BARQ & A

Posted By: HEM

Can you tell me who actually should own the Corporate website?

There is discussion where I work that the Customers Service Department should own the website, which is contrary to anything I have ever experienced or heard of. Many are working to educate our boss, who has no experience or background in marketing/communications that it should reside with us and not just the “look and feel” of the site.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

BARQ’s response:

In today’s commerce, nearly everything drives the customer to the Corporate website — ads, commercials, literature, banners, direct mail, billboards, specialties, search engines — you name it. The only department that should fully understand what to do with all that traffic — how to direct it and respond to it, and how to handle leads — is marketing.

Sales people want to close — they will respond first to hot leads, and are reluctant to nurture long-term prospects.

Customer Service people will respond first to problems. They might direct the site traffic properly, but will they analyze it or adjust the layouts and various segment messages being sent to maximize return?

IT Dept. will concentrate on making sure the site works properly, but will be reluctant to change what works just for the purpose of testing messages and maximizing opportunities. And very few are design oriented or think in terms of changing consumer behavior and attitudes.

Ultimately, Marketing is responsible for short- and long-term commercial results… short- and long-term revenue and cash flow. They study design and psychology. Where else should a CEO place website ownership?

BARQ
SELMARQ Brands’ Best Friend

Posted By: KSO

There is differing opinion in this office as to whether you change your website with each ad campaign. Some say obviously put elements of the campaign or have a link to the ads…some say it must be done to ensure consistency in ALL advertising, this being the biggest adv vehicle…others say no way - it is an interactive but more stable design that reflects the overall brand, not just an ad campaign…help me!

BARQ’s response:

Hopefully, your visitors have gone to your site because you have sent them there from the ad. Ideally, you have sent them to a partiicular (landing) page on the site with more details on the solution that that particular ad promises. This accomplishes 2 things: You gratify the readers by providing more of what they want, and you have a means of tracking how effective each ad (an publication) performs.

BARQ
SELMARQ Brands’ Best Friend