Visitors come to your site for a variety of reasons, from a variety of places. Let´s take a look at some different website visits and the brand lessons we can take away:

LESSON 1: How to erode your brand, tidal wave style
The opportunity: A potential customer on a mission finds you in a search engine. He doesn´t know your business, but assumes that since you are highly ranked he should get to know you. He clicks on the link to your site. There is a split second of expectation and anticipation. "Maybe this is exactly the solution I need," he thinks...

The visit: Bam! He hits your site and instantly feels disappointed. Your website has let him down. Poor design, no obviously relevant content. He makes a mental note to never come here again.

The brand buster: Brand erosion hits like being slammed into a brick wall. The potential customer went from feeling neutral about you to feeling negative - in just one visit. You´ve just made your job a whole lot harder; it´s unlikely you´ll be able to undo the harm of this negative first impression. But if you learn from visits like this and take action to deliver what your visitors want and expect, hopefully you can stop eroding your brand and start building it.

LESSON 2: How to kill offline brand awareness in a single click
The opportunity: Another customer on a mission. This time, though, she knows you. She assumes that since you are a known player in the field, your site will deliver value to her. She types your url into her browser.

The visit: She hits your site, and scratches her head. Your site is skimpy and confusing. It doesn´t seem to have what she wants, or what she figured you would offer online. She reflects on the situation: "These folks don´t really have what I thought they did, who else might have what I am looking for?"

The brand buster: Though not quite as bad as lesson one, this sort of thing doesn´t exactly get you where you want to be. By evaluating all of your messaging at all intersections you can then begin to build a unified and stronger message. One that will build brand loyalty and keep your ROI on marketing growing.

LESSON 3: How to build and exploit your brand
The opportunity: A visitor comes to your site, either by a search engine or typing in your company url. He knows what he is looking for. Will he find it?

The visit: Ahhh! The site is well designed and consistent with your offline brand use. A clear navigation system immediately leads him to what he is looking for. He starts reading your web copy. You are answering his questions! Your calls-to-action ask if he wants targeted and interesting information. Of course he does! He clicks the link, sees a brief form and instinctively completes it, clicking "submit" cheerfully. He gets access to advanced information and loses himself in your content. Time flies by. It has been 20 minutes - he has to get going but he quickly sets up a favorites for this excellent site.

The brand builder: What just happened? A great brand building experience. You delivered consistent brand usage through your site´s graphics and designs. You presented relevant, engaging and useful content that was easy to find.

The web is a powerful tool that has the capability of reaching millions of people each day or week. Each visit is important and can mean either company growth or company loss. At Myelo we specialize in building branded experiences online and offline. It is FREE to talk to us and hear suggestions on how you can begin leveraging your brand today.