Paawan Kothari, Entrepreneur and Go-To-Market Leader, shares her insights on marketing in the third part of a multi-part series: Demystifying Marketing.

A website is one of the most crucial marketing assets, yet I’ve noticed almost many early-stage startups fall short in displaying a compelling narrative and putting their best foot forward. A company’s website is its front door. A well-designed website establishes credibility and, most importantly, sparks an interest leading to action.

If it helps, think of your website as a first date. Not only should it make an excellent first impression, it should also connect with the audience and make them feel like they are in the right place. The Homepage should draw them into a conversation, and as the date progresses, it should steer them to the other web pages for a more in-depth discussion. Remember, your website’s goal is to instill trust in your company. The more time the audience spends on the website, the more interested they will be in courting you.

Having been on multiple first dates (that is, reviewed numerous websites), here is my advice.

1. Your website should be designed for a myriad of visitors. The content on the Homepage should be able to connect with everyone who visits. They can be (a)Potential Customers (b) Likely Investors (c) Influencers (d)Analysts (e)Future Employees (f) Board Members
2. Simplify your value proposition to its kernel. Remember that you are speaking to a broad audience. Even for an industry-specific B2B solution or a pure technology solution, your content needs to appeal to multiple individuals who have different roles within your customer’s organization.
3. Your date will lose interest if you make it about yourself. Similarly, the content should be from the customer’s point of view (POV) and not from the product’s POV. Yes, you are proud of the product engineering, but talk about what problem it solves and how it meets customers’ needs.
4. Write a White Paper to show-off your technical prowess.
5. Avoid using industry jargon on the Homepage; it will alienate part of your audience.
6. Use Cases are a great way to tailor messaging to specific customer segments. If your solution applies to various verticals, develop industry-specific business use cases (it’s okay to use industry-specific jargon here).
7. Avoid building text-heavy pages and invest in some creative content. You can also reuse these creatives on Social Media platforms to run persuasive campaigns. i) A short 2-min (or less) overview video is very compelling. Animated videos with voice-over are not too expensive to create. It would help if you had a tight, well-written script. ii) Memes and graphical images are also very impactful. iii) But do not overuse stock images — if the photos aren’t adding value, they are merely crowding valuable space.
8. Build your website for mobile — almost half of the internet traffic is from mobile devices.
9. Optimize your content for SEO.
10. Track and measure your website traffic. You learn a lot by tracking how customers navigate the website.

There are plenty of cloud-based website building tools available with customizable templates, that website design has become easy, inexpensive, and accessible without the need for website developers. Startups are constantly iterating and these website builders make it easy to update the website to keep the content current. A good website has become the floor and it is imperative that startups put in the effort to an engaging experience.

Originally published in Medium.

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Author Bio:

Paawan Kothari is an entrepreneur, a seasoned marketer, and a budding political activist with over 20 years of experience working for large and small companies.  In 2010, Paawan quit her corporate job to start her venture, The Chai Cart®,  to bring together her passion for entrepreneurship with her desire to make a difference. After 8 years of building the business, brand, and acquiring marquee customers, Paawan sold the business in 2018.