Over the last ten years I have talked to hundreds of CEOs of small and medium-sized businesses about what works and what doesn’t in building a repeatable lead stream for their business and a marketing engine that delivers measurable business results. I started to keep track of what CEOs were telling me and devised a list of the attributes of marketing programs that succeed. My last post was about how to view the real value of your website – it’s the equivalent of a full time employee working the front desk. Today we address why a website is so darn important to the future of your business.
Something strange has happened to your customers. There was a time when they would be happy watching an ad on TV, reading an article in a trade publication or asking a colleague for a recommendation for a business solution. The internet has changed this. They can now do research and find data points to instantaneously help them decide.
Today, the average customer uses 11.2 data points via search, video, customer reviews and other online sources in order to make a buying decision.
In a new study by Saatchi and Saatchi X, commissioned by Google, they have coined a new term, the “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT) that explains what a customer is doing before they buy. Whether they are buying an airline engine, piece of software, or a can of soup, the ZMOT applies equally to what people are hoping to find when they research for a solution to a problem, either personally or for their business.
- 79% of consumers now say they use a smartphone to help with shopping
- 83% of moms say they do online research after seeing a TV commercial that interests them
What this means is that your presence on the web, needs to be more than a website and much more than product information or contact details. You need comments, articles, value-based information and at least 11.2 data points that will help a person decide. If you are out selling your products and services, via typical channels like sales people and advertising, what do people find when they search for you after they have heard about you? If your sales team is creating stimulus in the marketplace, make sure your web presence can deliver.
Take a moment and conduct a keyword search on your company and on the keywords your customers search for. See the web through the eyes of your customers and look at all of things they could be looking at to make a decision before they buy from you.
If you are spending money on marketing to drive prospects to your business, perhaps you need to stop and start spending time and money your web presence first. Just stimulating name recognition for your business could be a huge waste of time and money if its not support by your web presence in helping people make a buying decision.
Here is the check your web presence needs to deliver:
- The buying decision journey has changed. Customers are educated and have easier access to information than ever before.
- What once was a message is now a conversation. It’s ongoing and continuous and needs to available any time anywhere.
- Word of mouth is stronger than ever. It just happens now on the web.
To help you on your journey, Hubspot has just issued a new eBook called “25 Must-Have’s for Your Website”. It’s a great guide and checklist.
While the concept of maintaining and investing in a web presence for your business may seem involved and expensive, the reality today is that you can’t afford not to have one. So jump in, take the first step and start building a web presence roadmap for your business.
Marie Wiese is founder of Marketing CoPilot, www.marketingcopilot.com and the author of the eBook, “Why marketing fails... and what you can do about it!” Marketing CoPilot designs and delivers online strategies that help companies find customers and keep customers. Marie is a 20 year veteran of the B2B marketing world, past Chair of the York Technology Alliance in the greater Toronto region and a workshop leader at Regional Innovation Centres (RICs) in Ontario where she teaches early stage companies how to build online lead generation engines that deliver measurable business results.
