Last week, we took you through the first step into getting your business up and running on line. Step two, which we cover below, is branding and design:
“Branding” is a marketing term for the way that customers perceive you, and how your business supports that. But we make it a bit easier to understand by telling you to remember to make your company “N.I.C.E.”: Needed, Interesting, Consistent, and Easy to purchase from.
Keeping this in mind will make designing your website and figuring out your branding a lot easier! Here’s an example, using fictitious business “The Great Chocolate Company.”
Needed: Lots of people love chocolate, so I make sure to consistently point out why MY chocolate is will make customers happier than other chocolate providers. This could be my original flavor combination, fresher ingridients, faster shipping, friendly customer service, lower price, etc. As much as possible needs to reference the fact that The Great Chocolate Company is needed!
Interesting: Present information in an exciting way. If the reason the market needs The Great Chocolate Company is because of superior customer service…say so in an engaging way! “Even our customer service is sweet!” is more entertaining (and memorable) than “We have great customer service.” Getting new customers is easier when they realize why they need you, and find you interesting.
Consistent: Don’t go overboard (“I have lots of engaging slogans about my great customer service, so I’ll have a new slogan on every page!”), because people can be easily overwhelmed. Keep your site consistent so people will more easily remember the interesting ways you pointed out how they need you!
Easy to Purchase From: Do your customers need to be able to order online, or not (we’ll talk more about this in “part 3″ next week)? If they’re calling to orders, is your phone number easy to find and understand? Is pricing easy to see? How many steps are in the ordering process? …the easier you make purchasing, the better off you’ll be!
For info on designing a website using EarthLink’s FREE Website Builder, click HERE!