So, you are about to build a new website.
Before making this decision, you have been tracking the performance of your current site, and you now know:
So far, so good.
Whoa!
If you HAVEN’T done this research, you might want to cool your jets and get someone (Crockford Carlisle, for instance) to take a look for you before you press ‘go’.
Otherwise, you are going to be building a new website because ‘the old one doesn’t look right’ or because ‘we aren’t getting anything from it’.
Hmmmm…
Yes, those reasons might be valid.
But there WILL be some insights to be gained from your current site that can guide the new build — and perhaps stop the same mistakes from being repeated.
Onward…
Armed with this data, you can see where you are missing out on opportunities. And you’ll be ready to invest in a new site to improve your lead flow.
And that, right there, is what this article is about.
We are going to look at how to get your thinking straight… how to plan so you can put the correct infrastructure in place to seamlessly flow people through the four stages of Inbound marketing.
To learn more about Inbound Marketing methodology, we strongly recommend you download a copy of our FREE e-Book from the link below.
If you look at those four stages, all of them are very much in the arena of your sales team, and will play a role in their success.
So it makes sense to wheel them in, get their insights, and structure your new site accordingly, right?
And yet, so very few businesses even think about talking to sales when planning a new site.
Here’s why:
As a digital marketing agency, we assess a LOT of websites.
Some are great.
Some are OK.
Some are a train-wreck.
But we can tell you that the great ones — the websites that deliver a steady flow of leads and enquiries for the business — ALWAYS have the fundamental driver of sales and marketing working together at their core.
They may not win design awards. They may not look particularly startling. Or beautiful.
But they do what they are supposed to do: draw people into the Inbound funnel and nurture them through to the point of decision for a profitable outcome.
So what do we learn from this?
When you think you need a new website, the first thought is that it is a marketing exercise. And the natural progression is to turn to someone who has:
But I need to sound a note of caution about that approach.
Yes, you need people with those skill-sets to be involved.
As Brisbane based experts in website design, we have people with those skill-sets right here in our bunker. They do important work. They are very good at what they do. Their expertise is essential to the success of our clients.
However, while design and coding play a crucial role, you need to remember:
And that, right there, is something you need to keep in mind through the entire website design project.
If you are not careful, you can get so caught up with the ‘way it looks’, that the primary purpose of the website takes a back seat — and opportunity will be lost.
So, how do you keep things in perspective?
FIRSTLY
Your sales team are face-to-face (Or on the phone. Or emailing) with potential buyers every day
They know them very well. They know how they think.
They know what they want, and they know their motivations, hesitations, reservations and dreams.
So naturally, they have some great insights to offer, if only someone from marketing would ask them.
Your sales team have a job to do — and limited time each day to do it.
They can’t afford to waste time talking to the wrong type of potential buyer. They need to talk to prospects who are pre-qualified, so that their time is effective and their close rates are higher.
Your web developers need to talk to your sales team to understand who/what is, in their eyes, a Sales Qualified Lead.
When the Crockford Carlisle team are building a website, we want to know all about the type of buyer a sales team wants to attract, and what the sales team wants to know about them. That way, they can invest their time into leads that are more likely to convert.
So yes, while your marketing person needs to drive the project, you need to be careful that the design and planning of your website is done with the end-game (More leads. More enquiries. More sales.) firmly in mind.
And that, dear reader, means Talking To Your Sales Team!
Are you convinced?
Great.
Then let’s look at what we, as website designers, look for when we talk to a sales team.
Broadly, there are three main areas that we want to explore that will shape the design, content and strategy of your new website:
This is where you want to talk to your sales team about
Understanding this enables the web designer to develop the correct ‘look and feel’ of the site, so that it positions you correctly in the market and meets the expectations of your buyer personas so as to win their confidence.
This is where your sales team can give great insights about:
Understanding this information shapes the strategy of your site.
It enables you to figure out what pages are needed. And what pages get priority in the site’s navigation and linking structure.
NOTE: While the web copywriter will need to take a detailed brief at the appropriate time, giving them this ‘big picture’ understanding of your buyers and their journey to the point of decision helps a great deal.
With an understanding of your overall objectives, a good web copywriter can identify where they can help you to gain a competitive advantage when they write your content.
This is where you want to ask your sales team about:
Although the implementation of lead scoring comes later as progressive profiling is set up on the site, it is helpful to get an understanding of this during the website design stage.
Once they have this information, your web designer can move to the wireframe stage.
This is where they lay out the allocation of space on each page, ensuring that those things that are most important/relevant are given sufficient space and exposure to play their role in the sales process.
And yes, it pays to run this by the sales team before progressing to the design stage.
It will help to ensure that nothing has been missed, and that the initial exploratory brief with them was understood and interpreted correctly.
From there, the designer can take it to the next stage and bring the artwork to life.
When doing so, they will need to be mindful of how the site will work on mobile devices, as well as on desktop, to ensure a good User Experience in all situations.
We have an excellent guide to mobile website design that will help you with this, and we strongly recommend you download a free copy from the link below.
If you are contemplating a new website build and want to talk to someone about what, where, how and why, please call us on (07) 3891 3800.
The call won’t be an agency ‘sales pitch’. Life’s too short.
It’s much more rewarding to dig in, talk about your objectives, look at your current site, at your competitors’ sites, and see what’s what. If we think we can help, we’ll say so — and give you a proposal so you can see if you feel comfortable with our approach.
And yes, although we are based in Brisbane, we have clients all over Australia, so it doesn’t matter where you are. If you have potential buyers you want to reach, we can help your sales team to reach them!