Analysis of Business Website and Its Importance - Coursework Example

Business website. Student: Student ID: Lecturer: Subject: Course: Due Date: Word Count: 1500 Table of contents Introduction 4 Business web site 4 Components of a business website 4 Opt-In Box 5 Who you are 5 What you do 5 Sticky content 6 Contact information 6 Importance/advantages of a business website 7 Provides a large client base 7 Educate clients about the business 7 Enhance customer confidence 7 Cost-effective promotion and marketing 8 24-hour global presence 8 Keep clients updated 8 Improve communication with clients 9 Keep the edge on competitors 9 Improve business to client relationships 9 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 11 Abstract The Internet has gained much popularity and has become an effective tool of marketing in the world today. More than two million individuals become new internet users every month while more than half of the world’s population is now on-line. The website is therefore an effective means in which business can promote their sales by enhancing their client base as well as retaining the clients. This report analyzes a business website by describing its components and the importance it has to business organizations. It outlines in brief the five major components of a business website and also explains the advantages of a professional website to the firm. Introduction Business Website To understand the meaning of a business website clearly, the term website must first be understood. A website is a compilation of web pages which may range from a few web pages to millions of pages, published as a single interconnected system. The web site can be accessed locally and internationally and it’s a media that is used in transfer and collection of information and ideas (Business Software Alliance, 2001). Business web site A website is a means or a way to enlighten the world of the existence and the benefits of goods or services produced by a firm. Just like a business card, a website is the first thing people see and it creates the impression of a business in them. A website establishes in people public trust about a business and outlines the objectives of the firm as well as a means of reaching the top management. It introduces the business to new customers all over the world by opening up to the people. Firms that deal with goods that do not require shipping must have appropriate websites to market their businesses (Business Software Alliance, 2001). Components of a business website Some of the main components of a business website include: OPT-In Box, Who you are, What you do, and Sticky content and contact information. These are not the only components of a complete business websites as other items including solid graphic design, proper usability and ease of navigation are required. Other important features include design, copy and code of the business website which should be created using principles of search engine optimization (Smith, 2001). The major components however are: Opt-In Box The opt-in box should be created in such a way that it captures the visitors’ details because this is one of the most important marketing tools available in the Internet at the moment. An opt-in box is a place where visitors enter their identification information which include their name and e-mail address. Some opt-in box may only require an e-mail address which is not enough information about the visitor. Once the contacts are availed, the firm can begin establishing a relationship with their subscribers with consistency. This is a very important marketing strategy to the organization (Smith, 2001). Who you are It is very important to win the trust of potential clients and customers in case a business firm is dealing with trade of goods and services. To win the trust, it is necessary for the firm to share information about the company which may include when it started, its objectives and its top managers. What you do It is obvious that the website being a marketing strategy need to include the types of goods and services the firm is dealing in. At this point, appropriate marketing copywriting becomes very important. The firm should have a website that readily converts visitors to clients by having a good marketing copy. Sticky content A sticky content describes any content on the business website that draws people and maintains them there. It is just like flypaper. The website should include articles, blog, audio and videos or any other useful resource that keeps the visitors glued to the site. The more the time visitors spend on the website, the more the chances of them converting to clients. The content however should not be too sticky until it hits a critical mass. If the firm provides and gives too much, then the clients will not have the need to buy. The potential clients will be contented with the freebies and will not buy (Tapscott, David & Alex, 2000). Contact information Potential clients and customers can develop a need to contact a business to clarify something or even to make orders. Clients are likely to purchase goods from a firm that they can contact in case the commodity develops some problems or in situation where they feel that they were under-treated. Providing contact information gives the clients opportunity to ask questions and clarification before they make a purchase. Customers may contact the business for various reasons and these make them feel safer. A phone number or an e-mail address should be provided for the clients to reach the firm (Tapscott, David & Alex, 2000). In addition to the above mentioned components, a business that is selling goods and service through the Internet requires to invest appropriately in a shopping cart system as well as a payment processing system. Forcing potential clients to contact the firm in order to make purchases or get purchase information ensures that the clients can search for alternatives at any moment. In other words, the website should not give information that puts off a potential client. Importance/advantages of a business website A business website has several advantages in addition to those mentioned in the section above. Some of the major advantages include: Provides a large client base Each and everyday more and more people use the Internet to solve their business problems. People involve the Internet in searching for potential contractors, lawyers or even new commodities or services. The internet thus introduces the customers to business organization that they would otherwise not know. People all over the world can learn about any business by a click of a mouse provided the businesses have valid websites. A business website thus introduces the business to new client s and assists in maintaining them. Educate clients about the business Many end users research on the Internet on information regarding goods and services before making purchases. By having a valid website, potential clients can be informed about the goods and services and the advantages they get from buying from a particular firm as opposed to the competitors. A website will thus familiarize the customers with the organization and make them feel safe and comfortable when trading with the firm. Enhance customer confidence Customers and potential clients can tell a lot about a firm from the design of its website. An unorganized, boring website will only scare away the customers as opposed to a professional good looking website. A professional website indicates that the firm is serious and will most likely provide professional or high quality services (Young & Thomas, 2002). Cost-effective promotion and marketing A website is a low-cost but an efficient means of marketing a business. When compared to magazines or television which offers excellent ways of publicizing, the website is far much cheaper and in addition it provides full and complete information concerning a firm. A website will not be restrained in terms of time and page content and thus there is no hurry in accessing information. Search engines enable businesses to target specific marketing groups more efficiently than any other form of advertisement. Clients can use the search engines to find products of their desire. High ranking search engines lead to an increase in web traffic of a firm and thus increases the customers to the firm (Evans & Thomas, 2000). 24-hour global presence The Internet is always active and will thus provide clients with the information they need at any time. A website enables a business to ever be available for their clients irrespective of the time of the day (Lamont, 2000). Keep clients updated Clients feel more comfortable and safe to work with business organizations they are familiar with. It is vital for a firm to keep its clients always updated on the developments in the firm. This will consequently increase the sales of the firm as keeping the clients informed is the most effective marketing strategy. Improve communication with clients A website promotes communication between end users and businesses. Most of the time end users are interested in information from the Internet, but are reluctant to call for clarification. Websites that have email forms enable clients to seek for clarifications in seconds (Plant, 2000). Keep the edge on competitors Due to the increase of reputation of the Internet and the understanding of the value of a website, firms that have invested in professional looking websites have a better competitive edge. They will have a wider client base and will also look more professional and serious (Rosen, 2001). Improve business to client relationships Websites can enhance business to customer associations in many ways other communication, support and updated information. A website can provide the clients with information concerning projects status, account data or balance. The convenience of a website assists in enhancing productivity, performance as well as the speed in business transactions. Producing a dependable commodity or completing a specific service in less time than the stipulated always makes the client fell satisfied (Cronin, 2001). Conclusion A business website is the most effective way of marketing the company because many clients research for information concerning goods and services from the Internet. Websites are cheap to advertise a firm when compared to other means of advertising like television or magazines and in addition they provide full information regarding a business (Coward, 2002). A business website should however be professional and properly designed because it gives the first impression of an organization and also shows the seriousness a firm bestows to its operations. It is an effective way of providing consistent support to clients because other means like the telephone are very expensive to maintain (Bonnett, 2000). Bibliography Bonnett, K., 2000, An IBM Guide to Doing Business on the Internet, McGraw-Hill, New York. Business Software Alliance, 2001, E-commerce and Developing Markets: Technology, Trade and Opportunity. Pearson Education Limited, London. Cronin, M. J. 2001. Unchained Value: The New Logic of Digital Business, Harvard Business School Press, New York. Coward, C., 2002. Obstacles to Developing an Offshore IT-Enabled Services Industry in Asia: The View from the US. A report prepared for the Center for Internet Studies, University of Washington, McGraw-Hill, New York. Evans, P. & Thomas S. W. 2000. Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy, Harvard Business School Press, New York. Importance of websites in business, Retrieved on December 20, 2009 from Lamont, D., 2001, Conquering the Wireless World: The Age of m-Commerce. Capstone Publishing Inc., London. Lucking-Reiley, D. & Spulber, D., 2001,"Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter. Rosen, A., 2001. The E-commerce Question and Answer Book: A Survival Guide for Business Managers. American Management Association. Plant, R. 2000. ECommerce Formulation of Strategy, Prentice Hall, New York. Smith, D., 2001, The E-business Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to E-commerce and Beyond. Bloomberg Press, Princeton. Tapscott, D., David T. & Alex L. 2000, Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London, Young, P. & Thomas T., 2002, Capital Market Revolution: The Future of Markets in an Online World, Pearson Education Limited, London. . Read More