Displaying items by tag: Websites

Great work that makes a difference. That’s what we strive for here at enCOMPASS; in fact, that’s our mission statement. What we seek in every project is to create something truly excellent, and to deploy it in a way that empowers our clients.

In creating content for their company website, many small business owners feel torn. On the one hand, they wand to develop a site that’s pleasing to potential customers, and helps them brand themselves effectively. On the other hand, they want to make sure they have all the technical elements in place to find favor with Google’s search algorithms.

The mission of the enCOMPASS team is pretty straightforward: We strive for Great Work That Makes a Difference, and look to employ our art and our craft in ways that help our clients educate consumers and ultimately build their brands. We do what we do because we believe it is important to the many business owners we have the pleasure of working with, and attaining client satisfaction is really the only reward we seek. Nevertheless, the enCOMPASS team is flattered to have our work recognized by others, and honored to announce our receipt of 13 Communicator Awards for 2016.

To the layman, all websites may seem like they’re constructed in roughly the same way—different in content and design, to be sure, but erected with the same basic building blocks. Actually, not all websites are created equal. There are different ways to categorize and classify websites, and one of the most significant is the responsive website designation.

Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor—and frankly, anyone who tries to sell you on a uniform, blanket approach is probably someone you should be wary of. But if it’s not one-size-fits-all, it’s also not a la carte. You cannot simply pick and choose the marketing components you like best and expect them to have a meaningful impact. At the same time, you cannot use different tools inharmoniously and anticipate them to all have maximum effect. No, successful marketing is integrative. It looks different from one business to the next, but it always involves various moving pieces, made to work together toward the same goal.

You may be familiar with the old philosophical brainteaser: If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s around, does it make a sound? Along similar lines, it’s important for marketing professionals and business owners to ponder: If you build the best website and write the most amazing content in the world, but nobody knows it exists, does it actually do any good for your business?

Ideally, your business website is a guidebook for customers, leading them through the sales funnel and providing education and insight at each step of their journey. For this to happen, of course, you need more than just a website that looks good or ranks well on Google. You need a website that’s not only visible, but actually substantive—providing informative content to the consumer.

One of the cardinal rules of marketing is that business owners must meet consumers wherever their attention lies. In today’s marketplace, that means the Internet. Consumers’ attention is largely focused online, which is why business websites are built—and why businesses of all sizes must understand this fundamental shift in consumer attention simply in order to stay afloat. What’s more, business owners must understand that design, functionality, and performance are all necessary to ensure the website makes a strong first impression with consumers.

What’s in a name? Well, quite a bit, and not least where domain names are considered. In fact, the domain name you choose for your company website can have a very real impact on your branding and on your search engine optimization (SEO) potential.

To be clear, we should start by noting exactly what we mean when we talk about a domain name: Basically, it’s your company’s website address. Ours is encompassagency.com—which seems simple enough, right? For some businesses it is indeed a straightforward decision, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few factors to weigh and consider.

Your website is more than just an online placeholder or the virtual equivalent of a Yellow Pages entry. In a very real way, it’s your digital storefront; the public face of your brand; the encapsulation of your brand’s values, identity, and reputation.

For many first-time clients and potential customers, your website sets that all-important first impression—and if the website is doing its job properly, it’ll capture their information and help guide them through the sales funnel, all while establishing your brand as the brand of choice.