/Making Your Web Site Work Harder;      Nowadays everyone has a website. But there's a big difference between simply having a presence on the internet and having a site that maximises sales opportunities. Effective and creative use of technology is key to making your customers sit up and take notice. And it's the businesses that recognise this that are reaping the rewards. So, what steps do you need to take to make sure your business benefits from its website? First of all, ask yourself these questions: are your customers getting what they need from your site, or do they have to phone you for further information? Or are they simply going elsewhere? can your customers browse all your products on the site? does your website allow customers to buy your products? is your website updated regularly? are email responses through the site responded to quickly and satisfactorily? These are some of the basic functionalities that need to be in place, to ensure that it's made as easy as possible for customers to buy from your company. Yet, it is surprising how many businesses are missing sales opportunities simply from not managing and developing their websites appropriately. It's well worth carrying out regular reviews of your website to see if it is actually effective in meeting its objectives and to ascertain where you can improve it. The main areas to assess are usability, accessibility, design and content and some useful tips to bear in mind are as follows: ensure the headings for all sections are as clear as possible. If customers can't find it, they can't buy it. keep the navigation on all pages and in a consistent position ensure there is a site map and a search facility: at least 50% of web users use a search function add user questionnaires and feedback forms. These are invaluable for getting the data you need, to keep your website as user friendly as possible and therefore increasing the likelihood of sales check that your site is viewable on at least these 5 browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape and Safari a consistent and clear interface will make content easy to read. Get this right and your customers will thank you for it keep the font size readable. If it's too small or too large, it could put off a sizeable number of potential customers the design of your website will communicate your brand values and must encourage your potential customers to read on. Make sure the mode of interaction is specifically designed to be relevant to the target users generally readers will scan pages, so the text should be succinct, easy to read and jargon free. Also, keep the content up to date, keep it interesting and use the site to communicate your company's news and successes - these will demonstrate that it's a company that is worth buying from finally, ask someone (not an employee or anyone else connected with the company) to have a look at your site and give you their immediate feedback Once you've got these basics covered and working as well as possible, the next step is to develop your website to another level, using the power of cutting edge technology and techniques to maximise the site's potential for further business growth One of the main ways of doing this is through email marketing, which can be extremely effective in driving more traffic towards the website and increasing both the volume of new customers and customer retention levels. This is an area that is key to the success of our clients, so Webadvertising developed a software product called webMail, which enables the distribution of highly targeted emails. This works well with another product we've developed, webCRM, which is customer relationship management software. In brief, webMail can manage the whole process of email marketing and webCRM enables organisations to use the web to strengthen customer service and build relationships. Just one example of how we have helped a company take their website to another level is in our work with The Lowry, a prestigious arts and entertainment centre in Salford Quays, in the north west of England. We helped them implement their marketing strategy and track customers' movements using our software, which has resulted in their website now attracting 500,000 visitors per year, a growth of 20% in customer traffic. Online sales have increased too and are continuing to grow. So, if your website isn't delivering as many new customers, as you would like, the good news is that it's not difficult to make the necessary adjustments to improve things. And it needn't cost the earth either. If you would like to know more about what we can do for your organisation, please telephone: 0131 454 3311 or use our   Enquiry Form.