Marketing

1
Marketing Sales RoundtableArchitecting Your
Website Building Credibility EarlyJanuary 2005
2
Agenda
1130 Introductions/Objectives 1145 -
Architecting Your Website Building Credibility
Early Presentation and Discussion 115 Summa
ry and Wrap-up
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Questions?

• What are the top 3 things that I go to a
  technology product company website to find?
• Product
• General definition of product
• Technical specifications
• Specific applications and use with reference
  customers
• Ordering information
• Company information
• Company description and market vision/market
  validation
• Who buys product/service?
• Management team
• 3rd Party validation
• News and events
• Contact information
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
• Logo

Source Survey of SRF portfolio company
executives
4
Questions?

• What are my top 3 pet peeves about those same
  websites?
• Navigation
• Complex, nested navigation, difficult to
  navigate, ambiguous headings
• Buried accolades (press, awards, customers)
• No search capability
• Not clear how to get back to home page
• Broken links
• Content
• Not clear descriptions of company/product/service
• Ability to print on regular 8x11, copy pages of
  interest
• Too much text or text with no substances
• Want contact information for each download/Dont
  remember who I am from visit to visit
• Home pages that require scrolling dont fit in
  browser
• Flash animation, Flash without a skip button
• Finding contact information with multiple
  information points (phone, fax, address)
• Static No new information, out of date
• Required in-depth registration to download white
  papers
• Distracting look and feel of overall site

Source Survey of SRF portfolio company
executives
5
The Reality

• YOUR WEB SITE IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT
  MARKETING AND SALES TOOL THAT YOU HAVE. THE
  PRIMARY CONDUIT TO CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS,
  INVESTORS, PRESS, SUPPLIERS, AND EMPLOYEES

6
Web Site Strategic Objectives

• Make your start up company look as big and
  credible as possible (especially when competing
  with large companies)
• - Convey company market vision, positioning
  strategy and key messages, consistently
• - Lay foundation for corporate brand
  identity/personality
• - Provide routine info about company/products
  and technology/category information clearly
• Establish Market Dialog
• - Generate leads, requests for info, follow up
  
• - Develop a customer, partner communications
  channel, extended support mechanism (information
  gathering)
• - Recruit business partners, suppliers,
  employees, investors, etc.

7
Major Web Site Elements

• Concept/Theme (Positioning Strategy Centric)
• Consistency of Communications (Positioning
  Strategy, Message Architecture)
• Content (Corporate, Product, Technology)
• Intuitive Architecture/Navigation
• Design/Graphics
• Effective Closed Loop Marketing and Sales
  tools/programs

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Developing A Web Site

• Managing
• Development
• And Approval
• Process
• Staff
• Stakeholders
• Testing
• Internal and
• external
• reviews
• content,
• message
• consistency,
• brand image,
• navigation

• Doing Your
• Homework
• Competitors
• customers
• partners
• web sites
• review
• (especially
• larger ones..)
• Elements of
• those web sites
• you do and
• do not like
• - Major
• stakeholders
• input

• Planning
• - Scope/
• Objectives
• Domain
• Name
• Architecture/
• Site map
• Budget
• Timeline
• Staff
• Service
• providers

• Hiring
• Service
• Providers
• - ISP
• Designer/
• Programmers
• Writer(s)
• Administrator

• Identifying
• Back Office
• Considerations
• Update
• responsibilities
• Lead
• Follow - Up
• Info request
• fulfillment

• Launching
• Event
• Promotion

• Managing
• on
• On-Going
• Basis
• Marketing
• your web
• presence
• Regular
• update
• procedures
• Roles and
• responsibilities

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(Pre-Product Launch) Micro Web Site

• Home Page
• - Static Content MarketVision and Company
  Mission
• - Dynamic Content Whatsnew, important, etc.
• Other pages
• - Partner/Customer logos, quotes, testimonials,
  awards, etc.
• - White papers that demonstrate
  technology/product and industry/domain expertise
• - Management Team, BoD, Advisory Board (with
  photos) information
• - Web site visitor information capture
  capability
• - Company contact information (info_at_your URL,
  phone number, fax number, company address, map,
  etc.)

• What customer segments do you
• serve?
• What do you do?
• Why is that important to the
• customer segment served?

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Technical Considerations

• Graphics vs. HTML?
• Assess the connection speed and method of your
  customer base dial up, DSL, T1 or higher. Are
  they generally wired or wireless?
• What minimum OS and browser combinations do your
  clients use? Windows, Linux, Macintosh / IE,
  Firefox, Safari, etc.
• What type of security does your site need? Will
  you need a login/password section?
• Will you need a database or any other back-end
  module for your site, now or in the future? Even
  if its the future, it will matter now
• Will the site need to display or connect to
  mobile wireless devices such as cell phones,
  PDAs, and handheld computers?
• Who will manage the content? What is their
  technical skill level?
• Do you have a dedicated webmaster or will you
  need an automated Content Management Systems?
  Both?
• Before looking at a hosting package price, make
  sure the ISP you are considering meets all of the
  requirements above

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Other Considerations

• Impact of being global, early
• Maintenance schedule
• Reporting (what?, frequency, to whom?) and
  follow- up?
• Privacy, security issues
• IP protection
• Permissions for reprints, logos, etc.
• Search engine placement
• Key word/product category association

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The Most Common Web Site Related Mistakes

• Under investing (time, , resources, content)
  struggling start up image
• Unclear (and inconsistently articulated)
  positioning strategy
• Inconsistent messages (no message architecture)
• Lack of update schedule, responsibilities
• Design not consistent with positioning strategy
  and brand strategy
• Too much text

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How Does Your Web Site Architecture and Content
Measure Up?

• 1. Is it absolutely clear what your company does
  and why it matters to whom?
• 2. Is it tied to corporate objectives?
  Strategically architectected and designed to grow
  business?
• 3. Is the content dynamic and focused on
  resources, tools, programs designed for your
  customer segment (vs. static, product info,
  diagrams, pictures)?
• Is it architected and designed to motivate
  customers, partners, etc. to learn more (e.g.
  self-assessments, FAQs, etc.) (vs. telling them
  about company and product)?
• Does it invite dialog on products, customer
  services, information requirements of current and
  potential customers?

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How Does Your Web Site Architecture and Content
Measure Up? (Contd)

• 6. Is it always current, relevant and interesting
  to customer segment, partners, etc.?
• Does it position the company team as experts in
  market, technology, and product(s) category?
• Does it demonstrate your role as a market leader
  command of the market environment, relationships
  with market leaders in your customer segment
  links/RSS feeds to/from influential web sites
  and blogs, etc.?

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How Does Your Web Site Management and Tracking
Measure Up?

1. Can visitors get to vital info in two clicks?
2. Is someone responsible to check and ensure
   responses to inquires sent to web site?
3. Are effective reporting methods in place visitor
   characteristics/demographics, which pages hit,
   where do they come from? Etc.
4. Have you set the information bar too high (made
   it too difficult to get to company info)? Is it
   too text heavy?
5. Is there an opportunity to option out from
   further contact?
6. Is it easy to read on screen in regular office
   environment (color, font size)?

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Summary

• Invest in your companys website early
• Avoid the struggling start-up impression from
  the beginning
• Make it a destination for the product category
  your company intends to own
• Keep the content fresh and current

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Presenters

• Rosemary Remacle, Consultant
• Market Focus
• 408-244-0412
• rosemary_at_mktfocus.net