Have you ever gone to a web designer and told them you want a new website?
And has the web designer obliged and started asking questions about the features you want included on the website?
If you have an established business and a website and you feel like you need a new one, then you are probably feeling like your website is holding your business back. So starting again with a new one seems like the obvious choice.
If you are building a new business and don’t have a website yet, you know that every credible business has a website, so you need one asap.
Most web designers are in the business of selling you their web design service. So if you go to them asking for a new website, they will naturally be happy to take you on as a client and get down to the business of creating a new website for you.
But, oftentimes this will skip the important step…which is when looking at the overall picture of how to grow and improve your business, ensuring you understand and consider the job your website will do for you. Not all websites are created equal. Most web designers will want to create a website that looks aesthetically pleasing. Most importantly, your website will look good in their portfolio!
But a website's job runs deeper than that. A website is not just a medium. It is a sales channel. Its job is to effectively sell your products and services to your potential market. And it needs help – it needs a way of bringing more people to it so that it can act as the sales person 24/7. An attractive website on its own is next to useless. A conversion focused website with a marketing plan to attract your potential market is significantly more valuable for your business.
Websites can also do jobs that you might not have considered. For example, they can help you automate processes and save you valuable time. Imagine you have a questionnaire that you manually email to new potential clients, which they print and fill in and return to you. That could be automated so that the potential client is directed to a form on your website to complete the questionnaire and automatically email you and them the answers.
But you don’t know what you don’t know and unless your web designer is asking you the right questions, they won’t know either.
So rather than jumping straight to building a new website, it is essential to start with the strategy. A good strategy workshop will delve into your business, finding out what makes it tick and unearth deeper business problems that need solving. With this knowledge, the consultant can then craft a solution that will solve the real problems your business is facing. That could be to turn your stagnant website into one that converts more, or semi-automating your client on boarding process (the process of bringing in a new client and going through all the steps), or developing a marketing plan that will consistently bring in more clients and customers for your business.
Put simply, to grow your business, the solution is more than just a shiny, new website. Strategy is key.