Online Sales Promotion and the Use of Customized Designs

The Internet is a powerful medium to advertise and promote your business and sell products and services. Every day, more than 85% of Internet users scour the search engines to find businesses like yours, and unless your website features prominently in major players like Google, Yahoo and MSN, you will lose potential customers to competitors.  Fortunately however, obtaining a prominent listing in the search engines is possible, as is getting top rankings through white-collar SEO practices.

In your endeavor to achieve virtual excellence, there are a number of other factors that can help your online business weave new stories of success. Several marketing techniques that you employ can help close the distance between you and the consumers. A good website design is one of the main determinants of success of an online business just launched. Mentioned below are a few design strategies that can help your business tap targeted traffic and increase revenue generation

Website Design

A website is a collection of web pages populated with text, images, audio, and video content that best describe a business, company or product. The primary aim of a website is to carry information, news and views to a wide audience, preferably a targeted group of people exclusively interested in receiving information about a particular company, business or product.

Some of the obvious advantages of having a website is its ability to reach people across geographical boundaries. The global market is enormous and websites primarily help businesses reach its rich bank of consumers through the web. Furthermore, as a marketing technique, it lets your business stay in touch with its customers around the clock.

Your website is the virtual face of your business. Hence, not only should your website be visually appealing, but also be able to clearly promote your company or products to its customers. A well-designed website is the foundation stone for business expansion in the web market. Hence, aesthetics, intelligent concepts, and an user-friendly interface are prime imperatives to follow for quality website designing.

Sales Page Designing

A sales page, quite simply, is a web page that is written like an advertisement for your product. Sales pages usually urge positive customer action, i.e by including a ‘buy now’ or ‘visit now’ button, it asks customers to buy the company’s products, fill in surveys, etc.

Most product based websites include sales pages to exclusively market their products. Sales page designs should be a reflection of your website so far as the color scheme and layout is concerned. It should be captivating, well written and include images and audio or video in controlled frequency that will help advertise your product without overdoing the sales pitch, or delaying page load time.

A good sales page design follows the basics rules of website designing:

• Attractive, but not too flashy
• Simple without being sketchy
• A business relevant theme
• Includes a logo, product image; known aspects of your company/business/product
• Strategically placed content, images, audio, video, ‘buy now’ button, etc.

Email Marketing Design

Emails are online pamphlets that talk about your business, which you can send out to your prospective customers or dedicated buyers. Spam is universally hated and while conducting email marketing campaigns, your emails run the risk of negative association. While you may want to continue association with an existing customer base, or build new contacts with targeted prospects, it is important that you conduct email marketing right.

Newsletters can be sent out either in plain text or in html format. Plain text formats are usually safe; they take up low bandwidth and there is the assurance that all recipients will be able to read it. Html formats on the contrary, while they are more attractive, may or may not load as desired due to a recipient’s email or computer configurations.

However, if you are sending out html newsletters, one of the main imperatives to conducting a successful newsletter campaign is the email design. Your newsletter design should be along the lines of your website design: color schemes, layout and images included should be in close keeping with your website’s same. Additionally, always remember to include a ‘un-subscribe’ link or button at the bottom of your newsletters, should your once dedicated customers decide to quit correspondence.

Banner Design

Banners bearing your company logo, motto or product ads are excellent ways to advertise your business on other relevant sites. Needless to mention, your banner’s design should follow along the lines of your website design. Note however, since banners are not direct extensions of your website like a sales page or newsletter, you may exercise creative liberties and come up with fresh color schemes that will make your business stand out among its competitors on other sites. Alternatively, you can play with color shades to make your banner similar, yet exclusive of your site’s design.

Whatever you choose, remember to make your banners attractive and appealing. Avoid overcrowding with too many images or text, or their combination. Usually, banners with creative images and witty texts have a better visitor click-rate than those without.

Social Media

Social media advertising is one sales technique that rarely fails. If you have managed to find a slot for your business in social sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc, rest assured to see an increased traffic flow to your website. Social media helps you connect to your target audience effectively. Developing Facebook applications that will promote your business or placing ads on relevant pages, ensures a better visitor click-rate.

Banner advertising is a fantastic way to get your business noticed on social networks. If you are developing an application, remember to use interesting graphics and texts that have parity with your website.

To conclude, the Internet is a powerful and effective medium to promote your company and products. Where a quality website design helps is gain prominence among millions of similar business websites across the web. Of course, several search engine marketing factors come into play in your run for good rankings. However, where good website designing helps is retaining your visitors long enough to convert them into your customers.