Web Design As (part of a) Marketing Strategy - Part 1
February 11th, 2006
Fresh out of college with a BFA in Visual Communications, I thought what every client needed was an attractive Web site. The only real problem with the Web, I thought, was that it was filled with poorly designed, outdated Web sites that had navigation problems.
Imagine my surprise when I began to turn out Web sites for clients that met my standards for quality, design, and navigation and yet did not achieve the level of sales or public acclaim that I expected.
At Design Delineations, I am processing the fact that clients rarely come to me for a Web design or redesign even though this is their stated objective. They come for a marketing solution. As a small company with many small businesse clients whose budgets do not merit a marketing department, it is incumbent on me to learn how to deliver these solutions, and learning I am!
Some of this post’s content has already revealed my reluctance to partition roles, concepts, and processes rigidly. Most Web designers would just say that marketing is the responsibility of the marketing department or client, and it is. Yet, there is something in me that demands I try to draw it out of the client.
On occasion, there has been an assumption that a Web site IS a marketing strategy. Perhaps it can be such, but not if it is simply assumed. The days of the field of dreams have come and gone … at least as it pertains to the WWW.
Here is a question for passers by, clients, and potential clients: How can I chart a course for Design Delineations that will help my customers use their Web sites as part of a marketing strategy?
By the way, I define Marketing Strategy as a plan to achieve a specific customer response.
Entry Filed under: Internet Marketing, What's Happening Here
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1 Comment
1. Web Design As (PART OF A)&hellip | February 11th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
[...] This post assumes you read part one of the series. [...]