Services Overview
Why Web and Marketing?
Because websites are marketing. Contrary to popular misconceptions, a website is not the "Holy Grail" of sales that, once built, will allow you to plan an early retirement. A website is a facet of marketing much like advertising, networking, great customer service, sponsorships and any other activity or endeavour that increases awareness of your product, service, publication or cause.
Many business owners make the mistake of building a website for its own sake.
By completely integrating a website into consistent, long-term marketing, your business can succeed where many others fail. Many business owners make the mistake of building a website for its own sake. You may have fallen victim to this or you may be looking to avoid the errors of a colleague.
What is a Great Website?
A good website leads prospects, customers, subscribers and/or supporters to make decision to buy, use your services, subscribe to your magazine or support your cause. A great website will measurably increase profits; period! People who are on your website are on a mission to satisfy their quest for information or a solution to a problem. They are not looking to be sold something or to learn about your staff. If your website does not meet the visitors' needs they will move on to the next site until they do.
All too many websites offer lots of information about the site owner, the company staff, photos of the annual picnic, exaggerated descriptions of products and lofty mission statements. On the other side, many sites offer 30 second animated splash screens, text that are images and little or no information at all - other than the logo of the company that "designed" the website.
If you want to have a website that will increase your profits, subscriptions, or donations, you need to answer the following questions:
- What are the goals of your company?
- Who is your ideal customer/client?
- What are their needs or what problems do they have?
What are the Goals of your Company?
That's really up to you to discover. You have personal goals and goals for your organization. It may be your goal to make a million dollars in five years. It may be to build your company to the point where you can spend more time with your kids.
What you need to do is make all your efforts aim for those goals. You need to know the target before you can begin to plan your attack.
Who is your Ideal Customer⁄Client?
People are motivated by self-interest; even those people wanting to do good in the world.
Are they lawyers with kids? Are they single parents with a career? They are all people. You are not selling your product to anonymous masses - that is why so many large companies throwing millions away on advertising each year. You want to be offering solutions to individuals. People are motivated by self-interest; even those people wanting to do good in the world. They want more respect or more money or less stress or better cars or to be unique etc. You, as a business owner, know your clients and you need to know their wants, needs and desires in order to ensure that they find that what you are offering is what they want and need.
What are their Needs?
That really depends on your business. Some people who find your site are just looking for information, some are looking for a way to clean their house faster, some want to be rich, some want to have more hair. What they all have in common is that they don't need you - they need a solution to their want!
Get started with Jay Gilmore's SmashingRed now!
Email [jay dot gilmore at smashingred dot com] or call Jay at 902-529-0651 and your small organization will:
- Enjoy the rewards of a website designed to increase profits.
- Make marketing decisions more easily and with less guesswork.
- Find new ways to attract and keep your customers.
And Jay will:
- Get back to you the next business day.
- Provide you with a written analysis and proposal within five business days or less.