IN THIS ISSUE This issue of Nurturing News explores ways to add value to your customers' website
experience through content and business hospitality strategies.
1. INTERNET TRENDS: WEBSITES AS A RESOURCE
2. EXTEND YOUR BUSINESS HOSPITALITY
3. TEN DOWN & DIRTY CONTENT TIPS
4. SNIPPETS - A Few Interesting Websites
5. FINAL THOUGHTS ==============================================================
1. INTERNET TRENDS: WEBSITES AS A RESOURCE
There’s a saying that goes something like ... "the one with the
most toys wins." In the Internet world,
the website with the most relevant content has a head start in the race
to capture and retain customers.
People are using websites for entertainment, communication and decision-making. Few people may understand why the Internet works, but they get the concept of a "free" resource.
Strategy Questions: How can your company leverage this trend? What content can you include that will turn your site into a value-added resource?
2. EXTEND YOUR BUSINESS HOSPITALITY
It seems we’re continuously relearning the lesson that relationships drive ROI. Perhaps you can’t offer your virtual visitor a cup of coffee before getting down to business. But you can use your website as a vehicle to extend your "business hospitality."
-- Offer current information about your services or products
-- Provide value-added content such as white papers and articles
-- Implement responsive eMail strategies
-- Leverage your website to create an environment that’s comfortable to conduct business ... easy navigation
3. TEN DOWN & DIRTY CONTENT TIPS
Don’t have time to write an article or extra budget dollars to hire a copywriter? Try a few of these ideas
1. Write "tips" or how-to articles in bullet format
2. Post some of your favorite links
3. Trade an article for a signature line & link
4. Include an "ideas from your customers" page
5. Break long (previously written) articles into smaller pieces
6. Check out your competitors’ sites for a few ideas
7. Ask customers/prospects what they’d like to know
8. Trade an article for an article
9. Include a "what’s new" feature on your home page that links to an internal web page
10. Write web-style in visual "chunks" and include headlines
Bonus points! Relevant content influences rankings of some search engines!
4. SNIPPETS - A Few Interesting Websites
Need help finding the right word or brainstorming an idea? Here’s a fun Visual Thesaurus.
This site
creates links to a dictionary and thesaurus for each word on a website http://www.voycabulary.com . Great when you're working on projects where you're not familiar with the industry.
Ever struggle with which word or phrase to use? For instance is eMarketing more popular than Internet marketing? Try running them on http://www.spellweb.com.
Surf your entire website through the eyes of a new product category user. Is anything confusing? Are there too many "buzz words?" Can the experience be simplified?
Then think about the visitor experience from the viewpoint of an experienced customer. What additional aftermarket support can be included? Would industry trends or resource links add value?
By the way, when was the last time you visited your own site?
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain
