Marketing Managers: Stating Your Case

Marketing Managers: Stating Your Case

Alex Wilson | 24/07/2009

Do you use your website as an effective marketing tool? Deep down I am certain the answer is no. Though many people like to think their website is working towards their marketing goals, it is normally restricting their goals if anything – or altogether missing the point.

In the past, a company’s website was merely an online brochure of generic information – contact details, about us, who we are and what we do. Fast forward 10 years and we now see websites acting as agents in our marketing strategy; capturing user details, email addresses, promoting offers and specials, online campaigns that have no real world presence beyond the internet and more.

Developing a corporate online marketing strategy will provide clarity on what you want your website to do, what it needs to achieve and also set a benchmark for Marketing Managers to put forward a case for redevelopment.

One of the number one issues I come across is Marketing Managers wanting to redesign the corporate website, only to be held back by key decision makers or executives. Putting together a corporate online marketing strategy will allow you to indentify where you existing site is going wrong and as said before, state a case to management. Simply telling the decision makers it needs to be done is not enough.

Here is how to formulate a winning case for redevelopment of your website:

Compare your website to that of your competitors. Is it better or worse? If your industry is notorious for having outdated looking websites – imagine the unique selling proposition you would have by outshining that of your competitors? If your site is below par, I would assume you would want it above?

List your marketing initiatives in the non digital world. Does your website reflect those initiatives and add value to the campaigns? If not, why not? Surely your marketing work could utilize the power of the internet to further promote your brand and drive sales.

Do you get any enquiries from your website? As an active promoter of online marketing and lead generation, I would say that Wiliam gets the majority of its business from online leads and questions. If you have very few enquiries coming in, I am sure the decision makers would like the chance to have more.

Does your website align with your corporate branding and image? Your site needs to not only perform, it needs to reflect your company morals and position in the market. A website can say a lot about a company and can make or break the point of contact between a consumer and the company in question.

In summary, here is your checklist;

How do you compare to that of your competitors?

Does your website promote your marketing agenda?

Do you get enquiries from your website?

Does your website reflect your company standards and branding?

If you need further ideas on how to convince your managers that your website requires redevelopment and a new strategy, Wiliam would be happy to work with you to further identify the need, benefit and analysis required to persuade those decision makers.

We work very closely with many marketing managers to steer the websites strategy in the right direction, so feel free to contact us directly for an initial discussion.

tags: Online Marketing ,  Management