A well-thought-out brand strategy makes it easier for you to differentiate your brand from the competition.
It also helps you to achieve higher brand recognition which ultimately translates into business growth and improved profits.
Whether a small business owner or a large corporation, your digital presence shapes how your potential customers see you.
And when you want to attract the attention of your target audience, there is nothing as effective as a website that showcases your brand.
Here is an outline of six types of websites you can use to create your brand strategy in the online space and our tips to ensure you implement them to their full effect.
Why Have a Website in the First Place?
Developing an online presence is crucial to marketing your business.
An effective website design attracts customers and contributes to building brand awareness.
Here’s why business owners need to do well in this aspect of digital marketing.
What Is a Brand Strategy?
A brand strategy, in simple terms, is a plan to build your brand’s identity, so it becomes the most recognizable name in the industry.
This strategy covers your branding guide, brand positioning, visual look and feel, target market, and more.
Your brand strategy should begin with analyzing the market to determine your target customers, what your business offers, how it delivers, and why someone would want to buy from you.
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Advantages of Including a Website in Your Brand Strategy
Incorporating a business website into your brand strategy offers a wide range of benefits for the business owner and the consumer. A correctly implemented website helps to build awareness, brand recognition, and customer loyalty.
Here are some noticeable advantages of having one in place.
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Credibility
A website is a reflection of the business. If it’s the only thing the business owner has to communicate with consumers, then it must be done right.
Before becoming more visible in the market, you must create an impression that you are reputable and trustworthy.
Building a legitimate public image of your business, products, and services is one of the best ways to convince potential clients to do business with you.
Brand
Potential consumers who want to learn more about your brand look up your website.
While there are other ways, such as social media marketing or paid advertising, having a website remains an effective platform for keeping in touch with them.
Your website is the primary source of information about your brand and its offers. If a customer sees a website that does not reflect your brand values in a positive light, it can ruin the company’s public image.
To prevent this, ensure it reflects how you want people to see you or feel about your products and services.
Lead Generation
Having a website is a form of advertising for your business. If well-designed, it can help you gain more leads in the form of potential customers.
Also, if your website is engaging and provides valuable content, there is a chance people will reach out.
Your contact page lets potential customers know they can reach you by email or phone.
The lead generation platform can be even better if your site offers a newsletter subscription box if they want to hear more about what you do.
Customer Service
Today’s consumers have high expectations regarding service quality, which means delivering those expectations is competitive.
Your customers expect that you can be reached and have ways to interact with your brand.
If your website offers customer service, you can answer their questions about your products or services. You can share important information about how to use the item, how to care for it, what it does, etc.
Before they buy from you, you can also share any additional information they may need.
Updates and Announcements
You can update your customers about important events or news if you have a website.
Include important announcements like new product launches, special sales, offers, etc.
Some companies send out newsletters and other updates once every week. Other times it is more frequent, as per the client’s specific need.
But regardless of whether it is weekly or occasional notations, you must inform your consumers via email about these updates on your website.
Low-Cost Marketing
The cost of creating a website is less than other forms of advertising.
Going online helps you reach a wider audience and increase your user engagement for less capital and can help your business generate more sales.
A professional website can discuss your aims, products and services, and customer support. You can maintain a low overhead cost while still reaching out to consumers in the best way possible.
How Does Your Brand Strategy Influence the Choice of the Type of Website
Your brand strategy must be well-defined before creating your website design. Choosing a suitable business model, pricing, and planning the format of your website all depend on what you want to do with it.
Often, the website will be a potential client’s first impression of your company.
Therefore, you should create and maintain a platform that meets their needs and achieves your organizational goals.
Once you know how your business will operate and meet your goals, selecting a website that works for you is more accessible.
Here are some factors to consider when deciding on the type of site.
Brand positioning
Brand Positioning
Where your brand fits within the industry will help drive your choices in website design, product placements, and other business decisions.
Your virtual platform should give potential customers a look into how you offer a unique market position, making it clear why you are the better choice.
Brand Personality
Your brand’s personality will guide the design and type of website your company needs for success.
If your website does not offer the same look and feel you want in your organization, there is a disconnect, making potential customers see your brand as untrustworthy.
For example, industry professionals may prefer to use clear photos, sharp designs, and complex language to attract high-end customers.
If you have a more relaxed and personable company, animations, bright colors, and other fun additions can set the tone for your audience.
Brand Attributes
Your brand attributes tie all aspects of your company together for your target audience.
These elements will provide an overall picture of your company to potential customers. Create a file, or a mood board of your brand attributes to make it easy to visualize your end goal.
Some valuable attributes include consistency across all digital platforms, an identical brand voice, and your credibility in the market.
6 Types of Websites To Consider Using for Your Brand Strategy
Combining your brand strategy with the type of website that fits your needs is essential to your success. Many options are available in the market today, each with pros and cons.
There are several popular types of sites to consider besides general business sites. Each serves its purpose depending on how you use and implement it.
#1 A Business Website
A business website refers to the official website of a company, brand, or individual. All the information about your business is on it and helps you build a solid online presence.
A business website is a great communication tool for communicating your brand strategy to the world. You can use it to promote and sell products and services, promote events, or even recruit new employees.
Corporate websites have numerous features such as a product section, about us page, use cases, customer testimonials, etc.
They are easy, convenient, and interactive, with a high degree of flexibility in design and development that makes them ideal for achieving your business goals.
Auto, consumer goods, food and beverages, finance, and insurance industries have a massive advantage in utilizing business websites.
These websites drive brand awareness, generate leads and sales, improve brand loyalty, and increase sales.
One popular example of a business website is the Roulston Urquhart Criminal Defence lawyers.
Their business website sets the tone for their brand as a touch intimidating, yet professional, which is what their clients need in a criminal defence lawyer.
#2 An eCommerce Store
Online stores are the future of business, and eCommerce stores provide customers with turnkey solutions for all their needs.
eCommerce websites are the backbone of most modern industries, whether new or established.
They also allow you to reach out to more customers and expand your revenue.
eCommerce sites provide custom-built interfaces that let you sell items directly to your customers. You can sell just about anything online and achieve exceptional levels of success.
The common types of features they offer include:
Product search
Advanced checkout
Order tracking & inventory control
Analytics & reporting tools
Membership programs
All these attributes drive sales and gain new customers helping in increasing conversion rates for your products and services. Even though they might require specialized software, eCommerce stores have much to offer your enterprise.
A terrific example of an eCommerce store is the Skullcandy website.
They use eye-catching colors and easy navigation to promote their products and entice visitors into buying items online.
They include their brand awareness on every page, reinforcing trust and professionalism.
#3 A Blog or Online Magazine
A blog is a regular website updated frequently. Like news websites, it provides readers with the latest news and information about your business.
Regular personal blogs and blog posts on these sites help improve brand perception and customer relationships.
Elements that make it better than other websites are the ability to pin your fresh content to the top of search engines, social media sites, and bookmarking sites.
That way, it gets noticed by potential customers.
It also allows you to receive feedback from your visitors, who can respond or share it with others.
Travel, entertainment, finance, and real estate professionals can hugely benefit from using magazine websites to promote their products and services.
They help you build credibility, establish authority and transform your business into a brand.
Time.com is an excellent representation of a professional magazine website.
They use a clear outline with navigation menus, clear photos, and snippets to entice the reader into navigating to various articles.
The identical text and style usage on the website matches their physical paper copies, reinforcing continuity within their brand.
#4 An Educational Media Website
Online educational websites offer free courses, paid tutorials, and information about learning new things related to your business.
It helps you reach out to thousands of potential customers and helps in generating leads for sales and brand awareness.
Education is a great way to help people learn how to use new technologies and gain skills for life.
These websites can be powerful marketing tool that enables you to build your audience and provide course content that gives your target market the practical skills to accomplish their goals.
Although the content isn’t specific to your business, you can use those resources to market yourself and your products or services.
Educational websites offer an interactive experience for users that makes learning fun and engaging.
Education media websites can help you build trust and authority in your niche.
Examples of websites of this type are government departments, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations.
These platforms use educational materials to inform the community and promote themselves.
#5 A Portfolio Website
A portfolio website has a variety of articles posted on it, features a gallery of high-quality images and digital design work, and showcases the works or online portfolios of independent artists and designers.
You can use portfolio sites to promote your brand, sell your products or services, or highlight specific skills you possess.
A portfolio site is ideal for any professional trying to establish their brand and get new clients.
You can use it to display your work in the past to make an impression on your target audience.
These websites have numerous benefits, such as displaying case studies and testimonials of previous clients that promote trust among potential customers
It provides an excellent showcase of work to potential customers and allows you to get recognized in the industry and possibly find new collaborators.
Gary Vaynerchuk does this perfectly with his interactive and easy-to-navigate portfolio website.
Here, he showcases his accomplishments, his upcoming events, and how to contact him.
#6 A Brochure Website
A brochure website largely resembles a printed brochure and is a great tool to promote your company.
It is a website that presents information about your business or product in an organized manner with images, graphics, and multimedia content.
A brochure website is an excellent choice if you need to promote specific services or products such as housing, logistics, furniture, interior design, and much more.
They are highly professional, visually appealing, and designed to catch viewers’ attention.
Warefence is an excellent representation of a brochure website that provides the information the customer needs in a familiar and easy-to-read format.
Brochure websites are an affordable way to promote your business on the web.
You can build trust by adding a call-to-action button, testimonial section, client logos, and company overview page to give potential customers a better idea of your selling.
Over To You
You can create different websites to promote your brand and gain new clients, whether you’re working on a brand strategy for yourself or a company.
It depends on what your company is selling, how you can use the platform to promote your business, and the needs of your target demographic.
A website is essentially a representation of an entity, and in turn, it should reflect the same image of high-quality service and attention to products.
As innovation evolves in website development, ensure that you stay on top of the latest trends to keep your website up to date.
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