May 2003

Improve Your Corporate Web Site in Four Simple Steps

Connecting with customers in today's Web-enabled economy can be challenging. Here's how to make a company website work for you.

By Karla Spormann

Once upon a time, at least a decade ago, the size of your business was a pretty accurate indicator of its success—and bigger was always better. In today's Web-enabled economy, business leaders have learned that size no longer matters. Internet technology has become the great equalizer: It allows a company of any size to meet the needs of individual consumers and achieve global reach. Internet-based companies can move quickly and nimbly through an often-rocky business terrain. In addition, the Web has created a corporate environment driven by consumers' ability to gather and share information. So what's the ultimate challenge for today's business leaders? To succeed in the new "customer-centric" economy by turning sophisticated, savvy consumers into lifelong customers.

Make your website work for you, not against you

Marketing executives who recognize this trend often rely on a corporate website to communicate a company's message and achieve competitive advantage. Yet many such websites actually undermine their company's brand or image by presenting information that's inconsistent, scattered, or simply hard to find. If this is true of your site, you're putting your company's relationship with current and prospective customers at risk.

Maximize your online investment

The good news is that some of the most common problems are also the easiest to tackle. The goal, of course, is to transform your company website into a streamlined, strategic communication channel for your customers. Regardless of whether a website represents a fledgling business or time-honored corporation, the following guidelines will help you get the most out of your online investment.

• Know your brand. This advice may seem painfully obvious, but countless websites offer a confusing—if not downright contradictory—Web presentation of a company. Surviving in today's business world takes agility, but that doesn't mean redefining your business for every consumer. To avoid sounding like a group of blind men describing an elephant—with each focusing only on a small part of the larger whole—make sure your website offers a comprehensive and accurate picture of your organization and its products or service offerings.
• Get professional. A corporate website is a strategic customer-facing tool that distinguishes your company from myriad others. Make the most of this communication channel by adhering to the same professional standards as your other visible communication programs. You rely on professionals to develop your advertising and PR materials, so why would you delegate critical Web site copy to random groups throughout your organization? Customers notice when website copy is targeted, engaging, and accurate and online articles are intelligent and thought provoking. And when it's time to make a purchasing commitment, they remember which company provided the information they really needed.
• Be consistent. Whether it's providing details about products and services for consumers or benefits and programs for employees, your website must present information uniformly and consistently. Develop and use a comprehensive style guide to ensure that everything from punctuation and grammar to navigation and design is constant throughout the website.
• Speak clearly. Your employees may have memorized a handbook of company acronyms, but that doesn't mean your customers have—or should. Even if your site offers detailed information about product specs or capabilities, a prospective or first-time customer should be able to read and understand the facts without having to navigate through a labyrinth of jargon.

About the author:

Karla Spormann is the president and founding partner of Tendo Communications.