Today most small to mid size companies’ websites are designed and utilized primarily for informational presentation. I’ve even seen many larger publicly traded companies utilizing informational only web sites. What I am basically referring to here are web sites that only show company information in a static format; much like viewing a company brochure, only the content is on-line. Many companies feel that by displaying company information and contact/phone number details is enough. Clearly these companies are falling behind in fully exploiting their existing web site. Company web sites will, for the foreseeable future, continue to be the primary means of displaying product and service information to customers and prospects. However, as can be seen with the growing dominance of smart phones, social media web sites, such as Face book and Linked In; as well as micro blogging sites like Twitter, many companies can and must begin to reach out to their target market utilizing a more functional dynamic approach.
If a company really wants to drive sales higher they must consider where and how their targeted market compares brands, reads reviews as well as comparing and listening to a friend’s experiences. These conversations are currently occurring in the social media space and in order for companies to be more competitive; they must become a part of this conversation taking advantage of the exposure to their products and services that Social Media Advertising offers.
All of this activity requires companies to dramatically alter the way in which they have marketed and sold their products and services. Most marketers seem to have embraced the idea that their company content needs to live in many places outside of their web site in order to be most effective. Company CEO’s and other senior executives must be willing to commit time, energy and resources to think outside the confines of their web site in order to influence their target market earlier in the sales discovery process. Not doing so will make it much harder for these companies to participate and drive sales earlier in the sales process thus causing brand erosion and lost opportunities.
For the first time in 2011, sales of smart phones will surpass the combined sales of PC desktops and laptops. Customers are becoming more mobile as part of this transformation from the desktop computer to smaller transportable devices. Again, companies must think and then market outside their normal boundaries in order to remain competitive in the future. It appears thus far that many companies have not adequately prepared for the coming shift in mobile computing. For example, Dot Mobi reports that only 29.7 % of the web’s top 10,000 sites are currently optimized for mobile. Clearly many companies need to step up their efforts taking advantage of the new Dynamic and Mobile Internet Marketplace that is available at a moment’s notice from any consumers Smart phone 24/7.