American Express

There is not really a set formula for selecting which communication channels are appropriate for your business, but there is a process that should be followed when determining which channels you should be working . Selecting how you are going to speak to your prospective clients is no different. With all of the different ways there are to communicate with your target market, it is amazing how many businesses are solely focused on using search engines to drive traffic to their site and for good reason. Search engines are  typically responsible for driving 60–80 percent of Web site traffic. With that being said, there are so many other channels available online that are often overlooked—particularly by small to medium-sized businesses. These channels,  can drive an equal amount of targeted traffic to your Web site. But how do you select the right channels for your business?

The first thing to understand is that several online marketing channels require a monetary investment, whereas there are others that offer businesses a more cost-effective way to promote their sites. The latter often require an investment of time rather than money  however, the results can be outstanding.

For example, devoting time to the development of your company’s link strategy can take a significant amount of time; however, the investment of time not only will increase your reach on the Internet to your prospective clients, but it will also increase your link popularity. The increase in link popularity will boost your rankings in the major search engines particularly Google. Linkstrategy development is a technique that should be implemented by all organizations regardless of their budget however, it often is overlooked.

The functionality of your Web site must be unique to your business and the needs of your target market. On a retail Web site, customers will be able to view complete details about your products, understand pricing and shipping, and get a good view of the product from multiple angles since they cannot hold it in their hands and be able to make the purchase. After the purchase, the customer should automatically receive a confirmation, or receipt, by e-mail so that he or she knows the order is in good hands. You will want to keep in touch with your customers to encourage them to come back and purchase again, so you will want to give the target market opportunities to sign-on to receive email communications from you–right from the checkout.

On the other side of the coin, don’t include everything you can possibly include on your site just because you can. What you do not want to do is overwhelm the user in the middle of the purchase process with 20 other, unrelated products that will distract them and potentially put a halt to their current order.

Equally important to functionality is the performance of the Web site itself. This drills down into how the site and all of its supporting functions are coded. Users will quickly become frustrated by a Web site that generates errors on a regular basis or that does not load within a reasonable time period. Likewise, focusing on only one dynamic of the market can frustrate other market segments.

It’s not just what you do, but how you do it. If you’re going to get something out of your Web site, you have to provide the functionality for the potential customer to take an action, and you have to make sure everything works as it should. Everything must be easy for the user.

Let’s consider a hotel or hotel chain as an example. The right look and feel, excellent navigation, and useful information present a convincing picture for the Web site. We know, though, that an information-only Web site will not get the job done. The target market expects to be able to make a reservation, download a brochure, plan their trip online, and so on, quickly and easily with no barriers preventing them from doing so. If the Web site is too slow, they’ll give up. If the Web site generates an error, they’ll lose confidence. A hotel Web site must extend different touch points to the target market, allowing them access to self-service tools (e.g., interactive package builders, maps and directions, etc.) and engaging features to capture leads, drive immediate sales, and promote consumer loyalty (e.g., through permission marketing, access to a rewards program online for an individual business, etc.).