"How many websites should my company
have?"
This is a question that often arises in discussions with
clients. Now you're probably asking
yourself, "Why would any company need more than one website?” If your
business is a large corporation, it is fairly obvious that you need a separate
site for each brand you offer, and a separate site
for corporate background material and perhaps investor relations.
But what if you're a small or medium-sized company with a limited number of products or services? Then the question becomes, do your products relate to one another? Is your audience for each product or service the same? And what about totally different audiences for the same product? And then there are special circumstances like new product launches, time sensitive marketing campaigns, and limited availability offers? Mini Campaign Websites and Alternative Marketing Websites are an effective method of enhancing your marketing efforts and targeting optional audiences you wouldn't have otherwise reached using your traditional sales marketing approach. (Not to mention that these mini-sites can be a valuable asset for SEO.)
Reasons To Use Campaign Websites:
1. Focus Your Presentation: eliminate
distraction and non-relevant clutter.
It is human nature to want to get your money's
worth, but when it comes to website marketing this can be counter-productive. Wanting to cram everything you provide into one website. Forcing visitors to sift through reams of material only creates frustration and irritation, and with a click of a mouse they're off to the next competitor listed on their favorite search engine before they even get to your relevant information.
A campaign or brand specific website allows you
to get right to the point. Greet your targeted audience with a signature video
Web-host supported by appropriate images and text. If a lot of text
material is required, then have it turned it into an audio presentation so the
material is made more accessible, understandable, and easy to absorb.
A focused brand or campaign site shortens the
sales cycle by making what you provide clear and distinct; it provides visitors
with the sense that you are both competent and innovative in what you do and
how you do it.
2. Use Alternative Tactics: experiment with non
traditional campaigns.
Most companies follow a consistent sales
approach that they have found successful. This is both a good thing and a
bad thing: following a plan that has worked in the past aimed at your
traditional customer base makes sense, except that it also limits you in
reaching new audiences for your products and services.
There may be markets for what you provide that
you haven't ever thought of, or that you are afraid to approach because they conflict with your current methods,
promotions, or initiatives.
Why give up on these potential customers when
you can create an audience specific Web-presentation on a separate campaign website aimed specifically at that market. With a series of highly targeted websites you speak to the needs of specific audiences and at the same time insulate your regular clients from the alternative approaches.
In a highly competitive marketplace, your competition will be looking for every opportunity to take advantage of markets you ignore. Don't let them. You can get to them first and establish your company as the niche leader. All it takes is a little imagination, effort, and a budget to implement. This way you can have your cake and eat it too.
While there are many other reasons to employ multiple websites to promote your business, the most important is that if you want to dominate your little corner of the Internet, when it comes to creating a sense of urgency and impact don’t cut corners by trying to make your main site the be-all and do-all to getting the word out about your business online.