As the years have progressed, and more and more options in the development of websites have come to be, the options that are available to advertisers when it comes to websites have grown substantially. From simple brochure websites to custom applications to robust e-commerce platforms, there are tons of options available at various price levels.
For a company to be in business, and not have a modern, responsive website is virtually inexcusable. Regardless of whether you actually do business on the web, it’s the first place that consumers look for information on your business.
But what’s a website, really? Sure, you need one, but why? There are many answers to this question. To try and break it down simply, a site should accomplish a number of the following goals:
- To generate sales leads. You’ve got a website, and as we’ve mentioned above, people are looking for information about your product or service there. But what do you do with that information? The tools available for brands to use their website to create sales leads and provide opportunities to close those sales are myriad. Even the simplest of websites should be taking advantage of this technology. It’s affordable, and it works.
- To sell your product directly. This seems pretty simple. If your business is designed to take advantage of the web as a storefront, you’re already familiar with the basics of e-commerce. But what about ways to up-sell, cross-sell, or cross-promote? Are customers abandoning their carts before checkout? How are you going about getting them back to close the sale? Increasing revenue on your online store is available with the right tools.
- To solve a complex business problem. Websites have the potential to be so much more than a simple brochure. From human resource platforms, to data organization tools and project planning (see an example at our sister company’s website at developware.com), a site can accomplish a lot for your business. Viewing a website as an opportunity to become a real application opens uncountable ways to become more efficient and to solve complex problems that prevent you from focusing on your business.
- To be an advertising tool. More than anything, a website is an important piece of a robust marketing plan. It can serve as a landing page for your advertising, a source of inbound marketing leads, an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and so much more. The most important thing when considering this aspect of a site is how it works with the rest of your plan. Simply launching a website isn’t enough. How is it working to accomplish your advertising goals?
As you can see, there are a multitude of options when it comes to the web. Beyond simply communicating the essential information for your B-2-B or B-2-C company, your website can and should be doing a lot of work for your business, and is an essential revenue generating tool in your business’ arsenal.
