Introduction
A new business needs to focus on innovation as it may not have the necessary pecuniary ability to run an elaborate advertising campaign. Further, local companies serve a relatively small group of people giving it a limited potential customer base. The envisaged website will need to apply innovative strategies to ensure a high level of conversion for any of its target customers to access its website. Such a website needs to grasp and retain the attention of the customers long enough for them to learn about the products on offer (Larson & Draper, 2019). Secondly, the site should provide enough relevant information, without seeming to bombast the target customer with too much information. Further, the site should gently influence the target customer into making a purchase without seeming to manipulate or trick the customer. Finally, the website should be elaborate enough to cater to the needs of the customer without being too complicated for a lay customer to use. An innovative website operates through a careful balancing act between simplicity and complexity to ensure that it is just right for the targeted customers.
What to Include in the Homepage
The homepage is the first point of contact between the marketer and the target customer making it the first step in the journey towards conversion (Larson & Draper, 2019). Normally, customers do not just stumble upon the website of the marketer and may already have some elementary information about the marketer before landing on the page. It would thus be unnecessary to place the details of the marketer on the homepage. However, there should be a link to an “about us” page containing such details. First, the homepage should have an animated presentation of the product to capture the attention of the customer. For example, an attractive photo with flowing words will catch the attention of the audience and cause them to start reading. Secondly, the homepage should contain a data collection pop-up. For a local company, such as pop-up should begin with a list of local neighborhoods and ask the audience to click on the one they reside in. Depending on the response, the pop-up can ask some other simple research-based questions to create some form of two-way interaction. Third, the homepage should have a full list of the products on offer. The link should contain links so that clicking on a product on the list leads to the specific product’s page. Finally, the homepage should have a “purchase now” link for the customers who have already made up their minds to purchase before opening the webpage.
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Contents of the Product/Service Page
The product page should open up to the most important selling points of the product. These selling points should encourage the audience to read more about the product thus increasing chances of conversion. For example, if the marketing strategy focuses on competitive pricing, then the price of the product is the fundamental selling point while under premium pricing, quality and peculiarities are the primary selling point. Secondly, the product page should have a series of attractive photos showing the product and its attributes. Third, upon scrolling down the product page, the audience should find full details of the product including its uses and its limitations. An example of limitations includes details such as the minimum age of the user and potential adversities associated with the product. Finally, the product page should contain the means for making a purchase, including a link that enables the customers to make payment and details regarding delivery (Larson & Draper, 2019).
Whether to Have a Blogpost and Primary Target for the Blog Post
It is vital for the website of a small local company to have a regularly updated blog post. A blog post is a collection of blogs placed in chronological order so that the most recent article comes first. A small company may not have the resources for regularly upgrading its website, yet the site will put off potential customers if they consider it outdated. A blog post would be an effective way to ensure an element of freshness in the website by regularly posting new content relating to the product and the target audience. The primary target for the blog posts would be individuals who have the potential for being the company’s customers currently or in the future. Marketing research would enable the company to identify potential customers then use the data to develop content for the blogs (Jackson & Ahuja, 2016). For example, a local company’s blogs can focus on current events affecting the community or the product. When well written the blog post can also attract customers to come back regularly to the webpage to gain insights into current events in the society. The company can then use technology such as geofencing and triggered campaigns to market the blogs (Dever, 2016; Kapoor, 2016). Geofencing and triggered campaigns are elements of digital technology that enable a marketer to send specific messages to individuals to whom they are most likely to matter at specific moments. Audiences attracted by the blogs may notice the products on the website creating the potential for purchases.
Conclusion
The sum total of the research and analysis above will enable the company to focus herein use its website as an effective marketing tool without attracting debilitating costs. Instead of an elaborate and expensive online marketing system, the company will have a simple, yet highly effective website. The site will use multimedia content to capture the attention of the customer through its homepage. The said homepage will avoid detailed information by focusing on the data that the customer would find attractive. Secondly, the homepage would seek to be interactive, as both a means for collecting data and a form of engaging with the target customers. The primary focus of the website should be conversion, thus each page should contain details on how to make a purchase and a link to the purchases webpage. A blogpost would be essential for ingesting freshness to the website and attracting audiences.
References
Dever, S. (2016). How Mobile Geofencing Can Help Your Business Grow Locally. YEC Council .
Jackson, G., & Ahuja, V. (2016). Dawn of the digital age and the evolution of the marketing mix. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice , 17 (3), 170-186.
Kapoor, R. (2016). Drive User Engagement with CleverTap’s Scheduled & Triggered Campaigns.
Larson, J., & Draper, S. (2019). Internet marketing essentials: a comprehensive digital marketing textbook . Idaho Falls, Idaho: Stukent Inc.
