Internet Marketing textbook.pdf - Vula

Website design and developmentCHAPTER 2If the customer has a question, itcan be answered by an in-houserepresentative.The customer browses your products.The customer takes a business cardand leaflet.The customer makes a purchase.If customers are looking for answers,they can either find what they arelooking for in the information containedon your site, or they can access thewebsite’s contact page.The customer browses your onlinecatalogue or services page.The customer bookmarks your pageand signs up for the email newsletter,follows you on Twitter or becomes afan on Facebook.The customer uses your online store oran online form to make a purchase.As you can see, the website plays an integral role in the standard business activitiesand can even supplant the functions of a physical office in many ways. If yourbusiness is already transacting online, it is vital that you have a website; if you areconsidering moving your business onto the web, your website is the logical andbest place to start your strategy. This module will guide you through designingand developing an effective marketing website. In module 3, you will learn howto create valuable copy for your page, and in module 6, you will be shown how tooptimise your page to make it easy to find online. Your website will also form thebasis of several assignments for this course.Figure 1: This mind map depicts how all the topics you will learn about later inthis course lead back to your website.2.1 Your target marketArguably, every business today could benefit from having a website – its owncorner of the web with which to attract potential customers. However, before youembark on this process, you must spend a lot of time considering what is mostappropriate for your target market. Ask yourself:• Who makes up the target market? Men or women, young or old?• Are they online? If no, your website needs only the most basic features, justin case somebody does look for it. If yes, you will need to make sure that yoursite is easily recognisable and more elaborate.24GetSmarter Internet Marketing textbook