Alan Gayle is a sales and marketing consultant specialising in the construction industry and working in the stone sector for more than a decade. In this column he offers advice on how to make an impact in the market. This month Alan considers website essentials.
I’ve called this month’s column ‘website essentials’ because I can’t possibly cover everything about this subject in the space available here, and that’s assuming that I know everything there is to know about websites anyway. Which, of course I don’t. So I’ll restrict my comments to the key points as they relate to marketing within the construction industry. And that’s a subject I’m far more familiar with.
First things first. Ask yourself: “Why have we got a website? What’s the point of it?”
In other words, what is our objective for the website and what do we want it to achieve for our business? It’s a familiar theme and something I encourage you to consider for all your marketing.
Of course there are many different types of website and a whole range of budgets to match. The two most common features used by businesses are
e-commerce and lead generation.
E-commerce websites are for selling products straight from the website. Visitors are able to choose the product/service they want and pay for it using an online shopping cart.
E-commerce websites are often run by retailers rather than manufacturers. They are best suited to lower value, unbranded items such as office stationery or a protective case for your mobile phone. Or high-profile branded goods such as a specific Hotpoint washing machine or a particular HP printer.
In construction, customers will happily buy British Gypsum Thistle plaster or Rockwool Rollbatt insulation online because they know what they’re getting.
If you sell services rather than products, have high invoice values or your brand isn’t quite as well-known as Rockwool, you’ll probably have a lead generation website. No shopping cart, just lots of information. Here the objective may need some more thought.
I believe lead generation websites should have two objectives. Firstly, they should generate leads, which will (hopefully) turn into the sales. Secondly, they should instill confidence in the visitor.
Looking at the second point first: don’t forget the visitors to your site are not only customers. Some will be potential suppliers, or potential new employees, or even investors. Your website will be the first port of call for most people wanting to find out more about your business.
Now let’s look into the lead generation side. To have an effective lead generation website you need to know your potential customers well. If you sell products, ideally you want them to be so convinced by what they see that they will call you up and place an order straight away. However, this is not what most will do. Could you present the content on your website so they will call you to get more information? That’s called a lead.
Some people may not be ready to contact you yet. How can you make sure they come back to you when they are ready? Some people are just at the research stage. How can you make sure your information is on their shortlist?
This is why every website should have a strong call to action. And not just one but several.
If you have a newsletter, offer it to visitors who sign up. Do you have some useful technical information? Offer it as a download. Can your case studies be easily downloaded and / or printed out?
And track your calls to action to see how many visitors respond to them by, for example, downloading a brochure. From that you will soon see what interests people, which is invaluable information because it helps you to understand your prospects even better. And that can help you get one more step ahead of your rivals.