Business Websites

AgentsofAmerica.ORG is pleased to launch the newest service available to its members and readers, AOA Market Solutions. AOA Market Solutions was developed primarily as a way for our members and readers to strategically market themselves, their unique selling points, their programs or business strategies with a blend of both online and traditional techniques.

AOA Market Solutions will be available as a separate site to access assistance in marketing your business traditionally or digitally. You will be able to connect to AOA Market Solutions through the AOA site.

To kick off this new service we are offering a 25% discount on the first 10 responding firms that request our service. Our service is unique, specifically tailored to your business needs & very hands on. _______________________________________________________________________

ItaEUR(TM)s no coincidence that every major corporation has a website for each of their major brands, and in many cases even unique sites for individual product lines. Your website is your face on the internet and without one you have no representation on the web. When you meet a potential client, or chat with an existing one in real life, you, or your employees, are the face of your business. They represent your business, what it stands for and the quality of your products, specialty programs and unique services.

This is exactly the function that your website serves on the internet. It is your online ambassador between your business and your customers. Essentially, you must look at your website as a distinct and separate location for your business.

So what kind of functions do business websites perform? Well, first itaEUR(TM)s important to note that not all business websites are alike, and quite often there simply isnaEUR(TM)t one fit-all solution for all things marketing. Your business website might be a simple aEURoebusiness cardaEUR? style site, which is basically just a simple site with only a few pages that is intended solely to give you a presence on the web so that potential customers can get vital information like your location, your contact information or your business hours.

Or your site might be designed sort of as an e-commerce site where you aEURoesellaEUR? the ability to get premium quotes, giving potential customers both locally and on a larger scale the ability to do business with you right on your website and have their binders and policies shipped to their inbox. You could also use your site as a lead capture system to move potential clients into and through your sales funnel. You could use your site to collect data on potential and existing customers in order to use in later marketing campaigns. Or your site could be an online catalogue of specific information providing detailed information on your specialty coverage products, programs or services for the many web users who do their research online.

The point is, there are many things a business site can do. ItaEUR(TM)s amazing that a website is so much more versatile and so much more functional than any yellow pages ad or print ad, and yet so many agencies and brokerage firms completely ignore them, either not having one, or having a poor one that they let go under-utilized.

Before going any further, itaEUR(TM)s incredibly important that we first talk about quality and the importance that quality and professionalism have to your website. Like we said earlier, your website is your face on the web. It represents who you and your business are and what you and your business stand for.

Get it right, and it will be an invaluable asset that will bring in many, many times its cost in profits. But get it wrong, and it will actually cost you business. Yep, thataEUR(TM)s right; a poorly done website can actually cost you business. How could that be you say? ThataEUR(TM)s because if an internet user doesnaEUR(TM)t find you on the net, they may never know you exist, but it wonaEUR(TM)t prejudice them against doing business with you in the future. But if an internet user lands on your website, and itaEUR(TM)s amateurish, unprofessional or doesnaEUR(TM)t answer the question the searcher asked, it will leave a negative impression with them that very well could cost you business in the future.

So itaEUR(TM)s important to get your website right. You wouldnaEUR(TM)t put anything but your best face forward towards a client in real life, and the exact same should go for the web, as we said earlier, this is another location.

So what is quality? Well, letaEUR(TM)s talk about what quality isnaEUR(TM)t. WeaEUR(TM)ve all been to those websites that look like they were designed in 1996 and are bright green with red text and spinning images in the corners. WeaEUR(TM)ve also all been to websites with links that donaEUR(TM)t work, havenaEUR(TM)t been updated for at least 6 months, spelling mistakes, childish fonts, etc. Do these scream aEURoetrust worthyaEUR? to you? No!

What they show is that the businesses running them canaEUR(TM)t be bothered to pay attention to details, even such major ones. What does that say about the business? It says that theyaEUR(TM)ll treat clients the exact same way.

IaEUR(TM)ll say it again; remember that your website is a representation of your company. ThataEUR(TM)s the key when it comes to quality. If you look at the site and you say, aEURoeEh, itaEUR(TM)s alright I guessaEUR?, then it isnaEUR(TM)t alright.

Would you deliver a binder, proposal or send a letter to a client and say aEURoeEh, itaEUR(TM)s good enoughaEUR?? No way! (DonaEUR(TM)t expect to hold on to that client for long if you do!)Would you be satisfied with a aEURoedecentaEUR? performance during a presentation to a prospective customer? No way. So why do so many businesses settle for amateurish websites?

DonaEUR(TM)t be part of that group.

And it is a big group.

Now that doesnaEUR(TM)t mean your site has to be designed by Michelangelo and make visitors cry when they see its beauty. It just means that you should take the same pride in your website that you take in every other aspect of your business. It can be very easy to let your website go because unlike your appearance, or your office, or your face to face interactions with clients, itaEUR(TM)s digital and doesnaEUR(TM)t really exist in the real world. You wouldnaEUR(TM)t wear a dirty suit or a blouse with a stainaEUR|itaEUR(TM)d bug you all day, but donaEUR(TM)t get on your website for a while and you may quickly forget that it could use a polishing.

Luckily, any professional website designer worth their weight will understand this and make sure they do a good job of giving you a website that is deserving of being associated with your business. While website designer create amazing looking sites, they need to work with someone skilled at making the site search engine friendly, so the world knows you are there! But for the love of everything good, use a website designer and combine his services with an SEO firm that understands your industry. It doesnaEUR(TM)t matter how tempted you are or how easy someone told you it is, donaEUR(TM)t try to do it yourself unless youaEUR(TM)re an expert. And donaEUR(TM)t think that you can just hire the neighborsaEUR(TM) kid to do it.

Remember, just any old website is worthless, and a bad one might actually harm your business. So if you have a website, take another look! Go and spend some time really looking over it. Anything you see that could be better? And if you donaEUR(TM)t have one yet and youaEUR(TM)re going to get one done, make sure itaEUR(TM)s being done by someone who understands its importance and can provide you with something excellent enough to attach your companyaEUR(TM)s name to.

In the following chapters, weaEUR(TM)ll go through the nuts and bolts of what you need to consider in order to make sure your companyaEUR(TM)s website is doing all that it can be doing for your business.

Next time, aEURoeWhataEUR(TM)s In A Domain Name?aEUR?

Mr. McGovern can be reached at 732-706-1950 and at JohnMcGovern@agentsofamerica.org

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