The Importance of a Good Branded Website

Glossary of Terms:

Branding:  a strategy used to create a distinctive name, design, logo, image or another form of content, and place it onto a product or service to differentiate it from other products and services belonging to competitors.
User Interface (UI): is the process of ensuring that all tools, software, design, will appear and function in a way that will help maximize the experience of a user.
User Experience (UX): improving the customer’s experience in searching for services and products within a website by making sure it is usable, easy to navigate, and enjoyable.

What is branding and why should I care?

Branding is an essential component of any marketing strategy if your are looking to make your product or service stand out amongst a crowded and competitive market. The key word to look for when you are trying to define the term branding is the term “different.” There are so many products out there from various industries. From automobiles, restaurants, electronics, and just about every single thing that we need to help us live comfortably is out at there at our disposal. So the question that begs to be answered is the following:

• What is so special about your product?
• What makes your product or service, the premier tool that will improve or satisfy the needs of your clients?
• What makes it different?

Let us provide you with a more traditional definition of the term branding. From a marketing perspective, branding is defined as a strategy used to create a distinctive name, design, logo, image or another form of content, and place it onto a product or service to differentiate it from other products and services belonging to competitors. The purpose of branding is to attract consumers, and ultimately, obtain loyalty and trust from such audiences for a significant period.

Branding from a website perspective is essential to succeed in the digital age. It may sound obvious, but there are currently many business owners that do not understand this message; therefore they don’t have a website that is up to date. Some may not even have a website at all. If you would like for your business to succeed, it is imperative that you consider using a site that can differentiate your establishment from the rest of your competitors. That is why should consider upgrading your website from a branding perspective.

Website as a representation of your business and you

Your website is the clothes your business wears. You wouldn’t go to a black-tie event wearing cargo shorts, or would you?

You work very hard to provide your clients with the best services. You are perhaps an attorney that is protecting the rights of your client. You may be a massage therapist that works very hard to provide relaxation and healing to a patient that is experiencing pain. How about this?: You are hair stylist that works diligently to beautify your clients and make them feel very good about themselves. How were you able to obtain your clients? If you said by word of mouth, then it is certainly not a surprising reason. Many business owners obtain clientele in that way because their services were terrific, and the customer experience was superior, and the word gets out. Imagine if you had a website that was not up to date, but your business had all of the qualities of a successful business. This means that because of your outdated site, people would simply leave your website, therefore missing out on some great business. That is revenue that you’re missing out on.

First impressions matter.

Individuals should know that you provide excellent services, and if your website does not reflect that, then they may have the wrong perception of you. Imagine going into an event that requires its attendees to put on business wear, like a networking event. You perhaps for some peculiar reason, you show up looking very casual wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt. All eyes are on you now, but not for the best of reasons. They may even look at you as irresponsible, immature, and someone that does not follow the rules. You could have been the right person for the job, but that is completely dismissed because of your appearance. It must feel terrible to be judged, knowing that you have what it takes to be successful.

The same perception can be applied when a prospective customer searches through your out-of-date website. They may place judgment on it, and rightfully so. Therefore, the probability of getting a client reduces significantly. You will miss out on obtaining new business, and that client may miss out on great products and services. It’s a no-win situation.  That is why it is imperative for your website to be presentable at all times.

Understanding your business’ website needs

The branding needs of your business’ website must be met. This means that the visual component of your site must make sense. It must be presentable to the audiences you are trying to obtain. From a business perspective, if you are looking to have a successful website you must design it in a way that leads to more audiences searching and landing on your website. This means SEO strategies must be also put into place. Your design must be SEO friendly. There are certain tactics that you can perform that help you generate leads to your website. This means more business coming in. It seems like a simple concept to understand, but we cannot stress enough how many business owners tend to miss the mark.

“Design is just about being pretty.” = #FALSE

Some business owners believe that creating a website and placing importance on design elements is a waste of time, but this could not be further from the truth. If you are a business owner that finally discovered the importance of creating a website that will help you stand out amongst your respective competitors, then we are more than glad to provide you with some insight! If you would like to increase your leads, you can optimize your website in certain ways. You can make your website easier to navigate. It can be hard for individuals to find the information that they are seeking if your website does not follow a certain structure. Written content makes a great difference as well. You can increase leads if you have words that will influence your audiences to make an action or inspire curiosity. Having a call-to-action will certainly catch the attention of prospective customers, so make sure you write creative and innovative text to help you obtain the leads you are searching user-friendly.

Lastly, there are colors that will help inspire customers to make an action. There have been countless of studies made, where they state that specific colors on a website or a product will grab the attention of consumers in the most positive of ways. If you would like more information regarding which colors to use on your products or foryour website, please check out b.iD’s blog on the psychology of color.

Understanding your clients’ needs

There was a study released titled Trust and Mistrust of Online Health Sites that told us so much about the nature of websites. Participants were told to search health-related information and were also directed to discuss what they thought about the websites they visited. Researchers were shocked to find out that a website’s design had such a negative impact on a visitor that they became disillusioned. The study states that the reason why they did not trust a website was because of how terribly it was designed. It was not the content that created that negative impact. Such impact only accounted for 6% percent of visitors, as opposed to 94% of visitors that stated that design elements created the negative impressions. This study in a way confirms that design is such an essential component in making sure businesses obtain the most leads.

From a client’s perspective, it is important to create a website that is inviting, and that will help build the loyalty business leaders are seeking. If you are asking yourself how to make your website more palatable for your clients, there are specific tactics that you can perform. Make sure that your site does not activate any pop-up advertisements. They can bring about a significant amount of annoyance to future customers. Also, don’t use too much text. Provide the best material and be concise.

Mobile-first, or bust

Remember, most customers are always on the go, and they need something that is easy to read and wont take too much time to research. Make sure your website design is inviting. What do we mean by this? Even if your business is a serious, corporate establishment, there are ways to make your website more alluring to consumers. Basically, your website should not be dull. Even corporate sites need to be visually appealing and engaging. Lastly, make sure your website is not slow. Lengthy introductions and loading time can drive away potential customers. Investigate why your site is running slow or simply remove introductions that can potentially be counterproductive in generating leads to your website.

Building trust through web design (UI/UX)

One of the most effective ways to build trust is to ensure that your website follows all of the measures necessary to create the perfect equation for attracting and retaining customers. As previously mentioned, you may have the best customer service practices, the most effective products and services, but none of that matters if your potential customers have certain doubts about your website. To eliminate these possibilities, there must be serious discussions about how to successfully transform your site that will create a significant amount of engagement.

UX

The answer can be found by utilizing elements of user experience design (UX) and user interface design (UI) to the best of your abilities. UX design is defined as improving the customer’s experience in searching for services and products within a website by making sure it is usable, easy to navigate, and enjoyable. This ensures that a customer is more likely to purchase a product or service. As a business owner, you must take into consideration what will make your customers enjoy navigating your website. You can research and also follow up with certain metrics to ensure what is attracting customers to your website, and what may repel them.

UI

Another form of design is base on user interface. UI design is the process of ensuring that all tools, software, design, will appear and function in a way that will help maximize the experience of a user. In this case, the user is your potential customer. Using and designing certain icons that customers may click on is an example of improving your website from a UI design perspective. Other ways include, using certain typography, using specific shapes and colors, as well as creating more user friendly layouts to increase the customer’s experience. Improving certain tools and software for the purpose of helping customers find information on a website are all part of UI design. If you utilize UI and UX design strategically, you can dramatically increase your probability of not only attracting customers but creating a long-lasting bond that will benefit your business for years to come.

In Summary: Represent the company, serve the target.

Creating the perfect website for your needs is certainly a great challenge. This task should not be taken lightly. Many business owners believe that placing importance on creating a website is not something that should be a priority. As we have mentioned, there is no truth behind this way of thinking. If you would like to make sure you get as much clientele as possible, you have to transform your website in a way that will benefit the needs of your business. Make sure that your website is easy to navigate, engaging, and informative. Always look to see what is working out and what needs improvement to maintain or increase customer satisfaction. We recommend business owners to find what is unique about their business, what differentiates it from other competitors and highlight that unique aspect to your advantage. Although it may take time, if you work diligently and strategically to elevate user experience on your website, you will undoubtedly generate the leads necessary to help you obtain a lasting customer base for your business.