The Smart Website Blueprint

Your website should be your most efficient and effective sales and marketing channel.   No matter how "pretty" you, or your friends think your website is, it should be measured by how many sales it generates or how many sales leads it generates.  

Do you rate your sales staff by their appearance, how attractive they are?  Or by what they achieve?  

Every website should be a business tool that helps your company get more sales.   The first thing we need to know, then, is what will we measure and how will we know if the website is achieving the required targets.

First, be clear about who you are, who you serve and what you do for the people you serve.

• Clearly Define Your:
  • Business Objectives
  • Website Objectives
  • Target Audience

  • Desired Outcomes of the Website

  • Page Specific Outcomes

• ​Write Down Your Plan​

• Construct a Detailed Website Brief

• Revise the Plan and Brief as often as needed

“A website is today one of the most important marketing tools for any business and
done correctly can also be highly effective.”
– Jürgen Strauss

Make your online presence more efficient.

• Technical Infrastructure

  • ​Speed (Hosting, Coding Quality, Files, Images)

  • What else does it need to achieve

     

• ​Keywords and Search Terms

  • Who is searching - Your Target Audience

  • ​What are your target audience searching for?

     

• ​Help the Search Engines

  • ​Relevant Content

  • Regular Updates

     

• ​Social Media

  • ​Where are your target audience to be found?

  • Be helpful - contribution is better than "sales".

"If you want to be found, give people things to find!"
- Bill Belew

Once a visitor is on your website you need to stimulate interest, desire, and enthusiasm for your products or services and skillfully encourage more of your prospects to take your MDA (Most Desired Action) - navigate your site, call you for info, opt-in to your list, request a free consultation, make a purchase, etc.

• Strong and Interesting Headlines
• Benefits NOT Features (WIIFM)
• Giving Value - Content, Information, Resources
• Be an Authority
• You are a Story Teller and a Publisher!

• Lead Capture
  • ​Website Forms with Incentive - Something of Value
  • Hero's Journey vs Buyer's Journey
  • Lead Capture and Follow Up System - CRM
  • Communication

• Be An Authority
• Showcase Your Clients
• Showcase Your Portfolio
• Case Studies
• Testimonials from Clients  - Written, Named, Video is best
• Risk Removal - Guarantees, Trial Periods

• Calls to Action
• Getting Leads

When people come into your "store", what should you do?

• lead capture
• systems
• filtering
• communication - follow up
• getting action - winning clients
• attracting the best employees

Following up with leads is one of the most important steps in closing sales from your website.  Ideally, your website should enable you to automate client acquisition, even sales and client retention.

• It's NOT over, even AFTER the Fat Lady sings!

​Data Driven Decisions

• Gather Data (Analytics, Webmaster Tools, Paid Services, e.g. Hotjar)
• What is working, what can be better?
• Revise the Goals and Action Plan moving forward.
• Split Testing.
• What new Technology would add value?

Automation

• Events Bookings and Payments
• Webinars
• Calendar System, Appointment Bookings and Payments
• Integrations - Accounting Systems, Payment Systems, Mail and Storage Systems
• Internet of Things.

A website is never finished - it is a journey!  Get better.  Improve.  Innovate!