by Leif Osmundson, Graphic Designer, Delaware.Net, Inc. | April 24th, 2009
“Who are you?” is a question every business owner should ask themselves in the mirror before moving into advertising, and especially building a website. Without knowing your company’s identity, effective advertising is unlikely. While the distinctiveness of your company is ultimately your decision, it is crucial that it is indeed distinct.
Questions to answer before building a website:
- What does my company offer?
- To whom do we offer this product or service?
- How do we want to offer this product or service?
- What makes us better than others in our field?
- What is the most important aspect we want to push?*
*This question can be answered from a couple of angles, but is extremely important, mostly overlooked, and, if answered well, will make you more successful on the web and in your career.
What does your business want to push the most?
- Is it the most profitable service or item?
- The easiest product or service to grow with?
- A service you really enjoy (building decks vs. finishing basements)?
Pick your hot ticket item and make that the first (and visually more important), element seen on the website. All too often a client will have eleventeen services they offer and want ALL of them on the front page in attempt to motivate potential customers into action. In very few circumstances will this work, and it is best to have one to three “calls to action” on any given page.
A handful of pebbles thrown at a target almost ensure at least one will hit, but do no damage, and most of the pebbles will be thrown in vain. Throw a stone and you might miss a fraction of the time, but it will do more damage when you connect. This is the way to attract customers online. Know your strategy, and attack with fervor and accuracy.
Knowing without doubt the answers to the above questions will hone your business model and make you a more successful entity online. See our president’s blog post on “The Long Tail” to learn more about how knowing your specific client beats out trying to serve everyone every time.
