January 11th, 2008
Main objectives of a corporate site:
1) To supply users with timely and reliable information about the company’s activities. To serve as a trusted source of company information.
2) To project a certain image (directly depends on good design and creativity). All aspects of the website should be up to the mark, offering only the best perspectives on the company. For example, if the site has a tier-3 domain, this may indicate that the company is small or cannot afford a normal domain and hosting.
3) To provide support for its services and promote the company’s popularity among Internet users.
4) To collect feedback from customers who use the company’s services.
5) To perform both representative and commercial services – showcase and offer to sell products and services.
Website objectives could be groped into commercial and non-commercial. Yet, in my view, in the case of a corporate website it is difficult to draw a clear dividing line between these two aspects of activity. For example, the process of website promotion can involve any audience, not just the target audience. One would think: What is the benefit of getting visits from users who would never buy the company’s products? The commercial benefit may be in that the site can increase its rating in target catalogs through higher site traffic. When the site reaches the first three pages of such catalogs, it is considered to have reached the target audience, which creates preconditions for the realization of commercial functions envisioned in the site. It turns out that a section with some free postcards can indirectly attract a target audience – everything is interconnected. Many portals with multiple different services often pursue similar objectives. Search portals, for example, earn money from advertisement placements (among other things). Naturally, this does not mean that this is the only way to go. One can easily cope without this by using advertising or site promotion with meaningful financial investments.