The first stage is to set your objectives for your website. Is it to produce enquiries, sell product, inform, increase brand awareness? If possible quantify these objectives, you can always change these targets later.

Build your website into your whole marketing strategy and make sure your internet strategy is integrated with the whole plan. Build an insight into your customers online behaviour. You will want to create a successful customer website experience for them and insights and understanding of them is vital.

Engage the user-centred design (UCD) process. Its an established approach to design and has been embraced by the website industry. UCD involves customer analysis, developing the right style and tone, usability and information architecture.

Make sure your website design is usable. Usability is critical. If people leave your website because they can’t find what they want they may never return. Make sure your products and information is easy to find. Contact details should be on every page. Navigation tools should be very easy to use.

Your website also needs to be accessible to everyone including the visually impaired. The design needs to include at least the standard accessibility tools and features to help everyone view your website.

Produce a site plan showing as much detail as possible. This adds the structure to your website and helps you see how it all fits together and can identify gaps and problems.

Now the focus is on the actual visual design of your website. This will have a major influence on your visitors and it needs to convince them quickly that your site offers what they want and that your brand is credible and can deliver. You’ll need to consider consistent branding, site personality, use of colour, images, typography, and page layouts.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)has to be built into your plan as you will need to drive traffic to your site. Research your key words and produce a list of key words that your site needs to appear in searches. These need to be built into the site and you will also need to consider building inlinks to your site and a strategy for regularly developing key word rich content.

Finally use a package like Google Analytics to constantly review your websites performance and to see if it is achieving its goals.

1. You’re not advertising enough

Repetition is key to successful advertising. People need to see and hear your ads regularly for it to work and one off, infrequent ads are simply a waste of money. You need to think long term, stick with it and give it time. Consistency and repetition are essential.

2. You don’t know what your customer wants

Many companies do not fully understand the needs of their customers. For your advertising and marketing to be effective you need to find out what your customers actually want and align this with your offering and advertising message. Go out and find out about your customers and build up a profile. It takes time but always pays off.

3. You’re using the wrong media

Does your target audience see the media you are using? Look at the media you are advertising in, the media owners should be able to provide you with a breakdown of its audience. Does it match yours?

A lot of advertising budgets are wasted because they are spent on the wrong media.

4. You’re not spending enough

Too many companies see advertising as a cost. It’s not, it’s an investment. The world’s biggest brands have all been built on successful and consistent advertising to become the powerhouses they are today.

5. Your ads don’t have stopping power

People don’t actually want to look at advertising! Your ads need to catch their eye and make them look. Use appealing and professionally taken photography to stop them in their tracks.

6. You’re trying to say too much

So many ads are simply boring because they are trying to say too much. People are not interested in all your company details and a list of everything you sell. They want to know what your product can do for them. You need to keep it simple with one single, attractive idea. The ad can direct them to a website where they can find out everything else about you.

7. You’re not different enough

Is your advertising similar to your competitors? If so you need to differentiate yourself through your advertising. In many markets it is now very difficult to differentiate your brand by product, service and price. Advertising is the ideal way to make your product stand out from the competition by being different from everyone else.

8. Where is your headline?

People tend to skim-read newspapers and especially websites. Your ad needs a headline to catch their attention. It has to be strong, simple and appeal to them. You only need them to read your ad for 4-5 seconds for your message to be communicated.

9. You like your ads but your customers don’t

Too many clients put their own likes and dislikes first. Remember your advertising is not aimed at you but your customers; they are what it’s all about. Work hard to find out what your customers want to hear and what appeals to them.

10. It’s your product

Just maybe it’s not your advertising but actually your product that isn’t working. Ask questions about how your product compares to your competitors. What is your customer satisfaction rate? What is your enquiry/conversion rate like? Make sure your product is what people want to buy and always deliver what you advertise!

Written by Mark Ellaway, Director, Datadrum.

So how can it raise the profile of your business and produce leads? Many of you may be wondering this and LinkedIn has many different tools and features that if used correctly can produce results. Everyone likes a list so here it is – the list of “How to market your company using LinkedIn.”

1. Improve your Google Page Rank
In your LinkedIn profile you can add your website URL, blog and keywords. As LinkedIn has a high PageRank in Google these inbound links will help your search engine optimisation activities and help you get higher rankings. For example we have three websites promoting our services which we have added plus key words like web design, advertising, branding email marketing etc. Ask other people in your organisation to do this as well to create more inbound links.

2. Raise awareness of your company and brands.
LinkedIn allows you to add your company details. People will find your profile when searching for someone to do business with. They can also see who you are connected to. If it’s someone they already know then this increases your chances of them contacting you.

3. Build a network
People like to do business with people they know and trust. LinkedIn makes it so easy to build a network. Use it to add people you already know. Then ask them to connect you to people they know that you would like to meet. However don’t start spamming people and approaching people you don’t know.

4. Market Research
You can use LinkedIn’s search facilities to find out more about people and companies. For example say you wanted to find out who the marketing director for Company X is, do a search on that company. Go through the results to find out the info LinkedIn has on that company and current and ex employees.

5. Promote events and conferences
In LinkedIn you can add business events and announce them to your network. For example if your company is appearing at an exhibition then add it to your profile and announce it on LinkedIn.

6. Visit LinkedIn Answers
This tool allows people to post a question. “Does anyone know of a good IP lawyer?”, “Can anyone recommend a web design agency?”.  There are many opportunities here to network, find new customers and suppliers and raise the profile of your business. Your answers are seen on LinkedIn so it’s also a good place to promote your business.

7. Get recommended
Ask people in your network to recommend you on LinkedIn. The more recommendations you have the better your business looks.

8. Advertising on LinkedIn
If you are planning online advertising then definitely consider LinkedIn. It has millions of profiles and allows you to specifically target by job, gender, industry, age and location. You can either pay per click or per 1000 views.

9. Join Groups
There are many professional groups in LinkedIn that you can join. These can be anything from local networking groups to professional organisations. Once you are a member you can connect and network with other people in that group.

Currently 8.5 million professional people have a profile on LinkedIn and this is increasing everyday. This may seem like a lot of work to start of with but once you have produced your profile and started building a network you will start to see the benefits.

Datadrum have successfully developed the following approach to branding. We’ve broken it down into 10 simple stages which are outlined below.

Understanding branding

1. Agree the vision

It is very important that everyone at the top of the organisation has a clear idea on what branding is, what it can achieve and what the benefits of branding will be to them and their organisation. Everyone needs to share the same vision on the values and positioning of the new brand. The first stage is to present the benefits of branding and the process to be followed to the main decision makers, followed by a discussion on the key values and benefits of what the brand needs to be.

2. Create a working party

The branding process has to be effectively managed and the working party looks after the process, costs, schedule and output. It needs to be headed by the key decision maker to ensure the process is given the right status.

3. Brief and plan

At this stage the brief and plan is detailed and approved so that everyone shares the same understanding of what is expected. The plan includes timing, key milestones and activities required.

Developing the Brand

4. Investigation and analysis

This includes any appropriate desk research e.g. audit of existing branding and competition. At this stage you may want to carry out interviews with relevant internal staff and members of the target audience to gain insights into issues and brand values. Findings can then presented to the working party with brand strategy options based on the results.

5. The core idea

During Stage 4, brand strengths will have been identified that make the new brand stand out. This is the opportunity to develop a core idea which reveals the new brands personality and vision – its sense or purpose. Sometimes this can take several meetings to reach an agreement but is a very important stage, so persevere.

6. Develop new Brand name

Once the core idea is agreed by the working party the name and visual style have to be produced. Names are emotive and creating a new brand name is difficult and complex as it can be difficult to see the name as an established brand and because it is a subjective issue. A brainstorming session with the working party can be a useful exercise in establishing a basis for names and ideas to explore. Be warned, names are also a legal minefield and name registration can be complex, be sure to check any names you come up with for copyright conflicts and consider consulting a relevant legal professional.

7. Develop the visual style

You should have narrowed down a choice of names and now you’ll need to prepare some design approaches presented to the working party to be discussed. The ideas can then be refined into final versions ready for a second presentation involving showing the design ideas applied to different media e.g. signs, online, print etc. Once a design is finalised and agreed by the working party, the approved designs are developed into a brand tool and guidelines so that they can be applied across all media required.

Launching the Brand

8. Implementation

Once the new brand is created and launched, the tools necessary to ensure that the brand is clearly understood and consistently implemented are required. Brand guidelines are usually the best tool for this and are normally used internally and by outside contractors e.g. partners, agencies and printers. Guidelines normally include:

• logo sizing and spacing
• colours
• typefaces
• tone of voice
• imagery
• stationery
• literature
• website
• signage
• key documents

9. Internal launch

People inside the organisation need to understand the new brand before it is launched externally. This normally takes the form of a seminar, newsletter or an event depending on the size of the organisation.

10. External launch

The outside world is not always as interested in the launch of a new brand as many clients would expect. The launch of the new brand needs to create interest and positive awareness, the external brand launch normally involves both traditional and digital media.

And that concludes the 10 stages. If you have any questions about branding, or are considering a rebrand, please feel free to contact us.

What is a brand?

“A set of customer associations which can be positive or negative”

“A unique association from which to differentiate between products or services”

“The values and beliefs which underpin the entire company’s work”

“More than, but including, the logo, name, website, and advertising”

“Any opinion that a customer forms during their experience of that company”

1. Know your customers

• How well do you know your customers?
• Why do they buy from you?
• What do they want from you?

Research your customers and find out the answers to key questions like these. Get to know the dynamics of your customers inside out, only then can your marketing be successfully tuned in to their needs. Datadrum recently completed a survey for a client in the building industry. It identified a gap in the market and several weaknesses they were unaware of. They have now built these issues into their marketing planning.

2. Stand out from the crowd

Identify what values your brand has or should have. To stand out from the competition your brand needs to have a clear message as to what it stands for. For example is your brand a premium priced one built on quality and expertise or do you stand for value and service. When building a new brand we look at every aspect of the clients brand value and ask staff from all areas of the company what values they think their brand has or should have!

3. Spread the message

Make sure your brand message is consistently communicated through all the companys “touchpoints”. A “touchpoint” is anything in your company that your customer comes in contact with. At Datadrum we help our clients cover all these areas and this can even include how the telephone is answered and company interiors as well as the obvious touchpoints like websites, print and sales staff.

4. Have a clear vision

Know where you want your brand to be in 5 years time. It takes many years to build a successful brand so have a clear objective in mind. When working with clients we like to know what the long term objective of the company is. Only then can we recommend marketing plans and campaigns that will successfully achieve this.

5. Champion your brand

You will only be successful if everyone in the business understands the brand and what it stands for. Clear leadership is required and the business leaders need to be fully committed to the companies branding values and vision. If you don’t believe in it then it will eventually fail because all strong brands are built on strong commitment.

6. Find your customers

You will need to find out the best way to reach your potential customers. When producing marketing campaigns we carefully research the best route to the market to achieve the objective. If it is a B2B audience it is easier to identify potential customers and target them through direct mail, telemarketing, email, events etc. The profile of the audience needs to be analysed before you know what will be effective. We have worked on several campaigns aimed at young people who did not respond to more traditional forms of marketing such as advertising but to competitions, micro-websites, direct mail and events.

7. Spread the word

Build awareness so that your brand message is reaching potential customers through the relevant media channels. Brand recall is a powerful tool especially in consumer marketing and increasingly so in B2B. Datadrum firmly believe that brand building such as advertising and PR is investment, not spend. It does not always achieve instant increases in sales but a strong brand is built on many marketing activities. It needs to be part of the marketing communications plan alongside other short term objective campaigns.

8. Use your imagination

As markets become immune to conventional marketing, brands that develop a more personal connection with their customers through innovation will be more successful. The world’s biggest brands such as Apple and Nike have product and marketing innovation as a key strategy to building their brand experience. Never be afraid to discuss and try new ideas – some of them will work! At Datadrum we are constantly looking at new ways to market our clients brands in highly competitive markets.

9. Be genuine

Customers are suspicious of “hype” and “spin” and are looking for companies to make a stand on principles such as the environment and customer care. The high street bank Co-op has followed a strategy of ethical banking which has clearly made them stand out from the other banks and appeal to a niche market. However if you are marketing the principles of the business as a brand value it has to be authentic. If not customers will see through it and you will severely damage your reputation.

10. Keep It Simple

Simplicity of your brand is vital. Your customers need to find it simple to understand and use. You need your brand to be simple to communicate and successful brands are built on simplicity e.g. Easyjet. Brands that make our lives simpler will be successful and sought after in crowded markets where the brand can become the differentiator.

If you want to build a successful new brand or develop an existing one please contact our team for a no-obligations discussion. Telephone Mark Ellaway on 01603 484484 or email bang@datadrum.co.uk.

This is a brief guide to the two main factors that affect your search engine ranking; your website’s content and links from other websites to your website.

Your website’s content

Also known as on-site content, this refers to keywords on your website that can be read by search engines. Choosing the right keywords is very important, it involves selecting the words and phrases that are relevant to each page and using them throughout the page. It also involves checking what words people actually search for as there’s no point ranking number one for a term nobody uses.

For best effect, keywords must be used in these places:

• Once in the HTML title. These are the words that appear in the top bar of your web browser
• Once in the HTML description. This is not visible on screen but is often used in search engine results
• Around once a paragraph in the page content and in headings and subheadings.

If you are linking to a page within your website you should also use keywords in the link. For example, if you make a link to a page about web design:

For more about web design, click here.
Find out more about web design.

Links from other websites

Good content only goes so far, to get into good rankings takes links from other websites. As a rule, the better the website, the more a link from it is worth. Also, where possible, the link should go to the most relevant page which is not necessarily your home page – this is called “deep linking”.

However, getting other websites to link to yours can be difficult – put yourself in their shoes, why would they want to link to your website? Therefore you have to give people a reason to link to you, preferably without you having to link back to them. The best approach to this varies a lot depending on your particular website and industry.

How can we help?

Datadrum can help with all aspects your search engine optimisation from the keyword selection process to ongoing link-building. Alternatively we are happy to point you in the right direction.

Our content management system is designed to make your website as search engine friendly as possible, including managing your own keywords in all the most important places.

Further information

This guide is the tip of the iceberg, if you would like to know more please feel free to contact us.

Write a great subject line

This is the first thing that is seen in the inbox, make it appealing and interesting to the audience. Avoid using all capital letters or vague subjects such as “You won’t believe this!”, as your email may be disregarded as spam.

Brand the email

Make sure that people clearly know who the email is from. If you are using an email service such as Datadrum’s Easydrum, you will be able to have a branded email template.

The art of content

• Make your headlines grab attention with benefits and words that will appeal to and interest the reader. For example “Find out how our new product can save you money”.
• Make sure that your articles are divided into sections so that people can scan through and see what is of interest to them.
• Do not always put all the copy into the email. Instead, the email should provide a taster of what the information or offer is, then link to the full article on your website. You can then track the clicks from each article to see what people are most interested in.
• Always add clear calls to action such as “Find out more”, “Apply today” etc., make sure they link to the right page on your website.
• Strong images can add impact to your email. One image per article is sufficient and ensure they are appealing, focused and relate to the article.

Privacy and Data Protection

Always include an unsubscribe option – it’s the law! Email services such as Datadrum’s Easydrum will manage unsubscriptions for you.

Do not disclose other recipients details by adding all of the email addresses into a “To” or”CC” list – it is illegal. We recommend either sending the email to yourself with other recipients in a “BCC” list, or using a professional email service provider such as Datadrum’s Easydrum service.

The Data Protection Act regulates how you build and manage your database. The law states that consent is needed from the recipient before sending unsolicited email marketing to individual subscribers.

A common misconception is that this consent can only be gained by an “opt-in” however this consent can be gained via a “soft opt-in” when all of the following cases apply:

• You have obtained a person’s details in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale of a product or service.
• The messages are only marketing similar products or services.
• The person is given a simple opportunity to refuse marketing when their details are collected and if they don’t opt out at this point are given a simple way to do so in future messages.

It’s important to note that these rules don’t apply when sending emails to organisations, though you must still identify yourself and provide an address.

UK Companies Act Compliance

You must include your full registered company name, registered office address and country of registration at the bottom of every email you send.

New rules on displaying company information on all business websites and communications came into effect on January 1st 2007 and not complying risks a fine. You can find full details here.

Download this guide as a PDF