STEP ONE - Determining Your Audience(s)

The first step in designing an effective marketing-oriented web site is to know who you are communicating with. This includes developing a strong understanding of:

• who your target market(s) is
• what their needs are
• what questions they may have about your business and your services/products
• what buying process they follow
• who the decision makers are
• what information they will be seeking
• how they will use this information
• how they use your web site (and the internet in general) to find this information

In addition to your visitors' needs for your products/services, there are certain givens that they will want from visiting your site:

• To feel comfortable with you
• To be able to trust you
• To perceive value from your products/services
• To see your professionalism
• To get answers to their questions
• To see how you've helped others with similar needs in the past

All of these needs will have to be addressed when the content for your site is developed.

Next, let's move on to STEP TWO - Developing Content for your Audience(s).