When You Built It!

Field of Dreams is one of my favorite movies and it made the phrase “If you build it, they will come” a line that is recognized by almost everyone. In the movie, the main character plows up a large portion of his corn field to make a baseball field. He does all of this based on the faint whisper of a ghost in his field. Everything works out in the end but the real world isn’t like the fantasies created for us in the movies. In most cases there are consequences for every action we take.

Take your website for example; you probably had high hopes when your website was first developed. You may have thought business would come rolling in now that you have your own website. I bet you also thought that you would keep the website up to date and make critical changes that would help new visitors see the benefits of doing business with you. Have these things happened? If not, perhaps the impressions you had regarding your website weren't quite on target.

Most websites serve one of two purposes. The first being additional exposure for your business. Whether you have an e-commerce site or a site where products cannot be purchased directly, exposure is the key to increasing sales. A website can help increase exposure by giving your business an international or national platform that may not have been available otherwise. But more importantly, your website can and should provide visitors with the information necessary to determine if your products and services can help them. Pre-qualified customers make your life easier by reducing sales time which can increase your bottom line. Your website can also save you money on advertising.

The second purpose of a business website is to inform customers regarding service issues. This not only saves staff time but it can also create a more loyal customer base. Answers to frequently asked questions can reduce complaints and confusion regarding your product and or services. This in turn frees staff from having to answer repetitive phone calls regarding a particular issue. Staff can then spend more time focusing on sales which helps you grow your business.

If your website isn't serving the purpose you thought it would, you may want to take a close look at what you want your site to accomplish and along with your developer create a plan to help meet those goals.