by DG | Jun 29, 2016 | Online Marketing
We talk at length about the importance of a great user experience for your website visitors. A great experience results from well executed plan that meets both user and business targets. However, building a website that gives users a good experience is not THE goal…
Why?
A good user experience is not actionable or measurable. It is a non-specific goal that is a required element of achieving actual goals. Don’t just try to “create a great website with good user experience.” Create a SMART one.
What is a SMART goal?
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based. SMART goal examples for your website might be:
- Get more Web site traffic – increase by 40% in 6 months.
- Improve online sales of selected product by 25% within 3 months.
- Boost product awareness of selected product to increase in-store sales 10% next month.
- Add 500 newsletter subscribers to the in the next 4 months.
- Connect with 40 people per week on Facebook.
- Gain 1,000 more Twitter followers in 2 months.
- Improve brand loyalty on social networks with incentives for fans to give feedback – target goal: 1 positive feedback message per day.
Set up SMART goals for your website.
Let’s use a T-Shirt product page a website as an example. The T-Shirt product page product page shows shoppers product details and a button to add it to their cart. It also has images of the shirt, price and description. The SMART goal examples :
- Encourage the user to complete the purchase the shirt to increase sales by 25% over the next 2 months.
- Encourage the user to follow on Facebook or Twitter to increase brand loyalty – goal: 1 message of positive feedback per day.
What is needed to satisfy these goals:
- Professional design that allows user to feel the site is trust worthy.
- Clear branding.
- A link to product information before sale.
- Good images that represent the product well.
- Product description and key benefits that satisfies all questions.
- Any product specifications that the consumer need.
- Product variations such as colour and size.
- Product Price
- Delivery date and cost.
- Customer service information and the return policy.
- Easy to find add to cart button.
- After purchase links to Like on Facebook or Twitter with incentive such as future discounts.
Specific
Make sure your goals are specific, i.e. ‘increase in overall sales by 10%’, rather than ‘increase sales’.
Measurable
There are many things that can be measured give insight to user behaviour – the users clicks to determine how what users are most interested in. We can measure how many pages they visit. We can measure how they got your website and what pages they exit from. We could measure the percentage of visitors who complete the purchase versus the number who stop just before the final step. We can easily see how many extra likes or newsletter subscriptions are attained.
Actionable
With specific goals we can understand what content and functionality will achieve our goals.
Relevant
These goals examples above are relevant for a product page, but obviously not for a services page or home page.
Time-based
It is important to set time limits for SMART goals to work and be measured.
You are not alone if you find yourself bewildered by web stats or simply avoiding them altogether. Do you cringe when someone asks you for reporting about the annual return on your web marketing investment? If so, it’s time to conquer your fears and follow our easy guide to defining, tracking and reviewing your web marketing objectives. Whether your website is a large, small, basic or custom, you must have clearly defined SMART website goals. This will allow you to monitor and establish whether the website is performing as it should, and in return, providing you with your return on investment! If you would like with determining your goals, or setting up your SMART goals, contact WebExpress today for a FREE consultation.
by DG | Apr 23, 2016 | Business, SEO, Web Design
Branding is a marketing technique that has the potential to elevate your business and achieve great success. It involves helping your customers to form a recognizable association with you. It also has to do with the overall experience they have when interacting with your company. Developing your brand involves capturing the essence of your business and then developing ways to articulate your message to your customers that is consistent with your brand. No matter what method is used to interact with your customers they should get a consistent experience.
Visually link your business with good design, a logo, slogan, website and colours and observe the positive results very soon. Research and really understand who your audience is. Ask questions like: What are their spending habits? Values? Concerns? Needs? How does your product/service fit into their life? Is there a certain age range that your products/services appeal to? Do they live in large cities, small towns…? The possible questions are infinite but really think it through and you will come up with many that are important for your business. By answering these direct questions and adapting your message to appeal to your audience and you will soon see positive results.
The closer the focus the more connected the buyer will feel with your brand. It is imperative when communicating that you exchange information about the product in the same way your buyer talks. For example: if they are sophisticated, intelligent and affluent, speak to them with sophistication and parallel their style. If your audience is young, free-spirited adults don’t sound like parents; simply connect with your audience on their comfort level. Clients, community members and friends should know the personality of your business. Employees must understand and carry out the persona inside the brand.
Some great ways to do this are to hire those you believe already possess the desired traits, throw company parties, be a part of community events, and hold relaxed company meetings on communicating the brand consistently. Be sure to communicate your brand message, logo and tagline on company material consistently. These include: websites, marketing, advertising, public relations, e-mail, letterheads, business cards, and product packaging.
Place your brand on any objects related to your products or services. Employees must understand the brand and know how to effectively apply the brand in their communications. Don’t let employees design their own flyers or ads without approval unless of course they have been trained and hired to do so. One thing we all know is that change happens. Therefore it’s important to evaluate and re-evaluate your brand. Simple changes without changing the overall message are needed to survival. Grow with and ahead of your buyer.
Don’t let your brand make you look out of touch.
by DG | Mar 23, 2016 | Business, Print, SEO, Web Design
Branding is important for any serious business because a company’s brand is what sets it apart from the competition. Today it is necessary for most businesses to have an online presence to stay competitive. Effective internet branding, just like your collateral material, helps bring awareness to your unique business and is key to business growths.
While Internet branding offers huge opportunities for business, in order for it to be effective one needs to attract and engage its customers. This isn’t easy on the internet. Branding is not as easy as putting up a website and adding your company logo and slogan. Your internet branding strategy should make your online brand noticeable and apparent.
Hi-tech tools are used to create an online presence for your business. Graphics and animation, compelling copy, and overall website design that reflect your company are some of the important elements that will bring your online brand alive. Good design will result in a good user experience that helps customers easily and quickly find the information they need is the key to getting customer interaction and eventually, business. Your branding plan should include good design elements and ease of use to create an effective overall impression.
A strong online image will make the difference between a customer who buys from you online or switches to your competitors. Online customers can just leave your site and go to your competitors at the click of a mouse – easier than walking out of your store and that’s pretty easy. A lot depends on the impression they get from your site. Branding seeks to convey an immediate unique message about your business to your target clients.
As you can see, there are many requirements for a successful branding strategy. Hiring an experienced, professional web design company will put you on the right track in creating an online presence that will become a valuable asset to your business.
