What is the relationship between Marketing and Web designing? How can a better understanding of Marketing help the web designer manage his business more profitably?
What is marketing?
The American Marketing Association defines Marketing as "the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals". On the other hand, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK defines Marketing as "the Management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers' requirements profitably". Note the occurrence of Customer Satisfaction in both definitions and the underlining concern for Profitability in the second definition. In other words, a businessman needs to identify the needs of a consumer and explore ways of satisfying these needs in order to make a profit.
The Webmaster therefore needs to understand his client's customers. Does the client sell to various segments of customers (e.g students, retirees, young upwardly mobile professionals, etc?) or only one homogenous market such as any one of these segments? What are the lifestyles of such customers? What do they like to do in their pastime? How do they relax? Where do they live? What are their aspirations? If, for instance, the client's customers are tertiary school students, are they interested in sports? Would it be right to create a page on the client's website for snippets of information on the lifestyles of sports personalities around the world, even though the website markets an interactive software to help students write term papers and long essays? Or take upwardly mobile professionals, as another example. How about including a page (on the website of an insurance company selling policies targeted at this segment), which contains links to write-ups explaining several possibilities of personal finance and wealth creation opportunities? Will such "side attractions" ensure repeat visits to the website?
Once a Webmaster knows his client's customer, he can anticipate the customer's wants, appeal to the right emotions and show that customer how the client's product or service will benefit the customer.
The discerning Webmaster must also try to understand the industry within which his client operates, his client's competitors and what these competitors offer in comparison to what the client offers. If any of the competitors has a website, how customer friendly is the website? Does navigation within the site make it easy for the competitor's customers to make orders? Can the customer have his most cogent questions answered right there on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page without having to go through the pains of writing a mail? Can the Webmaster then create a website for his client, that will outsell the competitor's site in these areas?
While the client sometimes provides a brief explaining the kind of website he thinks he wants, the truly innovative Webmaster may go beyond this brief to add value. A word of caution, however: this should be discussed with the client.
Websites are marketing tools
The fundamental reality of how people use the web can be seen in the following comparative descriptive sketches of offline and online buyer behaviors. Offline, bustling crowds of would-be shoppers (or prospects) pass by your place of business (take a busy mall, for instance) and some of them may walk in, if your shop occupies a vantage location, your wares are attractively displayed and they can notice both. Online, however, people search for information. There are millions of people, but no crowds and each person searches alone. So, while the offline businessperson thinks of a vantage "location", the online businessperson must think of relevant "information" or "content", information that meets the needs and interests of the target market.
The Power of Search Engines
People who visit the web are looking for information and solutions. Most often, they rely on Search Engines to suggest or recommend the most likely websites, which may satisfy their needs. For the Webmaster to create a website which brings lots of targeted traffic to his client therefore, he must perform some tasks such as keyword brainstorming. In other words, he researches his site's main theme on the web, such as "weight watching", to find related words that are often searched by web visitors, but rarely targeted by websites. Such words can then form the topics for each page of his website and eventually provide the website with a theme or focus for optimum search engine ranking.
This is only one in a series of tasks which the Webmaster needs to perform for his client's website to rank well with the search engines and attract warm, willing-to-buy traffic on an ongoing basis. Such tasks can be very tedious, especially when the process is done manually. It is no surprise therefore, that some webmasters shy away from this aspect of the job. However, such tasks can be automated with Site Build It! , an all-in one site-building, site-hosting and site marketing solution which automatically performs the following operations for webmasters: Keyword Brainstorming, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Submission, Search Engine Reporting, File Upload, Sequential Auto responding, E-mail Marketing, etc. This system of tools works without compromising design or site functionality. Which means a Webmaster can create his site, using his favorite HTML and graphic (or other) software, simply upload the files and let Site Build It! do the rest. More on this software, including purchase and download instructions, can be found at http://webmaster.sitesell.com/net_hunting.html.
Dele Ogundahunsi, an e-marketer, specializes in Advertising and Web Design Direction. He can be reached on (+234) 803 85 10 10 2 or at http://webmaster.sitesell.com/net_hunting.html.
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport carAn "include" file is a piece of code that can... Read More
A professionally presented business website is a powerful and essential... Read More
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage... Read More
When your company built its website, did you think about... Read More
If you're running a website or online business, your number... Read More
An ongoing challenge for webmasters today is to provide fresh... Read More
Building your first website can be very frustrating. It looks... Read More
If you've a website that is not generating a lot... Read More
Good websites stand out from the masses of boring, hard... Read More
Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More
Remember your vision for your company and the brand or... Read More
One of the single most important aspects of effective navigation... Read More
Argh, where's the contact button?! Believe it or not, some... Read More
Does your website make a good first impression? Is the... Read More
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money... Read More
When I surf the Net, I often see web sites... Read More
When you begin the design of your Web site, one... Read More
Building a website that is exactly what you want and... Read More
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very... Read More
You have probably viewed many Flash-based components while surfing the... Read More
The first step to starting any Internet business is conducting... Read More
Internet Explorer, created by microsoft has been the most popular... Read More
Back to basics. Forget funky design, good copywriting is the... Read More
Web advertising has taken many forms, including those that appear... Read More
Many people hire professional web site designers for as much... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..So your web site's online and you've got high rankings... Read More
I taught myself HTML back in the mid-nineties and was... Read More
Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a... Read More
It starts off simply; a few HTML pages, a few... Read More
Any kid, and their grandmother too, can make a webpage.... Read More
**How Colors are Used in web design:**Demarcates screen elements into... Read More
In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics... Read More
A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective... Read More
Creating your own website can be fun and easy, as... Read More
I often wonder how serious people are when it comes... Read More
Over the course of the last decade, the Internet has... Read More
If you've a website that is not generating a lot... Read More
Your website is your tool for showing the online community... Read More
If you are going to have a web presence for... Read More
Not too long ago while looking for businesses that do... Read More
This article is the result of a conversation I had... Read More
Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using... Read More
Daily article:One of the most debated subject among webmasters is... Read More
You've come up with a great product. You've got the... Read More
As part of your event planning you should seriously consider... Read More
Does your website make you any money? Does it SAVE... Read More
In my web surfing adventures, I've found a few site... Read More
7. Create high quality content - make clear points with... Read More
Does website design make a difference in how long people... Read More
Page ranking by search engines such as Google are not... Read More
Web Design |