If you think a business website is an electronic brochure with information about who you are and what you do, then think again.
The “e-brochure” website has been superseded by those that provide a more engaging experience between businesses and their clients.
When designing your business website or updating an existing site, you should look to engage visitors with more than simple information about what you do and how people can get in touch with you. Here are some tips about possible features you might like to include in your business site to increase sales and enhance the customer experience.
Business blogging
A blog is a great way to keep customers coming back to your website. Your blog should contain useful information, including the latest news and views about your business. Even if they are not using your services, they will keep coming back and engaging with your business. If you are disciplined to keep adding new content on a regular basis (several times each week), then you should consider adding a blog to your existing site or incorporating one into your new site development.
Customer relationship management (CRM)
The most valuable resource for an online business is the member database. If your site does not have a way to capture information from customers and follow up on sales leads, then you are missing a huge opportunity. Those customers who have registered as members or have already made sales enquiries are much easier to sell to. They already know who you are and what you do and are comfortable enough with you to sign up, so they are infinitely more likely to buy your product. Make it easy to manage them, and make them the focus of your marketing efforts by building a CRM on your site.
Let customers try & then buy shopping carts
If you sell a product or service, you should allow customers to try your product for free. Consider including an area on your site where visitors can download a free guide or sample of your work, order a catalogue, or get a free gift. If you do this, make sure you collect their name and any relevant information, which you can then follow up at a later date.
You should also allow customers to purchase products or order services directly through your site. Integrating shopping carts and payment gateways using services like PayPal is simple, safe, and secure. You will also be able to track orders, customer details and sales performance if you have an inventory management system.
Mashups & widgets
A great way to enhance your site appearance and improve the visitor experience is to use mashups or widgets in the site design. Many businesses now use mapping tools on their site to show how customers can find them in real life, and there are tons of great little widgets and features that can be built into a site to enhance the experience your customers have. A great place to look for ideas about enhancements is Scriptaculous. Good developers will be able to recommend useful widgets to include.
Distribution
As in any real-world business, distribution is critical to success. You can build the best web application in the world, but if nobody knows about it, then you will not get very far. A simple way to increase the distribution of your online presence is to include a “Tell a Friend” link, which allows current customers to refer others to your site. With the proliferation of 3rd generation mobile phones, it might also be useful to create a “Mobile” version of your site which is easier for those using phones to access. You could consider developing a Facebook application that integrates with your product, posting a video or short animation about what you do on YouTube.
There are dozens of other small things that you can do to increase your presence online. If you are building a site, make sure you ask your web developer for more advice on how to increase your online profile.