In last month's column, "Improving the face of Thailand", I highlighted how important your website is in establishing your company's credibility with future customers. Let's explore this further.
Think about this: when you have a meeting with a prospect, you prepare. You plan what you're going to say, and a number of other things to ensure you make a great impression - so that this prospect will become a client.
The day of the meeting you make sure you're dressed appropriately, because you want to make a good first impression.
Of course, you know that the way you dress and groom yourself doesn't have anything to do with your capabilities, but you know people judge other people on the way they look.
Well, guess what: these same principles hold true in the virtual world as well as the physical.
There's a solid body of research on the impact of websites on business decisions, and the speed with which people make decisions based on what they see. For instance, research by Carleton University found that the brain makes decisions in just 1/20 of a second when viewing a webpage! Researcher Gitte Lindgaard said, "Unless the first impression is favourable, visitors will be out of your site before they even know that you might be offering more than your competitors."
If you don't believe that business professionals in search of products and services rely on websites to make decisions - and that the design, organisation, content, and quality of websites is a major factor in their evaluation and decision-making process - then click a virtual Back Button and return to the 1990s where you'll be more comfortable.
But if you're still with me in the here and now, and want to know how to make your website and online marketing a valuable tool to drive your company's growth, let's get going:
--Know Thy Audience
If your audience is teens in Thailand then give them a flashing, colorful, exciting website. However, if your audience is middle-aged managers in the United States, you'll need a much different approach.
--Do your homework
Study market leaders in your target markets - and your prospect's websites to understand your market's standards. These are your benchmarks. If your market is export, you'll need to look outside of Thailand.
--Get a competent team
You may be the best at what you do, but if you're not in the business of building websites, then you need a great Web team that knows what it's doing. Make sure they are fully tuned in to your market and not designing for their own tastes. If they can't show you examples of work that match the benchmarks in step 2, move on.
--Don't be cheap
This doesn't mean waste money, just be smart. Get a good copywriter, and have an editor native to your target market review and edit all content. This is not the place to save a few baht.
--Keep it simple
The goal of your website isn't to explain in detail everything you do - it's to get them to contact you and start a relationship. A concise and professional website of 5-10 pages might be all you need to quickly instill trust and make them want to learn more.
--Fire your son-in-law
Yes, I know you love your daughter and want to help her struggling husband's agency. Trust me, don't. See No 3 above - you'll thank me later.
Stay tuned . . . next month we'll look at some simple Do's and Don'ts for your website.
Derek Brown is managing director of Pronto Marketing, and former marketing director of Microsoft (Thailand). Follow him in Hi! Managers column every second Monday of the month.