You’re losing money if your website doesn’t tell customers these 3 things
Your website is the most important marketing and sales tool you’ll ever use. A good one will separate you from the competition and open your business to new markets. A bad one makes the shopping experience difficult for customers and hurts your prospects on the global marketplace.
If you haven’t taken the time to carefully craft your message and the content on your website, then face it, you probably have bad website. The good news is that you can make many improvements on your own. Just implement these three qualities every good website has.
Easy to navigate
Think of the Internet as the world’s shopping mall and your website is a store where you sell your products or services. If finding information on your website is difficult, potential customers will leave and you’ll lose money.
Like any good store, your website needs to be organized and look appealing if you want customers to stick around and make a purchase. That means your website should have uncluttered pages with simple content blocks with high-quality images, videos or graphics to draw attention to important sections.
And keep your navigation menu to four or five items. You don’t want your customers getting lost or frustrated and closing the window before making a purchase or contacting you for more information.
Easy to understand
A good website does a good job of communicating three things about your business:
- What you sell
- Why your product or service makes your customer’s life better
- How people can purchase it
A beautifully designed website with muddy messaging will confuse your customer. Keep it simple and make sure all your copy is focused on the customer’s needs and how you can help them. A good rule of thumb is to put an image at the top of your homepage with your business tagline and a call to action. That way, the first thing your customer learns when they come to your website is what you sell and how they can buy it.
If you’re targeting international markets, make sure your website is set up with translation services or create separate landing pages for each language.
Easy to buy
Your website should make the buying experience easy for your customer. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly or setup for ecommerce, that’s the first thing you should do. The last thing you want to do is require customers to call or mail in an order. Making a purchase should be as easy as a few clicks or taps.
Another thing that makes the buying experience easy for your customer is clear calls to action (we like clickable buttons). If your website doesn’t have a “Buy” or “Request Quote” button in the navigation bar, we suggest adding one now.
You need a better website
The key to having a good website is to always make improvements. But you don’t want to change things just for the sake of changing things. You need data on where your customers come from and what they’re searching for when they get to your website. The best way to get this information is to use Google Analytics on your website, says Justin Seibert, President of Direct Online Marketing and a West Virginia District Export Council member.
Another way you can improve your website is through search engine optimization. The U.S. Commercial Service has a new tool that identifies gaps on your website from an international marketing and sales perspective. The service includes a report and provides SEO enhancements that will make your website more appealing and functional for overseas sales prospects. For more information, contact Leslie Drake, director of the Charleston U.S. Export Assistance Center.
If improving your website is part of your strategy to enter or expand your business in the global marketplace, the West Virginia West Virginia Department of Economic Development offers grant assistance through the STEP Export Program. To learn more, contact us today.
