Principal Image's Blog

Every business wants to be a customer's first choice. Building and managing a website can play a significant part in making that happen.

The concept of a website extends far beyond just an online presence, it extends to your business' core values and to every online interaction you have with customers and suppliers. In effect, your website creates and maintains your reputation and so reflects your customers' experiences of your organisation. A website is really a part of your organisation's reputation - its 'personality'.

Customers and employees can build up emotional attachments to certain websites, allowing for strong loyalties and even a sense of ownership. This can help maintain employee motivation and increase your sales.

Your website is what you are really selling to your customers, not just a product or service for which there may already be many existing providers. A strong website can make any business stand out from the crowd, particularly in competitive markets.

This guide shows you why we should create your website and how you can manage it.

First steps for creating a website

A successful website is about promoting your strengths. Start by thinking about what your business is good at and what you believe in as a business. For example:

• particular skills - such as excellence in design
• high-quality customer service
• providing the best value for money in your marketplace
• innovation - perhaps in a niche market

You need to be sure that you can always deliver your promises using your strengths.

What customers want

You also need to match your website to your customers' requirements.

What drives your customers? What makes them buy? In most cases, it's not only about price or performance.

Ask existing customers what they like about doing business with you. And asking potential customers what they look for in their buying decisions can also give you useful information to help develop your business - and your website.

If your website is in line with what existing and potential customers look for when they're buying, you have got the beginnings of a useful website and you're ready to start building it.

But if they're not, you'll probably need to reconsider either the benefits you offer to your present customers or whether you're targeting the right people.

Tell your customers

Remember that every possible contact you have with a customer or potential customer needs to reinforce your website.

Key areas to consider include:

• your business name
• the names of your products or services
• any slogan you use
• your logo
• the style and quality of your stationery
• product pricing and packaging
• your premises
• where and how you advertise
• how you and your employees dress
• how you and your employees behave
• and of course your company website

Your logo can be of particular significance to customers. You should create a policy on its usage, ensuring it is used consistently and its quality is always maintained. This acts as a reassurance when customers are considering buying your products or receive them after purchase. Your logo can act as an initial guarantee of quality in these circumstances.

Your website should extend right through to the design of your invoices and receipts, which can often be the last stage in an interaction with a customer.

Managing your website

It's a good idea to get one person to take responsibility for your website strategy - if you can't do it yourself, appoint a qualified employee instead.

Managing your website has become a simple thing, with the use of a Web Content Management System even someone with no knowledge of coding can update and maintain part or the entire website.

Keep employees involved by setting up a suggestion scheme, or regularly taking the time to discuss your website and how your business is performing.

Getting customer feedback

Get regular feedback from satisfied customers to check that your business is consistently delivering on the promises your website and company makes. Ask dissatisfied customers or former customers for feedback as well - you can gain valuable, and sometimes more honest, information from them about how your website is perceived. Honest and constructive criticism can help you see where there's room for improvement.

Remember that customers change too.

Reviewing your website

A successful website will remain so as long as you and your staff maintain it, if you leave it alone it will fast become out of date.

When reviewing your website, remember that your customers and employees will have often built up an emotional attachment to it, and even feel a sense of ownership of it. It is therefore critical that any changes you make are sensitive to their existing relationship with your website. Use your findings from consultations with your customers, suppliers and employees to assess the wider perception of your website.

Remember that your website represents the whole customer’s online experience and cannot be changed overnight. You should regularly review your customers' experiences of your business. This will provide an early indication of any elements of your website that are underperforming. Prompt action to correct this underperforming element can save a lot of money and negate the need to redesign your whole website.

Growth opportunities

The reviewing process can often give you an indication of areas into which you can expand your business.

To grow your business, you should encourage innovation and the development of your products and services. This will help you to stay ahead of your competitors and respond to the changing needs of your customers. However, your website should always underpin your core values and provide customers with a consistent and reliable experience. Your website may therefore become synonymous with innovation, but in itself may never change.

Ten tips on creating a website

To build a successful website you should:

• Focus on what your business achieves for its customers. Your website is no good to you if it isn't delivering what customers want.
• Take ownership of your website. Pay attention to customers' needs, but you should still control what you want your website to mean to them.
• Be honest. If you don't believe in your website, no one else will.
• Keep your website simple by focusing on a small number of key values.
• Be consistent. Every aspect of your business should make customers feel the same way about you.
• Be thorough. Look at all your systems to make sure they help to support your website.
• Involve employees. Make sure they understand your website and believe in it.
• Communicate your website. Make sure every advertisement, brochure and letter helps reinforce the same message. If you have a logo, use it everywhere, but make sure the quality is consistent.
• Meet and exceed what your website promises. Failing, just once, can cause lasting damage to your website.
• Manage your website. Continually look for opportunities to make improvements. And don't be afraid to make changes to reflect shifts in the way you do business or new trends in your market.