Who Are You?
I really want to know.
I don’t know about you but, when I’m shopping for goods and services, my first step is almost always to pull up my browser and type what I want in the field next to the magnifying glass using my favorite search engine. Wherever I choose to spend my money after that pretty much depends on the results I get from that internet search. There was a time when people used to go for that big, thick book filled with yellow pages in order to make those decisions, but I’d be hard-pressed to find one these days. It turns out that all those yellow pages are printed on the internet now. Crazy right?
Your business doesn’t need a website?
Wow. That’s awesome. Even museums have websites. Who are you? I really want to know! Do you trade your goods and services in exchange for blankets, beads, and trinkets with your customers? How are you reading this on the internet?
Don’t you have some record-keeping business involving a stone tablet and a hammer and chisel that you should be doing – or have you figured out the quill and ink thing already?
Honestly though, have you ever heard of Amazon?
No. Not the Amazon. I’m talking about a place of commerce. It’s kind of like Wal-Mart, but different. There’s no brick-and-mortar building that is taking up real estate in your neighborhood, or that you need to drive to in order to buy what they’re selling (which is pretty much just about anything you can imagine), instead it’s on the int-er-net. You know, the world wide web. They sell products to customers exclusively online and they’ve made billions. How are you doing?
Jokes aside, your business needs a website.
Let’s be honest. Just having “a website” isn’t really going to help you. In order for you to get the most return on your website dollar, it needs to be certain things.
It needs to be fresh.
Update content daily. Yes, daily. “What? But, Mike, I’ve had the same content on my website for years!” Really? How’s that working for you? Have your webmaster set up an embedded feed on your “News” page so all you have to do is make a post on Facebook. It’s not hard. I’m telling you, you can do it.
It needs to be accurate.
Seriously. What’s the point of having a website if all you’re doing is offering your potential customers a snapshot of what your business looked like years ago when you got on the website wagon? It’s like showing everyone a yearbook picture of your bad haircut in the eighties and telling them that’s how you look today. Not buying it.
It needs to be dynamic.
People need a reason to visit your site. How often do you just randomly visit web pages throughout the day for no reason? Unless you’ve got a lot of free time and a particular sort of curiosity, I’m willing to bet on “Never”.
It needs to be intuitive.
Your website should be mobile responsive and easy for people to navigate. I guarantee they won’t be spending their money with you if they can’t find the door to your online shop. In addition, you should have some engaging content with a clear call to action.
Your website needs to do things.
It’s cool for your website to be all those things I just mentioned, but if you want to experience next-level performance from your website, it also needs to do certain things.
It works for you 24/7.
People are able to buy from you, or place an order, or book an appointment with you on their own schedule – instead of forgetting to call you in the morning during your business hours, after you’ve had coffee and breakfast and turned on the lights at your place of business.
It establishes your brand.
If all you’ve got is a shingle with your name written on it hanging outside of your shop downtown, then don’t worry about your brand. No one cares.
It engages your people.
Have fun. Make special offers. Send out coupon codes. Give away freebies. Get your people excited about what you’ve got for them and they’ll show up with their wallets out.
It gives you a competitive edge.
With a rocking website, you’ll leave your less-savvy competitors in the dust. Or, you can always be a dust-eater. There’s a lot of them out there. You’ve got to do what makes sense to you. It’s your call.
Schedule a free, no-obligation, 1-on-1 consultation today, and rock with me.
Your old, outdated, static website is boring. Your new website is gonna rock.
It’s showtime. Think you’ve got what it takes? Come on out in the spotlight.