Retail Observer

FEBRUARY 2018 RETAILOBSERVER.COM 49 the web. Also, consider the goal of your digital marketing. If you run a great display ad, an awesome digital video campaign, or a great text ad, what is the best-case consumer action? A click to the website, right? The website is the hub of many of your marketing efforts – both online and offline! Think about that for a moment. Do you end your television commercials with the website as a contact option? Is your website featured in your circular? If so, you begin to realize that the website is the gateway between a prospect and a store visit. They're very likely to visit the website before making a decision to visit the store. In short, your website is the most likely touchpoint for all prospects whose attention you gain through most of your marketing efforts. With that in mind, it's time to ask yourself another quick question: How much of your marketing investment, including time, resources, attention and spend, are allocated to your website? For many dealers, the website is a much lower priority than their marketing efforts, be those on television, print, or even digital. So, in essence, the very place we're driving these prospects to visit is one of the most ignored faces of our companies. Realizing that most of the noise around digital, and frankly around marketing in general, is nothing more than noise without a great website, reveals a major opportunity. Today, as you maintain, hone and execute your marketing plans, it's essential to factor your website into the equation. Doing otherwise vastly limits the impact any of your efforts can and will have. We know that the path to getting the attention of today's consumer is to deliver an experience that rises above the competition, and tells the best story. (Best story always wins, right?). Knowing that, you have a simple starting point to growing market share and getting a better ROI on your marketing efforts. The two marketing facts I mentioned make for a great starting point. Have you experienced your website from the consumer's prospective recently? Have you experienced your competition's site from that same viewpoint? Have you solicited the opinion of your team, your family and your friends? If not, this a powerful exercise. While there are a great number of quality website providers in the appliance industry, none of these sites are ready to go right out of the box. They, like all parts of your company, require that you integrate your unique brand into their function if they're to be of maximum impact. So, ask yourself if your site is easy to navigate, and be brutally honest. Is it easy to find a product? Is it easy to get information on delivery, warranty, perhaps even service after the sale? Is it easy to find contact information? Are the products on your site priced? Are the benefits of doing business with your company versus the competition clear? If the answer to any of these was a "No", then it's time to talk to your web provider. It's time to commission some enhancements and upgrades to your site. Now, are these changes and upgrades free? No. They require an investment of both time and money, and they're well worth it! Just as you must invest in improvements to your brick and mortar, the same is true for your digital presence. For many dealers, it's the most effective marketing spend you can make. Sure, there's a monthly maintenance charge for your website, but that simply keeps the out-of-the-box solution up and running. Invest in the bells and whistles that give your site a differentiated experience. Stand out in the crowd of ho-hum websites that have dominated our industry over recent years! Next, think a moment about your best story. What makes your company special? Have you been in business for decades, or are you a fresh new face in the market that fills a consumer need? Do you service what you sell? Is your business family-owned? Second, third or fourth generation? Do you offer differentiating services, experiences, and much more? Of course, you've got a great story! However, just saying or believing that "best story always wins" is dangerous, as it's an incomplete message. The full truth is that the best story always wins, but only stories that are told effectively get to compete. For a prospect in your market, the visit to your website is likely their first moment of engagement with your company. As such, this is the pivotal moment where your story really, really matters. Viewing your site with the eyes of that fresh prospect, is your story told, and told effectively? Or is there just a bland 'About Us' page filled with addresses, phone numbers and store hours? If the story you're telling through your website isn't ready to knock the socks off your potential customers, then it's time to act! Where does that journey begin? It begins internally. Identify your best stories. Identify what sets your company apart. Once you have the story written, go find pictures from the history of your company. Leverage your production partners about video assets that can be created to compliment the story. Then, talk to your web provider, and share the story, pictures and video with them. They'll help you develop a plan to add these elements to your site in a way that engages and appeals to your consumers. Once in place, you'll have a complete advantage over your competition. You'll also want to keep an eye on your website, and communicate with your web provider about opportunities for ongoing enhancements to your site. Again, invest. This is your most powerful marketing tool, and should be an ongoing project. Digital marketing should be built around your site, and should complement all your other efforts across all media. Consumers turn to the web to explore and learn about your company, and to decide if they're interested in doing business with you. A world-class website, supported by a healthy mix of digital and traditional marketing, can be your biggest win in 2018! Mike Whitaker, Nationwide Primemedia RO

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