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Design your online success
Website design has always been a fascinating area for me
-- not entirely in the realm of graphics but also of flow, navigation,
appearance, and content. I love to surf the web almost exclusively to
learn about different feels and flavors. In the process of doing so, it
amazes me to see how some sites appear smooth, professional, and refined,
while others smack of being put together horrendously quick -- even when
the company is reputably of high quality.
But website design is, in itself, a powerful marketing process. Many
tend to forget that people make UPAs (unconscious paralleled assumptions)
-- in general and especially in business. In other words, when they visit
a website they will unconsciously assume that a parallel exists between
the website's design and the business behind it -- not to mention the
products or services it promotes. So, if the design is poor, unprofessional,
or unclear, people will unconsciously assume that the product or company
is just the same.
Regard for the human inclination to "judge books by their covers"
is of utmost importance on the web, for the appearance of your site (that
thing that appears on a person's computer monitor) is the only thing that
separates you from your customer and thus is representative of the whole.
Therefore, your site can either emphasize, support, or contradict your
marketing message -- and do so almost effortlessly, even inconspicuously,
and sometimes dramatically.
A large airline company recently conducted a survey among its passengers
in order to perform some marketing research. The following question was
asked: "If your food trays were dirty, would you assume that the
airline also does poor maintenance on its engines?" And the answer
was, as illogical as it sounds, "yes" for an overwhelming majority
of participants.
In the "The
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing," marketing gurus Al Ries and
Jack Trout made what I believe to be the most powerful notion ever conceived
in the world of business, in that marketing is not a battle of products
but a battle of perceptions. My mentor used to say that "perceived
truth is more powerful than truth itself." Marketing is all about
perception.
A website design can often project greater perceived value. If you place
your website side-by-side with a competitor, and both of you offer the
same product in the same way at the same price, the company that will
win the customer over will be the one that, through its design, communicates
to the customer that there is an implied added value in their choice.
In my seminars, I talk about the ketchup principle. Let's say you've
just met a salesperson. He is dressed absolutely impeccably, gave a compelling
spiel, is knowledgeable about his product, was thoroughly interested in
your needs and conducted a perfect meeting with you. But throughout the
encounter, you couldn't help but notice that he had a little ketchup stain
on his tie. Now, if I were to ask you two weeks later what you remember
the most about your meeting, the first thing that would pop into mind
will likely be
The ketchup stain!
As the old saying goes, "You never get a second chance to make a
good first impression!" This applies even to the simplest of things.
On the Internet, it includes your site's design and the image it projects.
Therefore, pay close attention to your website's overall appearance, its
appeal, its colors, its layout, its ease-of-navigation, and most important
its content.
About the author
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter and consultant dedicated
to turning sales messages into powerful magnets. Get a free copy of
his book, "The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning," when
you subscribe to his free monthly ezine, "The Profit Pill."
See http://SuccessDoctor.com/
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