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01.03.06
Marketing
Plans And Goals: Website Essentials
 By
Wayne Hurlbert
Every website needs a promotional and marketing plan to ensure that the goals
and objectives of the business's website are achieved.
The site also requires a clear definition of those goals to ensure the best plan
is formulated to reach them.
In the make believe world of the movies, they may be able say, "if you build it,
they will come". In the real life world of business, however, a much more active
approach to marketing and promotions is required. As they say, "if you fail to
plan, you plan to fail".
Your site needs a promotional plan to reach its goals. In order to formulate a
strong promotional plan, you need to know what those goals are for you, and your
website. Your website needs a goal and a purpose. What you have to do is to decide
what your site is supposed to be doing for you and your business. For many people
the website is a tool to gain added business for an offline company.
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For others, the website may be the entire venture in itself. Still other websites
may be designed as informational sites and targeted and qualified traffic is not
a concern. A good promotional plan needs to consider these factors.
You must know who constitutes the target market for your business. If you are
going to use your website as a vehicle, to convert those potential prospects into
paying customers and clients, you need to identify who they are first. Some preliminary
market research will be required to answer that question.
Another need is to decide, where and how you are going to communicate your promotional
and marketing message, to your identified target audience.
There are virtually unlimited methods to reach your potential customers. You must
select the avenues that are right for you, your business, and your promotional
budget.
Once you have answered these basic questions, you are ready to begin developing
a promotional plan, for your own website. A major part of any website promotional
plan involves setting the goals your website is trying to achieve.
Without previously decided upon goals in place, your promotional and marketing
program can drift aimlessly from one idea to the next. A lack of focus will mean
greatly diminished results.
The major categories of website goals include sending traffic to an offline bricks
and mortar business, direct product sales from the website itself, and as a purely
informational site.
All websites usually employ some combination of any two or three of these purposes.
For promotional purposes, a more focussed campaign is best. Failing to target
the efforts could result in a dilution of the desired results.
Before you decide on the means, you have to select the goal of your website. If
your goal is building offline traffic, you will want to develop a strategy that
emphasises the product line and qualifying potential customers and clients.
Since the product and service offered requires qualified prospective buyers, the
promotional technique will have to be chosen for the website traffic to self select.
Your site will benefit from a strategy that funnels qualified buyers in your direction.
Following that preselection process, your site will then help convince the visitor
to choose your company's products and services. The promotional methods employed
should flow naturally into that marketing process, as a logical next step.
Your site should attract the buyer, and convince that person to select your product,
if comparison shopping. If your product offering is what is desired by the purchaser,
then your offline business should be the point of sale.
Read
the rest of the article.
About the Author:
Wayne
Hurlbert provides insigtful information about marketing, promotions, search
engine optimization and public relations for websites and business blogs on the
popular Blog Business World. |
