Websites – Your Most Effective Marketing Tool
What is the single most effective marketing tool that you have? It's your website! Whether you're just starting out as a retail business owner or are a small, medium or large company in business for a while, having a website is vitally important. Your current and future clients come to expect it from the business they patronize, so if you don't have a company website, you may be missing a lot of sales. The number of businesses that are on the Web has increased dramatically and you can be sure that your competitors' websites are online too. So, why allow your competitor to beat you to customers and sales just because your business doesn’t have a website.
With over 1 billion internet users worldwide, there are literally millions of people searching to find solutions to their every day needs. Some search the web to make online purchases because it saves them time, energy and money. Other customers visit websites to learn more about a retail business, their latest products and current promotions. Your website is virtual store and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and allows customers to connect with you when and where they want.
Customer Service Representative and Marketing Agent
Think of your website as a great customer service representative and marketing agent.
As a customer service representative, your website answers questions about your store hours and location, what products and services you offer, and any other details people would usually call your store to get. Online shoppers often shop after hours, so it's important to have your website available for them when they are ready to make a purchase. Adding a shopping cart to your website will allow buyers to make purchases directly from your website at their convenience. As a marketing agent, your website allows you to reach out to people in your local community and throughout the world. Most retailers include contact or feedback forms on their website which helps them generate new customers and retain existing ones. Through email enabled marketing campaigns, new products and services are always kept top of mind with customers.
Micro Sites – Fast, Simple Solutions
A micro site is a website, usually separate and distinct from a retail organization’s primary site. A micro site is typically 10 pages or less and lets you focus on a specific purpose such as promoting new merchandise, trying out a new product line or selling clearance or discounted items. A micro site can be your primary website but typically acts as an additional marketing channel that focuses on communicating a specific selling message of a product or service.
Micro sites are particularly useful working alongside a specific retail advertising campaign or seasonal event. This allows the use of different campaign or event visuals without having any impact on your main site branding. Being a separate entity from your main website offers much more scope for variation in visual style and branding for that specific product, service or event.
Micro sites can;
- Serve as a destination or hub for a marketing campaign or event. (An organization’s main website often serves too many agendas to play this role)
- Provide more focused, relevant content about a specific product or service, unencumbered by other company objectives. In other words, a visitor doesn’t have to hunt for the marketing message
- Promote word-of-mouth more easily by including items and information that is relevant, exclusive, entertaining and timely
- Improve search engine rankings, if built correctly
- Be updated or adjusted more easily due to it’s inherent scope and size
- Help establish individual brand identities
- Provide almost instant market learning by showing what visitors deem valuable
Micro sites can be a great addition to your internet marketing strategy. The advantages over just one main website which features all facets of your business are numerous. These advantages can often far outweigh the relatively small amount of work and cost required to set them up in addition to your main website. The flexibility they offer outside of the constraints of your main company website branding, along with major advantages when it comes to organic search engine optimization mean they are worth considering as part of your internet marketing strategy.
To learn more about micro sites and how they can enhance your current Internet marketing strategy contact WSI Retail Group.
- eMarketer estimates that marketers around the world will spend $6 billion on social networks this year
- Source: eMarketer, 2011 - eMarketer estimates that time spent with mobile devices is rising faster than any other medium, up 28% in 2010
- Source: eMarketer, 2011 - 69% of Canadians surveyed who purchased product or service in-store after "window shopping" online
- Source: Canadian Retailer
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