When Is Enough Really Enough?
Too Many Fancy Visual Effects And You Are In Danger Of Alienating Your Web Visitors!
Imagine the 3 minute long advert - beautiful but abstract. At the end of the ad you're thinking 'what was it selling'? Well, you've had the logo and the brand, you liked the ad very much, it was beautiful, it was artistic but how much did you remember or how much did it actually motivate you to buy its product or service?
As far as websites are concerned, our advice is to keep graphics and flashy effects to a reasonable level. Too many graphics will create slow loading of pages. Flash is another thing to be avoided. These sites look great, there's no getting around that fact. However, we live in a world where people expect everything in a hurry. That extra entry page may look wonderful, but a lot of people will just leave. Most of these pages offer no information and are nothing but eye candy.
What really counts is not the delight, it is the ability to generate sales.
If your company is a small business it is very hard, and risky, to spend all your promotional budget on building and promoting the brand. As a small business owner what you really need to survive is the sale! You want sales sooner rather than later, so if you are looking at marketing in more detail, it is always direct response marketing that you want to focus on.
The reason direct response marketing works is because it requires the user, listener orviewer to do something. Don't ust sit there, pick up the phone, call now! In return you will get our free report, time limited discount, free software, free introductory training, free payroll for the first 3 months, you name it! Can you spot one truly noticeable and different reason why a prospective customer or client would be motivated to pick up the telephone and call? Because they were sked and incentivised to do so as soon as they had read your message.
MISTAKES IN DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING - MISTAKE #1 - TOO MUCH FOCUS
ON VISUAL EFFECTS
Direct response is not about how flashy or fancy your website is. We're not saying you can leave your website looking unprofessional - we're saying you don't want to spend all of your money on the web design. The common mistake is to start with fancy design and not pay enough attention to the website content.
Reason: content is still the king!
The content is why the people visit the website. Although some marketers say that this old adage no longer holds water the truth is cruel - most visitors don't care about your company! People who enter your website purely look at your logo or company name. What they want - is to learn something, to buy something, to solve their problem. The most important point you have to understand - that what every visitor to your website asks is: 'What's In It For Me?'.
Give your web visitors content worth reading in the first place.
If your Home Page says 'welcome to our website' and then a paragraph about yourcompany - you need to completely change your thinking. So instead of saying 'we do this' or 'we do that' you should change your text so it is talking all about what you can do for them.
In an ideal world, there shouldn't be a tradeoff between the content of your site and the way you present that content. Since we have to make do with the imperfect world we live in, it is vital you choose the right level in making this particular trade-off work. Treating every marketing communication as a direct response communication forces a discipline that ensures that the best design agencies produce the work that is balanced in favour of productivity over beauty.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
HeadChannel Ltd
www.headchannel.co.uk
Based on John Haye` article [http://www.networkwaterford.ie/index.php/news/]
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