Getting more out of your website
I am often surprised by the number of organisations that still treat their websites as nothing more than a digital version of their brochure.
One of the many reasons* I love working for Optix is because we are all encouraged to help our customers get the most out of their online presence and following are a few of my favourite techniques that will help you do just that:
Split testing
I’m a firm believer in practice making perfect. Split testing allows you to display and compare different website content to see which performs best. Once identified, keep the best performing content going and revamp the content that isn’t performing so well to optimise your success.
Email marketing
Okay, there’s no denying that people are using Email less these days – but Email Marketing still has a place. It’s a fantastic way of keeping people up-to-date with your products and or services and features like the ability to segment your contact database and send highly customised email campaigns that run automatically are incredibly valuable (and time saving).
Give value
Offer something of value that makes your visitors come back to your site time and time again. A great way of doing this is by providing information that will attract and be shared amongst your potential customers. A couple of years ago I came across a sample report on a site that ended up being so valuable to me I signed up as a paid member. An existing customer that happened to be a friend of mine shared the sample report with me and I have been hooked ever since.
Ask your customers
Too often businesses set out to design and build a site which reflects what they want to tell their customers. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always match up to what their customers are looking for on their site. Ask your customers for their input – you may be surprised by what they say.
Social Media
Your customers, both prospective and existing, are on Social Media. While it’s not likely that they’ll return to your website a couple of times a week unless you’re offering something of value – it is that they will be logging into their Social Media Sites a number of times during the week. Have a presence on these sites and you could become part of their lives on a more regular basis.
What are your favourite strategies for getting the most out of your website? I’d love to know…
Filed under: Business Websites, Website Planning | Leave a Comment
Free help
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by businesses, and all that goes into running them.
I’m pretty sure that this stems from the fact that my dad is an entrepreneur. Growing up, he never had any ‘down’ time – so everything we did together involved me helping him with some business-related task he needed doing. At five, this involved opening mail, folding statements and licking billions of envelopes and stamps. (I can still taste the adhesive!)
The fun didn’t stop there though. On weekends, we’d often use the excuse of taking dad his lunch to visit him on site. Upon arrival my sisters and I would be doted on by the dozens of men my dad employed, many of them hundreds of miles away from their own children and families. They were all such lovely, caring people. Being around them felt like being part of one very big extended family. Watching them work together and follow my dads instructions was better than TV.
I have such fond memories of sitting at my dads desk when he wasn’t home, flipping through his account ledgers, playing with his calculator and stamping anything and everything that could be stamped with his ‘for deposit only’ stamp. One thing was clear. My dad was cool and when I grew up I wanted to be just like him.
As I got older, my dad started to let me become more involved with other elements of his business. When I implemented a simple spreadsheet that could calculate staff wages and his tax bill, saving him hours of his time – I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Help businesses be more efficient and profitable. The great thing about my job is that I get to do just that for all sorts of businesses, every day.
In my first blog, I mentioned that I wanted to include an ‘agony aunt’ style question and answers area on this blog. I’m really keen to hear from any website owners out there that want to know more about how they can get the most out of their online presence. If you know a website owner or manager that could use some help – I would really appreciate it if you could introduce them to my blog. If I don’t have the right answer, I am confident that I can easily find someone that does.
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It’s all about me!
I was born and raised in Bermuda – a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean 700 miles or so off of the west coast of North Carolina.
During my last year in High School I was given the opportunity to work as an intern for the XL Foundation, the philanthropic arm of one of the worlds largest Insurance and Reinsurance companies – XL Capital Ltd. Shortly after graduating from High School, I was offered a permanent position as a project coordinator with The XL Education Initiative, a pilot project of the XL Foundation which was charged with redeveloping Bermuda’s Computer Science curriculum and instilling technology into other core disciplines like Science, Maths and Art.
In my capacity as Project Coordinator, I was given the opportunity to work with teams from Stanford University, The University of Virginia and the Bermuda Government – all at the ripe old age of 18.
In 2003 I decided to treat myself to a vacation and came to the UK for a two week break. I’ll never forget how cold it was waiting on the platform at London Bridge, visiting Gucci (as luck would have it just before leaving for my holiday I received a very generous bonus from my employers – all of which was left at Gucci. Best handbag & purse I’ve ever had!!), or discovering Indian Curry ! On my way back home I decided that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in Bermuda without getting to really experience another country. I clearly, as England showed me in those two weeks, had been missing out. I decided then and there that I would come back to England and work behind a bar for a year or so before going to school and getting on with life!
When I got back to Bermuda I mentioned my plans in passing to the Managing Director of a start-up company that had donated some of his time to the XL Education Initiative. Apparently, he wasn’t keen on the idea and instead offered me the opportunity to work with him on helping to establish his new technology-based business. It felt like the opportunity of a lifetime and I just couldn’t say no. So that’s exactly what I did. Again, I found myself working with a number of influential business leaders and local politicians. I loved every minute… but knew I had to leave Bermuda at the same time.
In 2004 I visited England again, and this time I fell in love with more than the shopping! So, after 21 years of a rather spoiled and fortunate life the real world beckoned and I moved to Exeter in October of 2005. Not a day passes that I don’t miss my mom and dad so much that it hurts – but it remains one of the best decisions I have made to date.
After a brief stint launching and managing an online store, I enjoyed 8 months of self-employment as a web consultant. Whilst self-employed I was introduced to Alastair Banks and James Dawkins who own Optix Solutions Ltd. In June 2008, I accepted an offer from them to officially become a part of their team. Since then, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my role and being part of a forward-thinking company that is committed to excellence. It genuinely is a privilege working with everyone at Optix.
As you’ve probably gathered by now – I’ve had a really interesting journey over the past 25 years. It is my hope that through this blog I will be able to share with you the lessons I have learnt along the way, which I hope that you will find interesting – or at the very least informative!
I’ll forewarn you now – this blog promises to be a bit geeky at times. I’ve got an unhealthy obsession with business development, online marketing, project management and everything that goes with it – so brace yourself. To help make my blog a bit more interesting, I will be integrating an ‘agony aunt’ style question & answers area which will be dedicated to helping organisations get the most out of the web – so if there’s anything you want to know more about, just drop me a line!
Get in touch…
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KristenSousa
LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kristensousa
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KristenSousaUK
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