Successful companies invest in brand image and in establishing a solid leadership image in their industry. Companies of all sizes can utilize the same strategies though, to compete for new revenue. Development of an effective internet message strategy requires an investment of time and effort. This investment usually pays off with increased sales.
Using the webpage and business blog as the main communication tools to handle information flow between your organization and prospective customers on the internet requires understanding the prospective buyer’s level of internet skill and usage habits. Do your customers use the internet frequently? Does the company have a consumer profile? Who are the usual buyers and how do they get information from the organization?
Newer companies and start-ups may have to invest time in coming up with these answers. Research into these areas using current customer data can provide a general idea, but an understanding of how your customers use the web is important for structuring your communications strategy.
Denver SEO Consultants have successfully implemented internet communication strategies using this information to achieve top search engine rankings as well as to help clients convert readers into customers.
A good communications strategy will establish: Credibility Leadership Depth of knowledge Confidence
Using information gathered while researching these areas, an organization will emerge with a more effective communication plan to become the industry leader. Below are a few methods:
Credibility: Providing information helpful to prospective customers is always a good idea. Blogging or posting common questions that consumers in the field frequently face can establish the company as one that is effectively “on the same side” as the customer. Including little known industry facts are also useful. Purchasers new to the industry will appreciate knowing the experiences of others – particularly as they navigate unfamiliar territory.
When future questions arise, these readers will remember your ability and willingness to provide useful help and information. If your customers frequently use the web to research product features or location, you can address concerns about product reliability, ease of acquisition (shipping or delivery features that you provide). Understanding the reasons your customers use the internet is important to structuring the credibility message.
Leadership: Leadership image is validated by stories from current, satisfied customers. These stories should also include validation of the value proposition. References are also useful in proving that the organization delivers the promised value through its products and services. New companies with no established customer base may find this problematic, but most new business owners have contacts willing to state that the company is committed to customer service and delivering value.
Story-telling is very useful in establishing a leadership image on your business blog. Focus the story on the company’s accomplishments or the ability of your product to solve customer problems. Over time newer companies will acquire more and more testimonials that will make useful content for future stories.
Depth of Knowledge: Too many details of course risks losing readers. However, details are necessary to establish a depth of knowledge required by customers before making a purchase decision. Publishing case studies and customer stories are again useful, but some readers want more product detail than is practical to include within a client success story. Detailed product pages can be built elsewhere on the website to handle these types of inquiries, leaving the main pages to focus on how customers find value in the service or product offering.
Customer questions from existing clients regarding your product or service are probably very meaningful to prospective customers as well. Your ability to handle customer concerns of course builds confidence that you are both able and willing to stand behind your product/service and are able to clearly define its value.
Confidence: Convincing prospective customers that the product or service actually delivers the promised value is one of the most important communication objectives. Value can be found in unusual ways, though. The Return on Investment or ROI delivered by the company product or service can prove the value to new customers. An effective message strategy should then include success stories from current clients that may be willing to share what the benefits to using the product or service actually were.
Prospective customers are willing to invest in products and services if value is delivered. The message strategy needs to minimize the perceived risk held by the prospect. Telling stories that communicate the results other customers received reduces the level of perceived risk.
By focusing on one of these objective areas in each blog post, you can keep your page fresh and accomplish at least one communication strategy objective. In the next few days, we will review techniques to keep your communication strategy organized, discuss a good structure and volume for each individual post and review ways to post your information to attract the most possible traffic from the search engines.
Denver SEO Consultants assists clients develop Low Cost SEO strategies to attract new business income streams using established SEO and web market communication processes and methods. Specializing in article market communication and link building, the company serves both service and manufacturing companies.
