Priming Your Website to Produce More Value for Your Business
In this Digital Era, your website is more than a simple calling card for your business – it’s the virtual representation of your company and a yardstick with which your stakeholders – current and future – measure your worth. If it’s subpar, it can and will cost you clients. If leveraged effectively, on the other hand, it could turn into a ceaseless engine for company growth.
In this mini-guide, Uplift Media Group gives you some pointers on squeezing extra value from your business website:
Integrate a CRM tool
CRMs, if you don’t have one already, are software tools that manage customer accounts, track interactions, and update their details from a central dashboard. By integrating your CRM with your site’s CMS (content management system), you can personalize every visitor’s experience. You can offer enhanced customer support and better target your marketing campaigns.
More importantly, reports Smashing Magazine, you can receive a deep insight into how customers see, interact with, and want to use your business. You can leverage this information to generate leads and drive more sales. Also, this information can be shared with internal teams to speed up your workflows, make informed decisions, and save time and money.
Integrate an ERP tool
You’re likely using an ERP tool already (it’s a necessity for organizations today). It allows you to track, control, and optimize critical business processes from a unified dashboard. Integrating your ERP with your website can open a new sales channel, not to mention make life easier for both your staff and customers.
The top benefits of integrating your ERP system with your site, says Sage Software, are 24/7 uptime, fast data access, removal of human errors, and extra efficiency. Your website will be able to take orders at any time, and your staff and customers will have access to relevant information at their fingertips.
Integrate your CRM and ERP with each other
Traditionally, CRMs and ERPs have been distinct solutions, according to HubSpot. However, integrating the two solutions (with your site) lets you sync their databases and gain a holistic view of your internal and external processes as well as customers. You can use this oversight to further enhance your customer experience, make better decisions, and minimize sources of friction between your teams.
Optimize for search engines
If you haven’t optimized your site for search engines to drive more traffic, it’s something to prioritize. SEO can be expensive, but a serious investment, backed by serious effort, will generate a solid return for your company. Studies show that as many as 14.6 percent of all incoming SEO-generated leads end up becoming new customers – it’s a number you can’t ignore.
Optimize for your users
Optimizing for search engines will get you visitors – but how are you going to keep them? Modern-day customers are a picky lot with many expectations. Your website needs to cater to their expectations and needs, preferably better than your competition. Here are some suggestions:
Make it lightning-quick: Slow websites are a major turn-off and leave a bad impression. Optimize your site to load quickly on both PCs and smartphones.
Provide a quality experience: Make sure your site looks good, is easy to navigate, and feels good to use. Fill it with relevant, high-quality content, including accessible videos and informative posts.
Test and test again: You may think your site is user-friendly or your current efforts are enough – but is that truly the case? Technology changes quickly, as do user expectations. Consistent testing is necessary to monitor your site’s effectiveness long-term.
Focus on conversions: Your site should be built with conversions in mind. Optimize every section and page to encourage visitors to do business with you. Without this emphasis, even an amazing website can’t help your business.
You can contact Uplift Media Group for personalized recommendations for your site.
Make provisions for convenient payments
Allowing for fast, seamless, and effortless payments on your site can go a long way toward enhancing user experience and encouraging customers to purchase your goods or services. Find a payment system that’s best suited to your clients or customers. Integrating Plaid’s Balance API into your app or payment system, for example, can make it better for both you and your customers. Your customers can check to see if they have enough funds to make payments, while you can avoid expensive credit card fees.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that simply making changes – like CRM and ERP integration – is no guarantee of success. Integrations can fail or not generate enough traction for your business. That’s why you must take stock of your business first. Research your strengths and weaknesses, look for opportunities and make only the changes that align with your business goals as well as generate adequate ROI.
Image via Unsplash
See more from this author at www.neighborhoodweek.org