Building Your Website For Success

(Sept 04, 2007)

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 an 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 competitor’s 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 firm’s 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 lose 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 prequalified. 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 takes 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 for a 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.

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