Question?
Would you hire a sales person without first knowing their purpose, their targets, and how you want them to interact with your customers? Most business owners would say “that is a stupid way to hire sales people”.
So, if it is unacceptable to hire sales people this way, why is it acceptable to set-up a web site this way?
The number of business owners who tell me the only reason why they invested money in a web site is because their competitors did is absolutely mind-boggling. Yet, I never hear anyone tell me they hired Gil, the sales person, because their competitors have a sales person.
And to think, the money that has been wasted by all this businesses. I thought our parents told us that just because you see somebody else jump off a bridge doesn’t mean you should follow.
What’s the solution? The short-answer, treat your website exactly the same way you would treat hiring a sales person. Know why you are doing it, what the targets are and how it will interact with your customers.
Just like a good sales person, if you know what your website is producing, you will invest more money into it. Like a bad sales person, if they stink at their job, you are going to fire them.
The Internet is too important to treat as some junior employee that you keep around because you are friends with their dad. Having a solid Internet strategy for your business, what it means to prospects and existing customers, and more importantly having a road map to track and measure its results are critical to growing your business.