In his book Your Marketing Sucks! marketing consultant Mark Stevens states: “If your website is nothing more than an electronic brochure, you are squandering the power of the medium.”
B2B copywriter and consultant Dianna Huff agrees. In her blog post, Your B2B Small Business Website is Not a Brochure she gives five crucial points of difference between small business websites and brochures.
For example, a brochure is static, whereas a website is dynamic. To quote:
A Website allows you to incorporate all kinds of elements — text, images, video and sound — to help you better communicate your message AND make offers designed to generate leads, subscriptions to e-newsletters, requests for demos and attendance at webinars and in-person events.
PLUS a Website provides the kind of information usually found in a brochure — that is, information about your products or services and company.
I agree with everything Dianna writes. But my take on this is that a good brochure-style website is the logical place to start for most small businesses. And by “good” I mean one that promotes benefits, has attention-getting headlines and includes offers and calls to action.
Charles Cuninghame – Web Copywriter
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Charles,
I agree that a brochure style site is a good place to start for a small business. The problem is that many small businesses develop the site and then let it sit . . . for years. And then they wonder why their Website doesn’t help grow their business.
Thank you for featuring my post. “Your Marketing Sucks” is a great book!
Hi Dianna
Thanks for your comment.
I think the problem is most business owners don’t understand what a website can do for them e.g. attract the attention of people searching online right now for their products/services.
The challenge for us copywriters/marketing consultants is to educate them as to what’s possible.