There is a rush to embrace technology that is being thrown at companies at breakneck pace. Cloud computing techniques have enabled numerous service offerings which businesses have to contend with. Typical questions facing any small business are:
1. Should we blog?
2. How to use twitter?
3. How can we develop a community of users/customers?
4. My website looks stale compared to some others out there.
5. How do I deploy video? Should I?!
To answer these, consider a basic framework for classifying your assets and customer needs. This framework is specifically targeted for SMEs that have limited resources and want embrace technology in manageable chunks. It allows for reuse of core assets in a targeted fashion without disturbing the permanence of a stable home website.
The picture below illustrates the framework. This consists of primarily three categories: The Home Site, Microsite(s) and the Landing Page(s):
The Home Site:
The Home site is the basic information repository for a business. It presents Financial, Legal and Product Information in a structured format. It sets out the branding philosophy, ethos and strategy of the company. The site is mostly static, permanent and low maintenance.
Microsite(s):
Microsite(s) are deployed to stay current with the times and attract new customers. A microsite may share the company expertise in a specific area, or may be put together to capture all interactions during a seminar or event. The microsite needs to accomodate continuous change, be able to serve multiple media assets, and allow for someway to sense what customers are interested in. This is a primary place for business social networking and creating a buzz about something new. Ideally these sites will allow for some form of moderated customer interaction.
Landing Page(s):
Landing Pages are designed for handling specific transactions such as customer data capture, payment etc. It is important that there are no distractions on a landing page such as For Info Links or Pictures and Media. Validating data at the time of capture is the best way to keep your database clean. A well designed landing page will accomplish just this along with using modern (Web 2.0) techniques to incorporate intelligence in data capture.
The three sites described above are fundamentally different from each other. In future posts we will explore what engines can be used to drive specifically the Microsite and Landing pages that offers out of the box functionality to deliver effective sites. Developing a strategy for presenting all company data using the above framework is a necessary and sufficient condition for achieving most business goals. Organising your company assets to be served effectively through these three ‘channels’ can help significantly improve your communications and customer engagement.
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