Archive for September, 2005
Internet marketing is more about strategic positioning than anything else. It has become so competitive online that you must position yourself so you will be seen as standing apart in how much value your business provides to your target market. The first step is a thorough competitive analysis so you can see for yourself what you need to do to stand apart in the eyes of your users. You will find that two of the most common strategies today are price and knowledge.
If you are selling products online, then your price must be competitive. One way around this is to have so much brand loyalty that customers will pay a premium for buying from your Website. Otherwise, price is almost always a key buying factor. Price includes shipping, taxes and the usability of your Website. The total cost to making a purchase. If you are going to sell products on the Web then be ready for pricing strategies.
A second key strategy is knowledge, especially if you are a service-based business. Users will review your online content, and if they like what they read, contact you directly. This then becomes a lead generation tool for your sales team. It is a lead that happened because they were impressed with the information they received from your Website. This information is not usually found in the “About Us” link, but rather the content that helps the user reach their goals.
Tom Wood-Young
September 29th, 2005
It is amazing how often Web usability becomes a secondary concern to the individual thoughts of Web developers and other key people involved in the assembly of a Website. A Website can get a thousand visitors day, however the concerns of one or two people dominate the Website. For example, do Website visitors come to your site to hear the latest news? Unless you are a news Website the answer is no. So why waste valuable space on news items when you should give the user the links he or she wants to visit, or make it easy on the eye and leave the space blank.
A fundamental rule of Web usability is aligning the needs of the user with what you are offering as a company. Anything else could well be a distraction and hurt your Web marketing efforts.
Tom Wood-Young
September 29th, 2005
The goal of this Blog is to allow Web users a forum for discussing ways to make Websites more intuitive. This results in users getting what they want from the Web without too many hassles and headaches. If a Website does that, then everybody wins.
Obviously, making technology simple has been a challenge for years. We would love to hear your ideas for making the complex simple and making the Web easier to use and therefore provide more benefit to businesses and consumers.
Take advantage of the Web’s biggest benefit to business and society and add your comments to help communicate this knowledge.
Enjoy the Intuitive Websites Blog!
Thomas Wood-Young, CEO
Intuitive Websites, LLC
September 29th, 2005
