Based on
strategic marketing plan book "How Much for Just Spider?"Do you know your Web site's objective? With an objective to help overcome your main challenges, you can work smarter, not harder. Through this second article in four part Web Site Marketing Plan series, learn how you can consider business building models and customer stages when setting objectives.
Think of a Web site objective as "big picture". In general terms, objective answers question "How can I use site to overcome my business's main Internet related challenge?" or "What is purpose of my site?".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Customer Stages: Awareness, Interest, Trial, Repeat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When setting your objective, it may help to think in terms of awareness, interest, trial, and repeat. These concepts are often used in marketing to explain stages a new customer (or site visitor, in this case) goes through on path to becoming loyal to your business. The potential visitor must first become *aware* of your site. Once aware, you must spark an *interest* with potential visitor, motivating her/him to *trial* - responding to a call to action on your site. After (s)he visits your site, that person becomes *loyal* by revisiting in future.
You may be able to most effectively build your business by focusing on one or two of awareness, interest, trial, or repeat visits, then changing your focus over time. If your site is brand new or known to very few people, for example, your plan is likely to concentrate on ways to increase awareness and interest. A focus on interest and trial may be in order, however, if you get an above-average number of "window shoppers" - visitors who never purchase (or do not respond to some other call to action). Alternately, for example, if you sell multiple products or a product that needs replenishing, focus on repeat purchases may be more effective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Business Building Models ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct Revenue/e-Commerce
Some of most known Web site objectives relate to e- commerce or other types of direct revenue from site. That is, objective is to establish a direct source of revenue from either orders or advertising space. There are different e-commerce options, or models, to consider if your site objective is direct revenue. To learn about your options, go to http://www.bpubs.com/Internet_and_E-Commerce/ and explore articles in "Strategies and Models" section.
There are other valuable ways, beyond direct revenue, a Web site can enhance your business:
Build Brand Image
A long-term objective for your site could be to improve sales by building an image for your product, brand, and/or company. Increasingly, this is an explicit goal for large companies with ample budgets. Small-budget companies can follow suit on a more affordable scale by building an image during natural course of marketing. You can do this by consistently presenting similar design elements and "personality" at each point of contact with world - whether that contact be virtual or physical.
Enhance Customer Service
Your site can increase revenue indirectly by improving customer service. When customers are more satisfied, they tend to spread word about your products as well as buy more often themselves. Another way your site can indirectly increase sales through enhanced customer service is by supporting sales through other channels. Customers often do product research on a Web site then later place orders via catalogue, telephone, sales representatives, a physical retail store, mail, and/or fax. In all of these cases, a Web site indirectly contributes to building business.
