No.1 Using A Website to Capture More Business Enquiries

To capture more business enquiries is one of, if not the most common reason a business will launch a website. A website can, with good design, good content & management, some concentrated SEO & Marketing, create good volumes of new business enquiries. Ape Red Media has a fool proof process that when used on launch of a new website will 99 times out of a 100 create new business immediately.

No.3 Using a Website to Promote New or Alternative Services/Products

At times a business may expand its range of services/products or there may be an alternative type of product or service a business wants to focus on. Emphasis can be placed on a new service or alternative sides to a business for either new or existing customers very easily through a website. The business website can be a very economical way of informing new and existing customers about new directions, products or services a business offers.

No. 5 Create Immediate Sales

Short term needs can often be met with web pages that have been targeted and then promoted. New businesses can use a well designed website with appropriate SEO to create sales from the out set. With web based marketing agents like Google Adwords, Facebook and other Pay Per Click mediums advertising to test out new ideas and services can be very inexpensive. If a business has an immediate need to sell product/services (ie. they are in 'set-up' or in the launch of a new service, for example) a website is a great tool working 24 hours a day and instantly facing the most likely customers by using PPC online advertising.

No.7 Build on Reputation

A good reputation is a quality that should be continually in view of potential new clients. Family businesses, 1 man bands and Big Brands can detail how long they have been established etc, detail their reputation, include testimonials from clients/customers, makingtheir reputation and/or standing available to a huge audience of both interested parties and passing browsers! A well designed and professionally presented website can speak volumes about a business and it’s owners making it easy for potential customers to sense a trustworthy business and to strengthen word of mouth recommendations from existing customers!

No.9 Provide Information about the Business, Products & Services

Providing contact details, opening hrs, directions with mapping like Google Maps etc, is a key function of a website along with detailing services, products, operating instructions, prices and availability etc.

A website kept up to date with contact details and product/service information can be a powerful referral tool supporting what your customers say about you and helping them provide tangible and hopefully impressive information when referring you to someone they know.

Furthermore, key information about products and/or services can be a reason in itself for visitors to come to a website, who then share your information through Social Media channels, spreading the word about your business.

No.11 Test Price Offers & Marketing

Research suggests that 15% of all purchases are made because of the price!
All business people know that when a product or service is taken to market that the pricing ideally should have room for manoeuvre. It should allow for offers and discounts. Testing offers, is and always be essential.

A website provides a business of any size with the opportunity to test offers and marketing promotions at will. They can be switched on and off as required, modified as and when necessary.

A web page can be used as the shop front, the first point of contact for print or internet advertising. Landing pages can be created for a variety of services and tested to see which work best with services like Google Adwords or Facebook pay per click advertising. Adverts can be tested online and when perfected used in print!

The opportunities provided by a business website are many, but if a site does nothing else than test and perfect marketing offers and adverts that provide the business with clients, the web site has more than paid for itself!

Do your competitors have the ability to test and perfect advertising? Do they generate new clients through Google Adwords? Do visitors to their web site see fantastic offers and calls to action that motivate them to contact the business? Do your competitors have an advantage over you by using a website?

No.2 Using A Website to Capture More Profitable Enquiries

Most businesses have a variety of services and or products covering a range of prices and profit margins. A website can be designed and search engine optimised to focus on the most profitable products and services a business supplies. It may be a simple case of targeting customers close at hand thereby reducing travel costs and lessening the burden on the gross profit margin. Or specific types of work can be pursued using a website and/or a mini targeted website.

Again, there is a simple marketing strategy that can be put into operation on launch of a new site or mini targeted site that will 99 times out of 100 create new sales.

No.4 Testing or Opening Up a New Market

A website can be used to test or open up a new market, for instance, when a business wants to try out offering a new service to customers, a section can be added to a page, or a page dedicated to the new service with clear advertising links from the home page. It can help a business see what interest there might be in the new service. In addition, a business can see if there is the opportunity in a new market by using a dedicated page as the landing page for some Pay Per Click Advertising (Performance based Advertising) like Google Adwords. Easily done and relatively cheap.

No.6 Stay on par with the competition - AT LEAST!

Competition can often be a key reason (if not a matter of principle) to have a website designed for your business. If not just to make sure your business is on par with others in the same field that already have websites, but to keep one step ahead of new entrants into your field that don’t have one yet! If your competition has a website and you don’t, they can, if they haven’t done already, switch on all the 12 possibilities noted here plus other not mentioned! Is it wise to let the competition have a host of advantages that are easily matched? And is it sensible to let new entrants into your field steal the march on you by launching a website when you don’t have one?

No.8 Create an Image or Brand

Websites can showcase or create an image, help re-brand or establish a brand.

'The brand and image of a business are vital to its success. Strong brands can generate customer trust, which is particularly important in e-commerce where there are often concerns over privacy and security.' Business Link

No.10 Display Associations & brands

Businesses often use their website as an opportunity to demonstrate their own credibility by linking their website to those with whom they are associated, ie. An electrician who is a NICEIC member may link to the NICEIC site using the logo.

Membership of associations such as the Federation for Small Businesses allow members to use logos which are recognised by the general public as credible organisations.

Using widely recognised logos on your site promotes your own credibility in the eyes of your potential customers establishing trust and increasing the likelihood of business, referrals and the sharing of your info across Social networks..

Highlighting the Brands a business uses or sells also allows the business benefit from the power of big brand awareness. Again promoting credibility in the eyes of potential customers.

A website is like a shop window, do your competitors have theirs open? Are they promoting their credibility 24 hours a day?

No. 12 Positioned as a
Safety Net

Business that are running well and in the fortunate position of not requiring new customers/more business enquiries can and do use websites as information brochures and customer support/help facilities. But is that all they do? NO, THEY ACT AS A SAFETY NET!!

While providing support, a business may also gain the odd enquiry that may come in useful to replace departing clients.

However, because the site exists and is registered with the search engines etc it provides a powerful asset if unforeseen events demand that the business generate customers in a hurry. Service and support sites can act as a safety net and allow for marketing pages to be added, landing pages for pay per click campaigns to be created etc. Marketing can be switched on almost instantly if needed.