Introduction
As you probably know, the vast majority of buyers are doing their early stage research online. Whether you’re in: manufacturing, distribution, retailing, or professional services, if your website isn’t providing precisely what buyers are looking for your company is being disqualified.
For those companies selling through distributors your website must provide both your distributors and end users with the kind of information that will influence purchasing decisions. Furthermore, smart suppliers are providing their distributors with the online resources they need to overcome the threat of losing market share to cheap offshore suppliers.
Effective website design is a critical business issue whether your site is being used for informational purposes, lead generation, or e-commerce. But how do you go about finding a website design company that’s right for you?
What makes for a successful relationship between the client and the company?
Before going through the steps you need to take to find a website design firm that’s right for you it’s important to highlight what makes a successful partnership.
There are six key outcomes that will ensure partnership success. In order to maximize the ROI on your new website your website design firm must:
___1. Provide you with a high quality visually appealing design that also meets technical requirements
___2. Assist you in creating a compelling value proposition that differentiates you from your competition and _____creates genuine interest in your offerings
___3. Maximize the value in your website by offering persuasive copywriting
___4. Have the online marketing experience to help you get more from your landing pages, online forms, and _____other key website elements
___5. Understand the key factors that lead to greater conversion rates whether they be for information requests, _____sales lead generation, or online sales
___6. Guarantee you will achieve a guaranteed measurable and sustainable improvement in your website’s _____effectiveness as a result of adopting their design
Most firms are very happy to adhere to the first outcome, but few will agree to be held accountable for outcomes two through six. But you need all six of these outcomes to reap the benefits of a profitable website.
By taking the time to go through the following four steps you’ll guarantee yourself a better outcome.
Step 1. How do you make a short list of website design firms?
Once you decide it’s time to get a new website for your company the first thing to do is to identify five or six website design firms you’d like to contact. Contacting any more than five or six firms will make your selection process extremely difficult and time consuming.
There are several ways of finding website design firms including:
___1. The Yellow Pages
___2. Contacting personal friends or business associates
___3. Through trade association newsletters or magazines
___4. By going online and searching under such terms as website design, marketing communications, or online _____marketing
___5. Through advertising, direct mail, telesales, or online marketing you may have noticed from the website _____design firm in question
I would favour those companies utilizing the methods in # 5 as they are being very proactive in driving traffic to their websites. This means they can show you how to harness the power of offline marketing to drive traffic to your new website.
Prior to contacting a website design firm spend some time on their website and do some research of your own.
Make sure you have satisfactory answers to the following questions:
____• Do they look professional?
____• Are they highly specialized in one single area?
____• Do they only offer website design services or can they help you in other ways?
____• Do they offer articles, white papers, or reports on a variety of marketing topics?
____• Do they offer an online portfolio and does it offer a cross section of businesses?
____• Do the websites in their portfolio all look similar?
____• Are you able to get the answers you need about their company from information available on their site?
If you’re unable to get the information you need from their website you’ll need to call or email them and ask them to send information on their company and why you should use their services in particular. The following email is an example of what a manufacturer might want to send to each of the initial five or six website design firms.
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