A lot of attention is paid in online marketing circles – including this blog – to the best ways to bring traffic to your company's site. That's not a bad thing; whether you are relying on search engine optimization, pay per click ads, social networking strategies, or something altogether different, the fact remains that you can't have sales without visitors.
But never forget that visitors aren't enough. In fact, they are only half of the equation.
The other half, the more important half, is what you do for the people who take the time to click through. What is it they get – in terms of information, service, or value for their money – that makes it worth their time and attention?
Even though it isn't discussed often enough in marketing circles, the question is incredibly important for two reasons. The first is that your unique competitive advantage is what will ultimately turn traffic into sales. Regardless of what your business offers, there are probably dozens of other places to find online. Your customers need to have a compelling reason to choose you instead.
The second reason it's so important is that offering value drives its own traffic. In other words, if people love your product or service enough, they won't just keep coming back, but also refer to their friends, colleagues, and family members through strong recommendations. And as any of us who have been in marketing for any amount of time knows, those are the best perspective buyers you can find.
Decisions about what kind of business you're in, and what its unique selling proposition is, were probably made long before you jumped in to online marketing. Don't take it for granted, however, that you shouldn't take a bit of time to think about it now and then. Offering value to your customers, and communicating that on your website, isn't just a great way to gain traffic, but also to make the most of it.
