I have just finished a presentation to a networking group on how they can use “focus” to grow their membership numbers in their group. We discussed that instead of saying we want more members, we need to spend a bit of time and determine which type of members we want. Do we want web designers, accountants or electricians? It doesn’t matter, however the important thing is that we have determined exactly who we are after. If I said to you I am looking for a business owner – no one specific comes to mind, however if I said I am looking for a plumber who services the Gold Coast area and has a team of 10 plumbers, you may not know that plumber, but chances are you know of a plumber on the Gold Coast.

The same is true for your business. You need to determine who your ideal client is and then build your website to talk directly to that client.

Ok, so let’s say your ideal client is:

Grant O’Hara and his vital statistics are:
 Small Business which employs 5 to 10 staff
 The business deals with consumers
 Grant is excellent at running his business but doesn’t have much time to spend on marketing
 Grant has an excellent cash flow and pays his bills on time
 Grant is willing to listen to expert advice and is willing to pay for it.

Within this situation the physical characters aren’t important, however if you had a retail clothing store your ideal client could be:

Nellie Jane Smith
 She is 25
 Size 12
 Has a decent white collar job – making $60,000 per year
 Loves keeping up with the latest fashion and is willing to pay for it
 Her weekends involve Friday night drinks after work and Sunday brunches.

Can you see how for a clothing store her personality and physical characters are more important than for a business to business relationship? Who is your ideal client?

Now once you have your ideal client in mind, ask yourself?

1. What information would they want? You need to consider the whole sales process from prospect to after sales. Is your website for generating leads, keeping existing clients or for after sales support? Does your ideal client want lots and lots of product information and detailed statistics or do they just want a brief overview and contact information. For a retail store it may just be pictures of the product.
2. What features – ie what do you and they want to be able to do on the website? Whilst Blogs are excellent for search engines, there is not point you spending the time and effort to get one if none of your customers are going to read it. Would they use a poll or survey? There is one lady in the US who has a website called “Make Every Man Want You”. As a lead generation tool she has a survey “How Irresistible Are You?”, and you have to enter your email address to access the survey. Can you imagine how much fun it would be and how many people she would get signing up? (I found this website from a marketing coach – not out of necessity) Obviously the features and tools would be different if you are targeting a 25 year single female vs a 45 year old married business executive. You get the idea. Remember to think about all stages of the sales process.
3. How do they like to be communicated to, and how do they like to communicate with you?
As technology advances it doesn’t necessarily mean that your clients will. A perfect example is Telstra. They have a major market share in the baby boomer generation and not all of them are grasping technology. However Telstra are now trying to get these customers to use their online billing systems. They want their customers to receive their bills, check their bills and pay their bills online, when half of them don’t even have internet access! You have to provide communication channels and methods which suit your clients, not those that suit you! Even though your customer may have found you on the web, it doesn’t mean that they want to do everything online. They may want to receive printed information, call you, even text you and maybe email you or fill out an online form. Offer what suits them best.

Many large corporate marketing teams develop their ideal client into a real personality and then target all their marketing to that one particular person. This makes it easier to get it right. Of course other people will still find you, but if you do give your ideal client a real personality, you have the best chance of attracting that person.

You need to have a very very very (do you get the point?) clear picture of who your ideal client is and what you want to achieve with your website. Then and only then sit down with a web developer and discuss your individual requirements.

Want to use this article in your e-zine or website? You can as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Natalie Alaimo is a Small Business Marketing Consultant and Online Marketer. Natalie provides small business owners, women and entrepreneurs with straight forward marketing and branding services including one on one coaching and do-it- yourself marketing products. Natalie is a published author and runs several websites, including www.nataliealaimo.com. If you are looking to kick start your business, go online now to get your Free e-book at Brilliant Web Design

As a web designer I see many people who are trying to save money and time by not including an “About Us” page, or if they do have one they spend very little time writing the correct content for it.

Online businesses have to work harder than bricks and mortar business to build trust, creditability and show reliability. They don’t have the benefit of a shop front to give them sustenance. So if you’re an Online Business, you have to work very hard just to get people to contact you. This is especially true if you want to sell products online and ask people to part with their credit card details.

This is where an effective “About Us” page can really help. Use this page to build trust, build credibility and give a feeling of security. To ensure the success of your “About Us” page follow the tips below:

 Make it personal
 Use your full name
 Wherever possible include a street address
 Tell a story about you and your business
 Include details on why you started or purchased the business
 What’s your past experience
 What are you passionate about
 Have your won any awards?
 What involvement do you have in the community.
 Include links to your Facebook Page or other social networking web pages.

People want to deal with people, so make your website personable.

When people are making a decision to call you, buy from you or contact you, they will look at your “About Us” page to check you out. What does your About Us page say about you?

Here is your challenge, within the next 24 hours read over your “About Us” page. Put yourself in the mind of your customer and ask yourself:

 Do I trust this person?
 Would I call them for more information?
 Would I spend money with this person?
 Do I think these people know what they are doing?
 Are these people likely to rip me off?

Do this for your competitor’s website. How does yours compare?

Don’t have a website? Then contact Natalie Alaimo at www.brilliantwebdesign.com.au

Want to use this article in your e-zine or website? You can as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Natalie Alaimo is a Small Business Marketing Consultant and Online Marketer. Natalie provides small business owners, women and entrepreneurs with straight forward marketing and branding services including one on one coaching and do-it- yourself marketing products. Natalie is a published author and runs several websites, including www.nataliealaimo.com. If you are looking to kick start your business, go online now to get your Free e-book at Brilliant Web Design