“Can Web Developer Take Care of Everything” ?

It is amazing how people assume that just because a person or company develops a Web site, that company will take care of everything related to the site and its marketing online. Not only do they expect the Web developers to build the site without much direction, but they also expect the Web development company to:

Get it placed high in the search engines

Monitor the positioning and resubmit when needed

Let the world know the site exists

Attract a lot of traffic to the site

Update the site’s content and graphics when it is needed

And here is the real kicker—the average client expects ALL this for the price of the initial Web development.

Reality: “Many assume that their web developer is responsible for getting their site placed in the search engines and generating traffic to their site.”
When you hire a print advertising company to develop your corporate brochure, you don’t expect them to research your target market and then distribute the brochure and then follow up with the potential clients. For some reason, people expect Web development companies to “do it all.”

In some instances a full-service Internet marketing and Web development company may be able to provide additional services other than site development. Tasks such as search engine submission and generating links to your site can be provided, but generally it is your responsibility to handle these tasks. It is important that your company have an Internet marketing strategy in place to generate significant traffic to your site. You should also have a site maintenance strategy and implementation schedule. You may choose to outsource some of the elements in your Internet marketing strategy, but it is your responsibility to make sure that you have control over what is being done and who is doing it.

"Can Online Store Offer the Same Products and Services as Offline Store.”?

Business owners who have a bricks-and-mortar location sometimes assume that their online storefront is an extension of their offline storefront and that they will provide exactly the same products and services online as offline.

Reality: “Consumers have higher expectations online than offline, and the consumer rules!”
In some cases fewer products are offered online than in the physical store. This is often the case where you are test-marketing, but also where some of the products you sell in your physical location are not appropriate for online sales due to competitive pricing or shipping logistics.

In other cases your online store will offer more products or services than the bricks-and-mortar location. For example, your offline bookstore may not offer shipping or gift-wrapping. If your online bookstore does not offer these services, you will lose a lot of business to your online competition. When a site’s product offerings include items that are appropriate for gift giving, it is essential to also offer wrapping, customized cards, shipping to multiple addresses, and shipping options. The consumer is king and is very demanding. You have to meet and beat your consumers’ expectations online to garner market share. People shopping for gifts online are looking for convenience, and the site that provides the greatest convenience and the greatest products at the greatest price will be the winner.

“The world will automatically know it exists .”?

Since the Internet emerged as a part of our lives and conversations, the belief has been that once you create a Web site, the world will automatically know it exists and will beat a path to your door to do business with you. The idea is that once you have taken the time and effort to publish a Web site, the job is done and all you have to do is make sure the site is live and wait for the e-mails to come in.

Reality: “Building a web site is just the first step.”
Getting business from your Web site is a lot like getting business from a great brochure. You can have the best brochure in the world, but it isn’t going to bring you any business if it sits in the bottom drawer of your salesperson’s desk. The same is true with your Web site. You can have the greatest Web site in the world, but it will not bring you any business if you do nothing to let your target market know the site exists and encourage them to visit.

You need a strategy to reach your target market online and offline that encourages them to visit your site. Search engine registration is one element, and there are many more. Your strategy could include the following marketing techniques:

-Mail list marketing

-Newsgroup or forum participation

-Electronic press release distribution

-E-zine article submissions

-Cybermall participation

-Listings in meta indexes and industry-specific directories

-Banner advertising

-Links from sites frequented by your target market

It is critically important that you spend as much time planning and implementing the marketing of your site as you did in the planning and development of the site, if not more.

People believe that literally anyone can build a Web site?

Many people believe that literally anyone can build a Web site. There are many software programs, wizards, and templates to make it easy. There’s nothing to it. Web design is often viewed just like word processing or creating a flyer using a basic graphics and text software program. We get our brothers, uncles, and kids to design our professional Web sites. We hear it all the time: “His nephew is getting paid $50 per page and he does it in the evenings… there can’t be that much to it.”

Reality: “Not many do it right.”
It may be easy to build a Web site, but it’s a little more difficult to do it right. Our teenage kids may be quick with typing and be able to use graphics programs, but we wouldn’t consider having them develop our corporate brochure or marketing materials. Why, then, do so many people assume that these kids are capable of developing their corporate Web presence just because they can type and use a Web development software program?

When developing your Web site, you ideally start with the clear identification of your Web site objectives, your target market, and your products and services. Without identifying your primary and secondary objectives and articulating them to your Web developer, it is impossible for the developer to design and develop a site that is going to achieve your objectives. The site should be designed for your target market. If you don’t identify your target market to the Web developer, it will be tough for her to develop graphics that appeal to your target demographic.

In an ideal world, your site will be developed with input from several different disciplines. For instance, you will have input from a graphic designer. Your site needs dynamite graphics that “speak” to your target market. You will also have input from an individual with a public relations or advertising background. Your site needs succinct text that grabs the reader’s attention, gets the intended message across, and encourages the reader to take action, all in a screen or less. People in advertising are experts at this. You will have input from an individual who is great at programming. Your Web site should be robust and browser friendly. Most sites today include some Java, and possibly Macromedia Flash. If you have databases, it is very important that they be designed and built by someone who has expertise in this area. You will have input from an individual with expertise in Internet marketing. Your Web site must be search engine friendly. An Internet marketer knows what it takes to optimize each page of your site to achieve high ranking in search results. The Internet marketer also knows which repeat traffic generators, permission marketing techniques, and other elements are appropriate for your target market to help you achieve your online objectives.

So in light of all this, although our kids may be able to use a Web development program, I think we should leave this job to the experts. Your Internet presence provides you with an enormous opportunity. Do it right! You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.