us to bring focus and clarity in our communications with the
membership of this Association.
Secretary – International Membership Association
Online
Websites
The design and production of a website requires an understanding that shares many similarities with other marketing disciplines. This means careful planning and segmentation are of paramount importance if you are to have a site that appeals to your customers, as well as yourself.
It should clearly inform all your target visitors; engaging them whilst doing so and encouraging them to reference it regularly. It should be simple to navigate and provide ample opportunity for them to contact you at appropriate stages of their search. Equally it should be clearly branded, whilst offering some of your organisation's brand personality; this will align your organisation with the type of customers you seek, and which seek you. If you can benefit from using e-commerce on your site to automate the sales process, you will need to pay particular attention to personal data security. With a rise in identity theft uppermost in most peoples' mind, you will need to be clear about communicating what processes you have in place to safeguard customer data from loss. There are, of course, many other facets such as its technical ability and your understanding of its performance, but these are too numerous to mention here.
Occasionally, websites are referred to as 'online books', but we disagree. Books provide a snapshot of information which can only erode; whereas a website should reflect the public 'face' of the business every day, not simply waiting for a quantum leap before revision. You should be prepared for a serious commitment, updating appropriate copy, images and pages across the website regularly, as well as interpreting the analysis to help you decide on appropriate changes.
If conducting these updates are more of a burden than a pleasure, then it is probably time to enlist some professional support, especially if you have serious plans on growing your business.
E-Marketing
With so much email arriving daily in our Inboxes, all business professionals have a responsibility (not just from a legal perspective) but also an ethical one, to ensure they are improving, not increasing the pressure on the online world. Whilst digital communications don't waste the planet's resources, ineffective targeting will harm your business. Get this right, and email marketing has few rivals for cost effectively maintaining contact with customers on a regular basis.
Whilst it's true that many companies check their emails before release, many do not and this is possibly a result from its simplicity of use. It's likely you have received emails yourself that have been broadcast with spelling errors or ineffective links, or you receive spam messages (a process where you receive emails that you have not opted to receive), or perhaps organisations, who despite the fact you have opted-in, see that it is within acceptable levels to email you daily?
As a developer and broadcaster of client emails we are inherently aware of our responsibility to our profession and our duty to serve our clients effectively. This means that we adopt current email legislation whilst maximising our clients' brand integrity.
One of the tools we use for constructing and broadcasting emails has run over 17 quadrillion (17,000,000,000,000,000) checks using complex algorithms to validate authenticity and compliance. Most email tools provide very similar features at a basic level; open rates, click-throughs, forwards, bounces, and many other elements too, but the differences become clearer as you look to develop 'relationships' using e-commerce or online surveys.
If your organisation is in need of expertise developing online communications, telephone us on 01788 815327, or email us at communications@genesisdm.co.uk.