The 2 Most Fundamental Website Design Requirements
by Andrew Millar
When it’s time to design or redesign your website, there is a series of questions you need to ask yourself to keep you on the right track. The 2 most fundamental website design requirements that are often overlooked are
1.) Evaluating Your Competition and
2.) Determining your Unique Value Proposition.
Hubspot.com has a terrific free tool at www.marketing.grader.com to assist you to check out how others are doing. First enter your own information and find out how you are doing and then go ahead and enter your competitor’s website info and see how you stack up. Compare your website in the following critical online marketing areas: Blogging, Social Media, SEO, Lead Generation and Mobile.
Visit your competitor’s website and see what you like and what you don’t like about it. View it from the perspective of your customer. See if you can determine what their Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is.
What Is this UVP?
Let’s consider this Unique Value Proposition (UVP). It used to be known as your Unique Selling Proposition and this newer rendition of it seems to work across a wider range of ‘sellers.’ So what is it? The description ‘unique’ is the give-away. Your UVP is what distinguishes your operation from your competition. It is a simple and clear statement of that which sets you apart in the marketplace from your competition.
How do you arrive at your Unique Value Proposition? There are several approaches: first off you can conduct a SWOT with key members of your organization.
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
The SWOT gets you thinking about your business from an objective point of view.
You can also use this formula:
Perceived Benefits – Perceived Costs = Buyer Motivation
See Douglas Karr’s explanation at www.marketingtechblog.com/unique-value-proposition.
Then think about your Buying Persona (see “Web Marketing and SEO: Ya’ Gotta’ Know the Territory.”) In building your Buying Persona, have faith that your market will tell you what it wants. If you can interview some of your better customers or ask them to respond to a carefully constructed survey, they will tell you what your UVP is. They do business with you for a reason. Let them tell you why.
Once you have determined your Unique Value Proposition, let it inform everything about your business. Use it in your marketing & sales; use it in your customer service communication; use it in your in-house communication. Make it the hallmark of the reason you are in business.
Pay attention to these 2 fundamental website design requirements, 1.) Evaluating Your Competition and 2.) Determining your Unique Value Proposition and you will give yourself a strong marketing foundation for an excellent website.