MarketingProfs' Members Register for B2B Forum 2010 for just $695! (good until 11/30) »

Ask your question ... sign up today! It's FREE!
Website Critique     
 
This question has been closed, and points have been awarded.
Critique PleasePremium Member
Posted By: coupon man on 1/28/2007 2:11 PM (CST) 1372 Points
I sell local direct mail coupon advertising in the Austin, Texas market for the Valpak envelope and Reach Home & Lifestyle Magazine.

I know my client/prospect website is nowhere near complete...but currently functions as a place to send folks to download rates, etc.

Please evaluate the current site and also suggest ideas for additional content (i.e. client testimonials, sample ads, etc...) that would help you decide to try Valpak or Reach if you were a local business.

http://www.smartcouponmarketing.com

Thanks...You guys always give the best advice and ideas.

David

Posted by: KSA Accepted Answer
1/28/2007 9:54 PM (CST)
David,

Here are a few ideas.

1. If you want to be found in the search engines, you need to improve the on-page optimization on your site. Make sure the page's title and meta tags focus on specific keywords, and match what's in the content.

Do some research to figure out what keywords would be most effective. People might search for Austin coupons, Austin direct mail advertising, Auston coupon advertising, or Auston ValPak, etc.

2. I'd suggest turning the information available for download into PDF files. Most people have Acrobat Reader on their computers. Some might be confused trying to open a JPG file. You can even put an icon on the site that links to the Acrobat Reader download page in case someone needs it.

3. I'd be interested in knowing any information you can provide concerning results. If you have statistics showing the percent of coupons that are typically used, that would be great.

4. I like your idea of testimonials. Especially if those testimonials include figures on results.

5. For the About David Flash information, I'd focus more on the benefits you can offer a business vs your work history. What if a business doesn't know what kind of an ad to produce - will you counsel them? refer them to graphic designers? do Reach and ValPak assist in the design of the artwork? Do you work with your customers to choose the right areas, decide between Reach and ValPak, etc. What are your competitive advantages vs others who provide Reach and ValPak services?

Hope this helps.

Kathleen
 
Posted by: telemoxie Accepted Answer
1/29/2007 4:41 AM (CST)
This may not be directly related to your question... but do you do any speaking at meetings and networking events? Could you put together and deliver some sort of presentation which discusses "lessons learned" from your thousands of programs so far... this would help build your list and credibility in the marketplace, will generate new sales, and can provide interesting content for your site.
 
Posted by: skoobie99 Accepted Answer
1/29/2007 7:46 AM (CST)
David,

The site looks sharp.
I like the colors and the graphics on the home page.
David Oglivy's quote is a bit of a tongue-twister, even when I was simply reading it ... you might want to consider replacing it with something that flows a bit more smoothly.

On the 'About David' page I would strongly encourage you to add a picture - it would help break the sterility I see and add a customer connection point. It would also balance the images used in the 'Reach' and 'ValPak' pages.

The wording on the Login page warning appears a bit harsh and standoffish. This page could also use a general graphic, maybe something as simple as a lock+key. Overall you have not explained why someone would need to bother registering and loging in.

The word 'Login' appears twice in the right-hand navigation menu.

I too would like to be able to download some figures to mull over - words are nice, but figures would sell me.

Hope this helps,
John
 
Posted by: JLW Accepted Answer
1/29/2007 2:50 PM (CST)
Hi.

A couple of things I would do, if it was my site...

1) The site right now draws your attention to the lightning bolts, being the darkest and in the middle of the page. For me, it was telling me to expect something weather related. I'd change the home page to show what you have to offer right from the start...

Like a photo of the Reach Magazine with something like "200,000 best single-family homes in the Greater Austin area will see your ad". And another photo of the ValPak with "Over 8 out of 10 consumers that get the Valpak envelope open it.". Something that makes me want to find out more about it, if I need to get my company advertised.

And maybe another section on the homepage that shows some testimonials with a "click here to read more".

You could also highlight the top business types that benefit from the ValPak. (on your rates sheet)

2) Your company name is kind of lost in white on yellow. I'd make your company name stand out a bit more.

3) It's great that you have broken down your navigation to allow visitors to get to key data with one click. I'd just create more of a space between the Reach options and the ValPak options. Just to distinguish the two different options.

4) I'd also add something on the home page and every other page that has "Call now to discuss your options." Or something to that effect. Keep urging your visitor to call. On the site right now, I wasn't sure where to go to purchase/buy your services/product.

5)I'm assuming that the login is for current clients? But what do they get? That might be something to let visitors/propects know while they are making a decision. Also, I'd make the login more separate from the regular navigation and say something like "Current Members Sign in here".

6) It was hard to view the rates pages. I'd break them down or only include parts of them. OR rather, type them out onto an actual webpage.

Just some of my suggestions.
 
Posted by: coupon man Author Response
1/29/2007 2:53 PM (CST)
Thanks for the GREAT suggestions so far! I really appreciate the help.
 
Posted by: Frank Hurtte Accepted Answer
1/29/2007 9:53 PM (CST)
I like the drill down pages, but feel the main page needs to be revamped to provide more information and to draw people further into your offerings. I am not sure your customers are going to be willing to drill down a level to start understanding what you do.

I would put some of the claims for what you do right there on the front page....
 
Posted by: coupon man Author Response
1/31/2007 7:39 PM (CST)
I updated the home page a little...killed the lightning/quote thingie...and put in some copy and images...better?

http://www.smartcouponmarketing.com/
 
Posted by: raihan1981 Accepted Answer
2/1/2007 6:55 AM (CST)
Hi David,
if it was mine,

1. i would have put a competitive comparison along with the rates

2. would include some visuals which gives the clients a feel of growth!
 
Posted by: bbogue* Accepted Answer
2/1/2007 11:10 AM (CST)
A very glaring error that no one else has seemed to mention: I click from the Home page to the specific Reach or Val-Pak pages and I get the same information again -- very annoying. I want to read soemthing new. If you don't have anything new to say the page shouldn't be there!

You definitely need something like success stories -- stats or result... Problem/Solution scenarios... and happy customers. The need to be as specific as possible to lend credibility to your product.

You should also try to educate them, as advetisers, about the value of one type of media over another -- or talk about how advertising with one of these mediums can support and integrate into a full campaign effort. Another advantage is the ability to target by zip code.... or hit new residents... give them more "meat." --bbogue
 
Posted by: proeditor Accepted Answer
2/1/2007 4:14 PM (CST)
Pages load quickly and the site has a nice clean look. I had the same problem as bbogue though -- click on Reach Advertising and get the same information as on the home page. I think your home page is a bit text heavy too. Instead of fat paragraphs next to the pictures of Reach and Val-Pak, use bullet points. Then give more detail on the pages that you click to.

I see you've added Val-Pak testimonials. I don't get why the video is called Camille's Restaurant when it is actually several different clients' testimonials. And while the video is clear, the initial screen is very fuzzy, and that would make me not want to watch it, because I would expect that the whole thing would just be a fuzzy mess.

The video interview with Bill Disbrow needs editing, I think. It's too long and boring. I'd cut it just before the hosts start asking him about his new building and take it up again to include the part where Bill talks about the benefits to small businesses (about 4:13 to 4:54).

I like your bio page. It's written in a nice personal style. And I agree that you should include your picture. Since you're featuring video, maybe you should include a short one where you say hello.
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
2/1/2007 8:44 PM (CST)
David

Nice clean website, but the home page is a bit to busy and duplicates info found elsewhere on the site.

I would ditch the home page synopsis of Valpak & Reach, and instead add something that talks of the benefits to the client of using your advertising. Once they're won over on the concept, go to the "how we achieve this" on another page.

I'd also ditch the "consultant" word. Everyone's a consultant, and it means you're selling them something. Tell them you're there to make their business more profitable. Give client testimonials to prove it. They can be de-personalised if necessary, they will still be credible.

Sure, add your picture. Personally, I wouldn't worry about video. The world is full of talking heads already. Leave people with a good reason to call you. Once they've heard what you might say in a video clip, what more could there be?

The quotes page is a bit confusing. The space between the quotes and the names of the person to whom they are attributed confuses my eye and made me initially attribute them to the person above. I would add space above each quote, and reduce space between the quote and the attributee's name. Also, put the name of the attributee flush right, so the eye is led to it as soon as the end of quote is read.

I find David Ogilvy's words OK, FWIW.

Hope that helped...

ChrisB
 
Posted by: coupon man Author Response
2/2/2007 12:06 AM (CST)
thanks for all of the suggestions...most of 'em are pretty darned good ideas...focusing on the homepage...i shortend copy and re-arranged...and changed the headline from "Welcome..." to a benefit headline.

good idea on right justifying the names in the testimonials...

i don't have any photos where i look "all professional"...s i put in a skydibing photo...lame?

keep the good suggestions rolling...i really appreciate the help and expertise.
 
Posted by: proeditor Member Response
2/2/2007 8:23 AM (CST)
Hi again David,

While I normally prefer casual photos, I think the photo you just posted doesn't portray a professional enough image. I don't know how old you are, but you look too young in that picture (16-20 years old) to have the kind of experience you say you have! It's really just the clothes and hat. Have someone take a digital photo of you wearing business casual -- a nice golf shirt and khaki's -- in that same chair without the jacket on the back of it. The same casual pose would be fine.

karen
 
Posted by: Jeremy Shearer* Accepted Answer
2/7/2007 6:16 PM (CST)
The biggest thing that I notice right away is that the home page does not sell your product. That is your only four seconds to get my attention and convince me to buy your product. As I heard recently, It doesn't have to be pretty! Big numbers catch my attention tell me that you can give me a 25% ROI in big letters right in the center of the front page. Catch my attention. Everything else looks great and loads fast. Just revamp the home page to make it more exciting.

Best of luck, I love your business concept and may be interested in getting more information about what you do exactly.

Jeremy
 
Posted by: harzkek Accepted Answer
2/11/2007 1:16 PM (CST)
David,

I am jumping in after many suggestions and changes have been made already. But here are my suggestions for the site in it's current state. My apologies if I tend to jump around a bit.

Navigation:

As a web designer myself, I have never been a big fan of the collapsable sidebar navigation. Rather than make some click to see what additional navigation options are available, remove the expand/collapse script and make them all expanded by default. The ability to collapse doesn't add anything to your site and it makes the visitor have to search for the links to additional information, which is generally not a good idea.

There are also too many places where additional clicks are required that should not be necessary. People tend to lose interest if they have to click more than twice to get to the infomration that they want, although 1 click is best. One example, if I click on the "Reach Home & Lifestyle Magazine" I am taken to some general info about the magazine--fine. On the general magazine info page is a link to "Reach Rates & Data" which takes me to another page that has no useful information except the link to "Reach Rates, Map & Dates." This is one too many clicks. If you have nothing new to add, remove the additional page and link directly to the "Reach Rates, Map & Dates" on the general info page.

You should consider removing the "News and Resources" page (which does not contain any content) and place the sublinks under different categories. "Valpak News" really belongs under "Valpak advertising." "Web Reources" really belongs as it's own category at the very bottom of you navigation (as it is least important to your services).

Alternatively, you could beef up the "News and Resources" section by providing links to specifically selected stories that you find helpful.

Home Page Copy:

I second Jeremy's comment about quantifying the ROI right on the homepage. A simple way to do this would be to take your current headline and edit it slightly to read, "Grow Your Business up to XX% with Smart Coupon Marketing in Reach Magazine and Valpak of Austin."

Contact Info:

You do not need to make reference to the fact that the phone number listed in the footer section of your site is a cell phone. It gives the impression that you have no office and no landline (unless you go to the contact page), which could be off-putting. Even if your primary business number is your cell phone, it does not need to be advertised. Also, do yourself a favor and use an e-mail alias that respresents your business rather that a gmail.com account. Even if you use g-mail for your primary e-mail. You want to make sure your potential customers feel that you are an established business, not a fly-by-night operation. Even if you are just getting started, these small tweaks can improve customer confidence.

Contact Page:

Consider posting a vcard on your contact page that allows people do dowload your contact info into Outlook or other address programs. In the notes section of the vcard, include a summary of your experience again.

Also (optional, but a nice touch) include a short contact form on the contact page for general questions. Stick to 3-4 fields (i.e. name, subject, and a text field). This creates an opportunity to begin a dialogue with a potential customer in a way that is easy for them and provides you with an e-mail address to do follow-ups. Post that responses will be provided in 1-2 business days (or whatever is realistic for you) and stick to it.

File Formats:

I also second the opinion that you should not use downloadable .jpg files for your reach and rates data. PDF is an acceptible standard. Most people have Adobe Reader these days and you can take the additional customer service step of providing a link to download Adobe Reader if needed.

Experience Page:

Rather than listing your work history (which is more appropriate if you are looking for full-time work with another company rather than clients), write a short summary paragraph outlining your experience. The specific dates are not as important. Stick to something like "David Flash has been making sales and marketing success stories for business in local markets for over X years..." and so forth. You get the basic idea. Use your own voice, but write this paragraph in third-person.

From the previous posts and from looking at your site, it looks like you have already made significant progress. Keep at it and keep up the good work.

Best regards,

Kurt
 
Posted by: carrie77 Moderator Response
2/16/2007 7:14 AM (CST)
Hi Everyone,

I am closing this question since it's more than 2 weeks old. We do this to reward the contributions of participants in a timely manner + to give increased visibility to the newer questions.

Thanks for participating!
Carrie (Production Editor)
 
Posted by: coupon man Author Response
3/29/2007 2:44 AM (CST)
Thanks for all of your WONDERFUL ideas...check out the site: http://www.smartcouponmarketing.com and you'll see that I used a great many of them. I love the marketingprofs forum and don't know what I'd do without everyone's perspective and ideas.
 


Get more answers ... ReTweet this!

Would you like to post a response?
Welcome to Know-How Exchange!
This is a collaborative community. We welcome everyone's participation.
All you need to do is login. Enter your account info in the box above (top right).
Not a member? Not a problem. Register here (it's FREE and EASY).




Know-How Exchange powered by MarketingProfs


Sponsored Links

Buy a Link Now

Just Released ... Download Today!
Just Released ... Download Today!
Look inside
Included with Premium Membership
User Name:
Password:
Remember Me
Forgot your password?

Top 25 KHE Experts
(Website Critique)
Jay Hamilton-Roth (16488)
KSA (10960)
skoobie99 (8541)
Frank Hurtte (7875)
Gary Bloomer (7172)
mgoodman (4127)
Mikee (3987)
jpoyer (3801)
darcy.moen (3699)
NuCoPro (3617)
mbarber (3583)
Tracey (3416)
mrgiordano2000 (3309)
Puru Gupta (3231)
jkaplan (3030)
Pepper Blue (2635)
ASVP/ChrisB (2608)
Carl Crawford (2413)
NatashaChernyavskaya (2294)
Deremiah *CPE (2244)
Inbox_Interactive (2158)
Harry Hallman (1941)
SRyan ;] (1932)
rich.kottmeyer (1928)
SteveByrneBranding (1874)
Recently Posted Marketing Jobs
Director of Marketing and Communications
Demand Generation Manager
Marketing/Advertising Faculty
Director of Marketing
Market Analyst
Sr. Field Marketing Manager - Business Intell.
Associate Vice President of Marketing and Corporat
Marketing Manager
[more jobs]

Join over 355,000 members ... SIGN UP!

My email address is and I'd like my password to be .

Already a member? Sign In!

My email address is , and my password is .


HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.