November 2, 2010

Web Design for SMEs



key in lock, puzzle, key to succes
Probably the biggest mistake made by those who have had the opportunity to implement these new technologies in their business is the fact that they thought that designing websites is as simple as using them.

Experimenting with online marketing programs with web designs made by people with little knowledge and little experience in these technologies has cost a great price for many. Many entrepreneurs and executives who took the decision that their nephews were responsible for the design project of their website to promote products and services online have been paying the price of opting for the cheaper and easier way.

Being the cost factor the main reason they turned to the nearest person who had shown some knowledge of web design to designate that person as the web design project responsible, no wonder months later they see that it wasn't the best possible decisions. Maybe some other concepts such as opportunity costs, loss of corporate image, brand deterioration or decrease in market penetration were not analyzed at the time. But above all, the cost of not participating in the business opportunities Internet offers.

Probably the biggest mistake made by those who have had the opportunity to implement these new technologies in their business is the fact that they thought that designing websites is as simple as using them.

If ever we make for ourselves our office furniture, or personally deliver our mail business and the products we manufacture, and also make our own cards, what is then the ratio of home design the site to task a little nephew as important as the design of our Internet marketing program?

I believe that this strategy reflects a lack of culture in marketing and information technology. Unless you integrate a team specialized in online technologies and online marketing, the most common problems that SMEs face when designing their website at home are:

1. The site is not integrated into an overall business strategy of the company.

2. Key factors to success in online marketing programs are ignored.

3. There is no project management to control time and cost.

4. The content is not always the most conducive to doing business online.

5. Not using the most appropriate techniques according to the website's niche.

6. Graphic design is usually very overloaded and websites are heavy and slow to load.

7. The functionality of the site is complex.

8. Not considering a promotion strategy via search engine positioning.

9. Few visits, usually from users who are already customers.

10. The website does not generate new business opportunities.

If some of these problems are familiar, surely now you understand that web design is not as simple as it might seem at first. SMEs have had to live in the flesh a series of bad experiences to finally understand that implementing a good online marketing strategy, like many other businesses, requires real experts in the field to obtain the desired results.

At the entrance of Internet technologies, if you remember, there was "testing period" with e-mail until people realized the potential of this instrument and then sought to have personalized accounts, reliable and trouble-free operation servers. There were those who dared to deny their use and application. Even with a specific request to provide them with an email account to keep in touch with costumers people receive feedback from some of their clients: "I have no email account, nor do I plan to have one". We can not imagine at this time anyone wishing to make any type of business without having an email address.

Despite that experience, a couple of years later, SMEs began to experience a very similar process with the design of websites. Many of these websites have been designed by families and inexperienced employees who have attempted to discover through their projects the magic formula to justify in some way the fact that they had been designated as the pioneers in web design and migration of these businesses into a new economy. In this error many have fallen, large and small enterprises, particularly SMEs.

For the sake of the business community, this difficult stage of experimentation is almost coming to an end. SMEs want to be online but also want to obtain results.

About the Blog Author: Timpa has the mission of providing all entrepreneurs, whether experiencied or not in online business strategies, with the right information to help them manage their businesses online in the best, most time-effective and cost-effective, smarter way.