Planning Your Web Site

Planning Your Web Site
With millions of Web sites competing for viewers, how do you get the
results you’re looking for? When asked if they are marketing on the
Internet, many people say, “Yes, we have a Web site.” However, having
a Web site and marketing on the Internet are two very different things.
Yes, usually you need a Web site to market on the Internet. However, a
Web site is simply a collection of documents, images, and other electronic
files that are publicly accessible across the Internet. Your site
should be designed to meet your online objectives and should be developed
with your target market in mind. Internet marketing encompasses
all the steps you take to reach your target market online, attract visitors
to your Web site, encourage them to buy your products or services, and
make them want to come back for more.
Having a Web site is great, but it is meaningless if nobody knows
about it. Just like having a brilliantly designed product brochure does
you little good if it sits in your sales manager’s desk drawer, a Web site
does you little good if your target market isn’t visiting it. It is the goal of
this book to help you take your Web site out of the desk drawer, into the
spotlight, and into the hands of your target market. You will learn how
to formulate an Internet marketing strategy in keeping with your objectives,
your product or service, and your target market. This chapter
provides you with an overview of this book and introduces the importance
of:
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2 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
• Defining your online objectives
• Defining your target market and developing your Web site and
online marketing strategy with them in mind
• Developing the Internet marketing strategy that is appropriate
for your product or service.
The Fundamentals—Objectives, Target
Markets, and Products and Services
Things have changed dramatically over the past several years in terms
of Web site design and development methodology. Back in the olden
days—a couple years ago in Internet years—it was quite acceptable and
the norm for an organization to pack up all their brochures, ads, direct
mail pieces, news releases, and other marketing materials in a box, drop
it off at the Web developer, and after a short conversation ask when
they might expect their Web site to be “done.” By going through this
process, organizations ended up with “brochureware.” Brochureware
is no longer acceptable on the Web if you want to be successful. Sites
that are successful today are ones that are designed around the
• Objectives of the organization
• Needs, wants, and expectations of the target markets
• Products and services that are being offered.
Everything related to Internet marketing revolves around these three
things—objectives, target markets, and products and services. It is critically
important to define these things appropriately and discuss them
with your Web developer. It is your responsibility to define these things,
not your Web developer’s. You know, or should know, what your objectives
are more clearly than your Web developer. If you don’t articulate
these objectives and discuss them with your Web developer, it is impossible
for him or her to build a site to achieve your objectives!
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Planning Your Web Site 3
You know your target market better than your Web developer.
You know what your buyers want, what they base their buying decisions
on, and what their expectations are better than your Web developer.
You need to provide this information so that your Web developer
can build a Web site that meets the needs and expectations of your
target market.
Let’s spend the remainder of the chapter on these fundamentals—
objectives, target markets, and products and services—so you can be
better prepared for the planning process for your Web site.
Common Objectives
Before you even start to create your Web site, you must clearly define
your online objectives. What is the purpose of your site? Brainstorm
with all parts of your organization, from the frontline clerks, to marketing
and sales personnel, to customer support, to order fulfillment and
administration. Generate a list of primary and secondary objectives.
Every element of your site should relate back to your objectives. When
you decide to update, add, or change any elements on your Web site,
examine how these changes relate to the primary and secondary objectives
you have identified. If there is not a clear match between your
objectives and your intended changes, you might want to reconsider the
changes. It’s amazing how many Web sites have been developed without
adequate planning or without ensuring the Web site ties in with the
corporate objectives.
Some of the most common primary objectives include:
• Advertising your product or service
• Selling your product or service
• Providing customer service and product support
• Providing product or corporate information
• Creating and establishing company identity or brand awareness.