Every business is different, and what will cause one website to stand out may not work for another. You have to be able to flow with the trends, while at the same time not get lost looking like everyone else. But how do you ensure you stand out, and if you do stand out, how can you be sure your business is standing out in a good way? Below are some ideas along with some questions to consider to make sure your business’s website has what it needs to stay ahead of the game and not get lost in the crowd.
Know Your Competitors
If you want to get ahead of your competitors in the design and marketing of your website, you have to know what they are doing. Keep your friends close but your competitors closer. If their website is clearly superior to yours, then figure out why. What features do they have that yours is lacking? Is it their brilliant branding design that makes their website shine? Is it the engaging way the website draws in the viewer? Is it the amount of blogs and videos strung throughout the site? Is it their practical content that draws the reader in? You have to be able to determine exactly what the strength of their website is, and figure out what they have that you are lacking.
Questions to Consider:
● Why am I visiting this site rather than another? (Is it what the search engine brought you, did it come up through a backlink from another website, is it such a well-known brand you searched for it specifically, what drew you into that site?)
● What was your first impression of the site? How did it shape the way you think about their company? How did the website reflect its product or values?
● How engaging is their site and why? How long did you stay on the site? What links did you click or what videos did you watch? What did you find interesting about their site?
● What does their site have that yours does not? Sure, mood and color schemes may be different, but what features do they have that yours does not? What features work well for them, that could also work well for your site?
● How much do you think they are spending to maintain their website? Are you willing or able to spend the same amount? How effective do you think their website is compared to what they are spending on it?
Evaluate Yourself
It is not enough to just do everything your competitors are doing with their sites. If all you are doing is trying to play keep up, you will always be a step behind. Knowing your competitors can ensure that you are matching their strengths, but you also need to develop your own unique features to get ahead of the game. As much as we like hearing praise, criticism is what helps us grow. Inspect your website, and be critical to figure out what changes need to be made. If it looks perfect to you, then you may need to get someone else to look at it. The more eyes, the more critiques, the more improvement, the more the website moves up in the SEO rankings.
Questions to Consider:
● Do I like this website? If you as the business owner or operator don’t care to spend too much time on the site, then likely others won’t either. How can you improve that?
● Does the website do its job at attracting visitors to the site, answering potential questions, and revealing how your product or service is exactly what they need?
● Does it do a good job of representing the company? Is it presenting itself in a way that accurately reflects the style and tone of your company? If not, what adjustments could be made to better capture the essence of your business?
Stand Out
The best way to stand out is by showing off your unique business trait, and doing so in an intriguing way. Yes, every business is different, just like every snowflake is different, however, only people with microscopic vision are able to appreciate that. You have to make it obvious. Is what makes you different clearly stated somewhere on your website? What is it about your business that your competitors won’t be able to copy? You have to use your strength to your advantage by making it obvious for
Questions to Consider:
● What stands out to you when you first get on the website? Is it your practical product, your trendy brand, or does nothing really stand out? What are your eyes drawn to? Does your website help guide the reader's attention to where you want it to go, or is the viewer just shown another basic homepage that loses their attention before it even has a chance to grab it?
● Is the uniqueness of your business highlighted throughout your website, or do you look just like every other one of your competitors?
● What would draw someone in to want to click on your website? An intriguing picture, a well-worded sales pitch, a funny commercial, an interesting blog, a much-needed product? Know what is drawing in your viewers and capitalize on it.
● What features could you incorporate into your business’s web design that would highlight your products in a unique way?
Website Screening
The website looks great to you and your associates, but now you have to make sure it looks great to your clientele. Get feedback from people who would be considered your target audience. A 60-year-old woman is going to have very different feedback from a 16-year-old boy, but if neither are your potential customers, then you don’t even have to worry about it. You can't make everyone happy. Know your target audience and focus on them.
● The big question you’ve already considered is how do you convert these viewers into paying customers? While making sure you have a product they want, at a reasonable enough price, with an easy transaction are the basics, remember that most customers see what they do or have as an extension of themselves. Thus, you should consider the persona of your business. If your business was a person, would they want it to be their friend?
● How can you keep their interest? Witty comments, interactive galleries, fascinating product videos?
● How can you get them to fall in love with your company and remember it, so even if they don’t need your product or service right now, they will come back to you when they do?
● How can you better meet their needs? If you are a retail store, have the same clothing modeled on different body types so visitors get a better understanding of how it may fit them. If your business is interior design, have interactive pictures that allow site visitors to mix and match paint colors in a sample digital room. Whether it's free downloadable resources, live customer service, or a myriad of other website features, foresee potential questions or needs and meet them before they even know they have them.
Stay Ahead.
After updating your website with some new designs or features, relax, take a deep breath, and soak in the moment, because tomorrow you’ll need to begin considering how to improve. To stay ahead of the game, you can never think “I’ve arrived.” Instead, you have to realize it is a race without a finish line. You have to continue thinking of ways you can improve your website to make it better serve your clientele. As times progress and business is conducted more and more online, having a solid website could make the difference between bankruptcy and financial success. You already have future plans for the growth of your business, so why don’t you have future plans for the growth and success of your business’s website?
Questions to Consider…
● Have you run your ideas through the creative SCAMPER technique to help mold them into something even better?
● How can you keep people excited about what you have to offer? What could you do to raise people’s interest and get them coming back for more? What’s a new trend that you could put your own creative spin on? Or better yet, does your company have enough pull to start a new trend?
● What is no one else doing that you could do? Or that few are doing, that you could do even better?
If you are looking for ways to improve or maintain your website, then check out the packages Genovations Media has to offer. We can give your website the creative energy it needs to evolve into the business resource you’ve always wanted it to be. Take a look at our different packages to see what would be best for you.
Comments