Don't forget about the traditional web site
Yup, we're going through yet another web movement, this time in the shape of the blog, wiki, podcast and other nifty vehicles...lending to a growing opportunity base for gaining attention to you, your brand and your products/services. All cool. But remember, this is not the end of your challenge. Its great that you're gaining all this wonderful attention, but many of the decisions your clients and potential clients are making are from your web site. Period.
Establishing yourself as an authority figure in any industry can make a sale. True enough, there are those out there who can stand on a table-top and give the speach of their life, take that aggressive stand, pronounce their ideas with such clarity and evangelical strength that folks will simply walk up to them and close the deal. Done. But for most of us, we need to show a bit more. Our speech will get them to a point of interest, they'll grab our business card and they're off. Sometimes, to carry the metaphor farther, they will leave without even speaking directly to us... remembering only our domain name or company name. For those, those silently interested ones, we need our traditional sales materials to work.
When one blogs, participates in wiki's and/or delivers podcasts to a marketplace, we need to ensure the silent listener, the' lurker' as they call it on the web, is able to get somewhere to be convinced. These folks are your MAJORITY! Just as not everyone will hand you their business card at a tradeshow seminar, on-line blog readers will not leave any trace they ever read your blog. They will, however, check out your web site... at which point, if you are selling something, they need all their answers answered. They need to become a qualified lead and either order or contact you ... they need to be 'welcomed' into your natural pitch. Without a proper traditional web site, this will never happen.
Don't stop blogging. Treat it as another great marketing/PR vehicle. Use it to create a community amongst your clients and staff. Ensure the world knows of who you are, what your products and services can do and such... but bring them somewhere that will fill in the blanks that can mean the difference between a sale and a lost lead. Make sure that your web site is a perfect companion to your marketing tools.
Establishing yourself as an authority figure in any industry can make a sale. True enough, there are those out there who can stand on a table-top and give the speach of their life, take that aggressive stand, pronounce their ideas with such clarity and evangelical strength that folks will simply walk up to them and close the deal. Done. But for most of us, we need to show a bit more. Our speech will get them to a point of interest, they'll grab our business card and they're off. Sometimes, to carry the metaphor farther, they will leave without even speaking directly to us... remembering only our domain name or company name. For those, those silently interested ones, we need our traditional sales materials to work.
When one blogs, participates in wiki's and/or delivers podcasts to a marketplace, we need to ensure the silent listener, the' lurker' as they call it on the web, is able to get somewhere to be convinced. These folks are your MAJORITY! Just as not everyone will hand you their business card at a tradeshow seminar, on-line blog readers will not leave any trace they ever read your blog. They will, however, check out your web site... at which point, if you are selling something, they need all their answers answered. They need to become a qualified lead and either order or contact you ... they need to be 'welcomed' into your natural pitch. Without a proper traditional web site, this will never happen.
Don't stop blogging. Treat it as another great marketing/PR vehicle. Use it to create a community amongst your clients and staff. Ensure the world knows of who you are, what your products and services can do and such... but bring them somewhere that will fill in the blanks that can mean the difference between a sale and a lost lead. Make sure that your web site is a perfect companion to your marketing tools.
posted by James McBeath at 11:59 AM
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