Building your Website for Success.
By Paul Barrs.
(c) 2002 Paul Barrs International
It's a strange anomaly.
Most people who set out to start their own Website, no
matter what type, build it for failure, not success.
Crazy isn't it? But true.
They find a Website designer, tell him or here what they
want - and boom - money down the pit.
The saddest part in all this is that they don't even know
that they are destined for failure long before their dreams
shatter and break apart.
Why? The simple truth is this - "most" Website
Designers don't know squat about marketing. But -
Isn't the Web supposed to be that place where you "get
on it" and cash in? Isn't it?
Hmmm.
The past few years have shown us one thing: You're either
for Web-based advertising, or you're against it. Those who are
for it, have faith in the progressive technologies of the
future, those who are against it have taken the time to sit
back, listen and learn - more people fail Online than those who
succeed.
Statistics tell us that within 5 years of start up 90% of
all small businesses will go under.
My personal experience through my own search engine shows me
that an even higher percentage of Websites will do the same.
Why?
Because they lack the fundamental strategies, marketing and
development to plan ahead, foresee the pitfalls, and capitalize
on gains.
Here is a key secret to Website success. It's "Easy to
Do", it's also "Easy not to Do." That applies to
everything. It's easy to do a Website marketing plan. It's also
easy not to do one.
It's easy to create a profitable Website, but it's also easy
not to create one.
It's easy to pick up the phone and call a new potential
customer; or reply to en email, but it's also easy not to do
it.
That one thing will determine your success, or measure your
failure.
However, on a brighter side, there are three specific things
that you must focus on doing if your want to develop a
powerhouse and dynamic Website.
Those three things are:
1. Get potential customers to your Website.
2. Get those same people to come back.
3. Get them to refer their friends, family and associates.
Sounds simple doesn't it?
It's easy to do, it's also easy not to do. And if you're not
consciously aware of this marketing reality, you're probably
not doing these three things.
Let's look at them.
1. Get potential customers to your Website.
It does not matter where you are located, the differences in
your product compared to your competition, or if you have a
red, pink or blue roof. Whether you consider yourself competent
in Internet Technology or not makes no difference. You
absolutely must focus 50% of your planning time on gaining new
visitors and customer enquires. (Initially 80% if your Website
is just starting)
Use every method available to you. Utilize every single
resource. Study and learn what it takes to get people to visit
your Website. Visit your competitions Websites. Survey your
visitors. Do what it takes.
I know I'm pointing out the obvious, but if your head is
stuck in pricing package development, or management and
accounting you won't be able to see the trees from the forest.
Visitors to your Website are your lifeblood. They are your
bread and butter. They represent every reason why you go Online
in the first place - to make money. And it's not your Web
Design firms responsibility alone - you pay the bills, so the
buck stops right in your office.
So get them and get them quick.
2. Get those same people to come back.
It's a proven fact that most people will not buy from you on
their first contact (Or even contact you for that fact). There
are no exceptions to this rule. A prospective customer must
have exposure to your Website an average of 5 times (depending
on their readiness and buying time frame) before they will even
contact you.
The world of professional selling tells us that most sales
closes take place on the 7th contact.
What does this tell you?
If you work so hard at getting new people to your Website,
but then not getting them to come back - you're building for
failure.
Don't do it!
Stop right now and look at your sales systems. Do they make
allowances for automatic or semi-automatic follow up? Do you
offer Auto responders from your Website? Do you have
downloadable information that they can access. Do you use
contact management software so that you don't loose track of
potential customers?
Why do you think the Pro's in your industry are the top
income earners? Think about that. They keep in touch with
people.
Either that or they invest some ridiculously high amount of
cash each month to attract first time visitors and work on the
Hit and Miss ratio.
3. Get them to refer their friends, family and associates.
This is the cream of the crop.
When you set out in your Website, you must focus 80% of your
time on getting new contacts. As your Website traffic develops,
you must then change that focus to 80% gaining referrals.
Referrals are the sweetest prospective customers of all.
They are already pre-qualified. They already want what you have
to offer.
And you don't have to spend a cent getting them!
If your Website is fully operational, you can do this with a
simple, click and refer a friend script. It take only moments
to set up.
But even more - are you ready for the kicker?
You must ASK people for their referrals!
When you've got a great package to offer, it's fantastic.
But there is really no point in working really hard to get a
brand new fresh customer at great expense when all you have to
do is ASK your existing customers and visitors forna few
referrals.
Don't be shy. You ask, and most of them will happily give.
It's that easy. Easy to do, easy not to do.
Can you see the pattern developing here, the difference
between success and failure, those that do and those that
don't?
All these things are easy to do. They are, really. But most
people opt for the easier choice - not to do.
The choice is yours. Build your Website for success with
qualified customer and visitor flow and you will reap the
rewards.
And with that - next month we'll begin looking at specific
principles of Quality traffic. Where to find the, how to
attract them, and how to compel them into coming back to buy
from you.
Paul Barrs has compiled a complete Seminar Series titled
"Website Magic!". In it you will find 10 audio
tutorials covering all the essential aspects of profitable
Website Design, showing you how to Make More Profit in your
Website Business. Download it Free from: http://www.paulbarrs.com
