DO YOU NEED A NEW WEBSITE?
Well, that depends. If your current website generates more business than you know what to do with and – the answer is probably not. However, if your bounce rate is up and so are inquiries about your services, you might want to consider an overhaul of your primary digital communications resource – your website.
Most small businesses seem to assume that once a site is built and launched that’s the end of the matter. In fact, to be effective, a site has to be renewed, refreshed and eventually redone – for at least five reasons.
Reason 1 – Your Business Is Changing.
Successful businesses are living things. In case you’ve forgotten the first lesson of your high school biology class, living things must grow or die. Growth, whether it’s in sweet peas, frogs, people or companies, can’t happen without change. If your website doesn’t reflect these changes it’s not a true representation of your company.
Have you dropped products, added services, restructured how you interact with your market or all of the above? If so, you probably should redo your website. If you’ve added or dropped people from your leadership team, made significant changes to your culture, employee benefits package or want to be recognized for new achievements in our industry – changes should be made to your content and, if necessary, to your site structure. Another reason to revamp your site is if you make any change to your brand presentation such as updated your logo, chosen a new tagline or rewritten your sales collateral. Remember, consistency is essential for proper branding and your website should be at the center of your brand presentation.
Reason 2 – The Needs of Your Target Market have Changed.
Your company – whatever your industry, size or location – is in business to fill a need. When that need ceases to exist, your business may, too. Think Borders, Woolworth’s, Blockbuster, Oldsmobile and thousands of other former household words whose time has come and gone. We’re not saying that revamping their websites would have saved these iconic companies, but their demise makes the point that all businesses have a life cycle dependent on their markets. If the need of your audience is changing and your site doesn’t address those developments, you may find yourself a memory instead of a marketer.
Reason 3 – Technology has Changed.
This is a toughie. Because digital technology is in a continual and constant state of updating, upgrading and upending the past. Just consider the use of mobile phones. Do you know of ANYONE who doesn’t have one and use it for email, to get directions, to bank, to shop, to apply for a job, etc., etc., etc.? Even WWII veterans use their cell phones to keep in touch with great grandkids and check on their Social Security benefits!
Make sure your site has kept up with the latest advances – loads quickly, is easy to navigate, let’s visitors browse and return to pages of interest with a single click. Your site should also allow them to connect with you immediately or leave a message for you to get back to them and have links to your social media pages. Keep in mind, every day that passes mobile devices seem to add another level of functionality that influences buying decisions. If your site isn’t designed to accommodate this technology, you DEFINITELY need to call us ASAP!
Reason 4 – Design Styles have Changed.
Marketing, whatever form it takes – print, broadcast, collateral, displays and digital – is always about keeping up with the latest trends in visual and written communications. This, of course, isn’t news. However, the speed in which trends change IS! Of course, you don’t want your site to look like everyone else’s, yet you also don’t want it to stand out for the wrong reasons. If you’re using old software, dated color combinations, hackneyed typefaces, etc. it can make your site, and your company, seem outdated. Moreover, in a youth-oriented culture where consumers are always seeking the latest “next best thing” that can seriously influence your conversion rate.
Reason 5 – It’s a More Visual World.
Like or not – pictures are often worth a thousand words – especially when they move! Of course, well-researched, well-written original copy content is a major factor in a good site. But today, visuals – infographics, photos, illustrations and, above all, video – are king. If your content lacks these elements, that’s a reason to refresh and rework your site as soon as possible. Don’t forget – when visitors go on your site and find it less than satisfactory, the chances of them stopping by again are slim to nil. Make sure you impress them enough in the first few seconds to earn a place on the first tier of their list of resources.
Reason 6 – Customer Expectations Have Grown.
The internet and the ability of customers and potential customers to share information has significantly changed the whole dynamic of marketing. If your site doesn’t accommodate these developments, you could be losing business – a lot of business! Customer expectations include information about your culture, the professional history of your leadership, testimonials from your clients and a blog about your company and your industry. All of these things can be deciding factors in choosing to contact you or moving on to a competitor. If you don’t already include them on your site, that in itself is an excellent reason to consider making some changes.
Right now, we’re in the midst of redesigning our own website for several of the reasons listed above. We’d be happy to share what we learn from this experience as well as the wisdom we’ve gained from a decade of creating digital communications for dozens of clients in a wide range of industries.
Here’s a special limited time offer to celebrate our soon to be new site launch – we’ll review your current site and offer a FREE analysis of what is working and what could work better at our office, yours or during a conference call.
Just give us a call to set up a convenient meeting time and place. We’ll look forward to hearing from you soon.
