By: Bill White, Member/Manager, MillerWhite Integrated Marketing

Dynamic web site design and development have long been associated with eCommerce functions. The main purpose of dynamic design was to give merchants a better and more effective way of marketing their products online by enhancing a site’s efficiency and performance. Everyone’s familiar with eCommerce functions – shopping cart portals, online product catalogs, checkout, inventory control, order tracking – as well as expanded, task-based dynamic elements like online bill pay.

What if eCommerce is not a part of your business? Does that mean a static web site is good enough for your purposes? In my experience, I’ve found that most clients can benefit from adding dynamic elements to their web sites.

The only function a static web site can perform is loading and unloading. A dynamic web site performs an action or actions that let your viewer have a one-on-one relationship with your business through your web site. It interfaces with a database and is programmed on the back-end with necessary data that can be changed or updated as needed.

A dynamic web site offers your viewer personalized, real-time information and takes the appropriate action to serve his or her needs immediately. It gives viewers a reason to revisit your site, with each visit being an opportunity for them to know you better, and for you to build strong brand awareness and/or achieve a call-to-action.

Today, the technology is available for you to add a whole range of dynamic features to your web site. But which dynamic elements should you consider to keep your site viable into the future? The answer is to determine which elements will have value for your customers and concentrate on those.

Level One elements are basic ones that will help build a more positive, higher quality relationship with your current and potential customers. For example:

• For a motorcycle dealership site, adding a weather forecast feature can build trust.
• Providing a font enlarger on a web site that is likely to be visited by older individuals shows you relate to their situation.
• Setting up a search function to help users locate a replacement part or find a physician in a particular medical specialty shows a concern for making their lives easier.

Level Two elements add strategic communication features that help to customize your message for specific viewers. For example:

• For a realtor or financial institution, providing a financial calculator helps users analyze their disposable income available for a purchase.
• For a law firm, offering a sophisticated search function that gives users a listing of applicable attorneys, along with their representative cases and publications, will help them select the attorney who can best solve their problems.
• Setting up a blog or forum can provide interaction with and among customers, making them feel more vested in a product or service.
• For membership recruitment, adding video connects with prospects more deeply than words or still pictures can and gives them a better sense of an organization or club’s services and ambiance.
• Providing special member-only features through a membership log-in presents valuable information and support to members and builds customer loyalty.

These are just a few of the many dynamic elements that can be added to enhance your web site. If you have not asked yourself how you can use your web site to build better, stronger customer relationships through the addition of interactive features, it’s probably time to sit down with a marketing professional. MillerWhite Integrated Marketing has the demonstrated expertise to provide advice as well as the back-end resources to build a web site that delivers results in the form of positive relationships with your customers.