Excellent Article About Web Site Quality
A great post on marketingprofs.com noted that a recent study showed that about 75% of consumers visit a company's web site to find information about products and services they're shopping for. I'd venture a guess that the percentage is even higher for brides, since they're shopping for things they've never evaluated before, they're spending more money than they typically do, and they're under tremendous pressure to make good decisions quickly.
Unfortunately for vendors, the study also pointed out that a much smaller percentage of shoppers -- about 40% -- are satisfied with the information on the sites they visit. (And that, in turn, bodes poorly for the vendors trying to market to those customers.)
What does that mean for wedding vendors? Most obviously, it's more proof that an effective web site is critical to your business. It is the key to making all your sales and marketing efforts effective, because once you've captured a bride's interest via advertising, a referral, a bridal show, or a search engine, she will go to your web site to determine whether or not to consider your company.
What kinds of things should you consider when developing or redesigning your site?
(1) Remember that your site must be designed with your customer in mind.
Too many vendors develop web sites that are more about their own desires than their customers needs. For example, noisy sites with lots of Flash are irritating to brides (who are often logging in from work). Ditto for heavy sites with lots of video.
(2) Invest in a quality designer.
Amateurish designs or run-of-the-mill templates can do more harm than good. By keeping the functionality or your site simple, you can save money that can be invested in a good set of custom template pages from a quality designer. What's more, this kind of simple design is easy to update with new text (e.g., for pricing and package changes) and images. You'll save money in the long run, and have a site that's more friendly to both brides and search engines.
For more on the subject, check out the original article on marketingprofs.com.
Unfortunately for vendors, the study also pointed out that a much smaller percentage of shoppers -- about 40% -- are satisfied with the information on the sites they visit. (And that, in turn, bodes poorly for the vendors trying to market to those customers.)
What does that mean for wedding vendors? Most obviously, it's more proof that an effective web site is critical to your business. It is the key to making all your sales and marketing efforts effective, because once you've captured a bride's interest via advertising, a referral, a bridal show, or a search engine, she will go to your web site to determine whether or not to consider your company.
What kinds of things should you consider when developing or redesigning your site?
(1) Remember that your site must be designed with your customer in mind.
Too many vendors develop web sites that are more about their own desires than their customers needs. For example, noisy sites with lots of Flash are irritating to brides (who are often logging in from work). Ditto for heavy sites with lots of video.
(2) Invest in a quality designer.
Amateurish designs or run-of-the-mill templates can do more harm than good. By keeping the functionality or your site simple, you can save money that can be invested in a good set of custom template pages from a quality designer. What's more, this kind of simple design is easy to update with new text (e.g., for pricing and package changes) and images. You'll save money in the long run, and have a site that's more friendly to both brides and search engines.
For more on the subject, check out the original article on marketingprofs.com.
posted by Laurie at 11:43 AM
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