The website user experience (UX) your organization purveys will either drain or help sustain your business. Plenty of money can be spent serving up completely different experiences to your audience depending on whom you choose to design your online marketing programs. The difference to your website visitors can be dramatic! One design may have their interest soaring while the other they find confusing or boring.
When looking at web analytics, bouncing visitors (those who find your website but quickly leave it) can be very disappointing and costly, especially if your firm spends money on Pay-Per-Click advertising. You allocate a budget for search engine marketing (SEO and SEM) and get high click-through rates to a dull, static, or downright confusing website with no real value or entertainment to draw visitors in, interact and take action.
When the homepage or landing page message is bland or the layout is confusing and difficult to navigate, potential clients may leave the site after 2 or 3 seconds. Then you may wonder why your website doesn't seem to be doing anything for you. (Hint: It must do something for them first!)
Your website is your most valuable communication asset!
A company's website is its communication hub. All other outbound marketing communications will either generate direct contacts or visits to your website. Most people today will check out a website to qualify an agent before making a call. So put the horse before the cart! Work with a web partner experienced in the science of web user experience and information design as well as traffic and lead generation.
Some web designers will tend to ask what you want your site to look like. They'll ask for things like your logo, photos and other content so they can start designing something. Others will begin with a high level marketing discussion and talk about your target audience, your web history, needed database driven feeds like listings, custom content to be created and plans for lead capture as well as ancillary online efforts like email and social media integration.
You have the choice of what to offer your online visitors. You can serve up valuable information or simply have a web presence. So how is your website performing these days? When people land there do they spend time exploring it? Are they called to action?
Chuck Sink is president of Chuck Sink Link, Hopkinton, N.H.