed by its existence that they’re bound to take the initiative and make the next step.

It’s the ‘build it and they will come’ mindset.

Sorry, sweetie but that strategy doesn’t work anymore…

No matter how fabulous you are.

Not when there are billions of websites and blogs littering the www, and competition is fierce.

Truth is, if your website sucks, so will your sales.

So once your website visitors land on your site, what can you do to make it work harder for you?

Does your website suck or shine?

First of all, it has to make an impact from the very first visit. Which is why it’s crucial to understand your ideal client and communicate with her in a way that feels like you KNOW her.

Next, you want to be clear how you want your visitor to behave when they pay your website a visit.

Figuring that out starts with this question:

Why does YOUR website exist?

Knowing this is going to make the difference between one that sucks and one that shines brightly.

When you can answer that question, your objective is central to every website decision you make from that moment on.

Then, by playing an active role in the visitor experience you both get what you want.

You know what you want them to get from the visit so that it benefits you both…

They land on your home page. Where do you want them to go next?

They read your About page (it’s up there with the most popular pages of your website. Fact). What do you want them to do now?

They skim through your services or products. What’s next?

How about thinking about it this way?

I like to think of it in real terms. Like when you have house guests.

You don’t leave your front door wide open so that they can let themselves in, kick off their shoes, grab the wine from your fridge, and curl up on your sofa.

Instead, you open the door with a big, inviting smile, welcome them in, ask how they are, pour them something refreshing, and give them your full attention.

You make them feel welcome. At home. Comfortable. Like you really want them to be there. Because you do.

It’s the same with your website. You are the host, they are the guest. It’s your special place and they’re invited to join you there. You are the one with the control to manage that interaction.

How many times have YOU done this?

Of course, there’s more to it than that. Design, userbility, SEO, marketing effectiveness are all important too.

Plus, you need to address two important factors about buying behaviour to unleash your website’s full power:

1. Most people aren’t ready to buy the first time they ‘meet’ you. Stats show that it takes many interactions before someone trusts you enough to part with their money. Particularly if your offering has a high price tag.
2. Once a visitor has devoured every inch of your site, there isn’t a reason to visit again. Unless, they happen to remember you when they are ready to buy.

How many times have you found a website you love, convinced yourself that it’s soooo good you’ll easily remember it, only to forget it’s name when you really need it?

Me? ALL THE TIME.

So relying on your visitor to remember you leaves you at risk of losing that potential customer forever…

Which is when the business of relationship building comes in…

Often, when you hit that sweet spot of really knowing how to connect with your audience it forges an instant attraction. You create the ‘honeymoon affect’. This is when they just can’t get enough of your good stuff.

So you want to keep on giving.

Enter the other 2 gorgeous babes in your sales team: blogging and email marketing.

More ease and long term growth for you

By adding these to your website you can take more control of your relationships by giving passers-by a reason to become regular visitors. Plus, by offering something they’ll love in exchange for their email address, and regularly keeping in contact, you make that interaction easier for them to continue. What’s more, you increase business sales over the long term.

Sound good? Find out how I can help create your strategy using modern marketing techniques and clear-cut business systems to achieve exciting results for your business by clicking here.