Why Websites Go Beyond Your Marketing To-Do List

These words were told to us by one of our new clients late last year. We were meeting with a team of new owners of a business and were reviewing the website that came along with it. 

It was striking to see that with the web having replaced phone directories, reduced print advertising, and knocked nearly every traditional media channel down that a website for the old owners was treated as just a “checkbox”.

The business was B2B focused and had a lot of things going for it. Great staff, good products, strong vendor relationships. But the marketing side was reduced to what appeared to be a checklist. Business cards, check. Phone number, check. Website, check.

So when the new owners told us the name of their newest acquisition, we were shocked at the effort needed to find the URL through Google. After 10 minutes of Googling the name, the name with the address, the services with the name, the only way we could see the site was to hand type the domain in the search bar.

This situation isn’t uncommon in the world of digital marketing. Many businesses treat their website like a box to check and say it is done. In reality, it is one of the main focal points of your digital marketing strategy. Your website is a living, breathing tool for your business. It can and should evolve and grow alongside your business.

Moving a business with little or no digital marketing in place is challenging. There are a number of uphill tasks to tackle. For Firefly the process can vary depending on the need, but it often starts like this:

The website is not explicitly mentioned in this list because the results of these steps form the basis of the overall digital strategy with a website at the heart.

When creating a marketing strategy that will garner positive results, there are many tools at your disposal. Your website is often the driving force or call to action for each and every one of these channels: 

All of these tools ultimately drive users to your website where customers can learn more about who you are, what you do, and how to contact your sales teams directly. Hello ROI!

One thing we often see is business owners only looking at their website on the surface level and often only on desktop. The problem here is that’s not necessarily how customers are viewing their website. They’re more than likely doing a quick search on Google using their mobile device and are oftentimes not even reaching the home page depending on their search terms. It’s important for business owners to put themselves in their customer’s shoes when viewing the website. Where are they going first? What information do they need right away? How easy is it to navigate through the site to find the information they need? Is the formatting responsive? Do the images load properly? Is the site secure?

All of these questions are important to consider when setting up your website. If your ideal customer doesn’t like your site or can’t get the info they need easily, they will likely choose a competitor over you. In fact, almost 70% of consumers admit that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer and 42% of people will leave a website because of poor functionality. Remember, your website is promoting your business 24/7.

When considering the steps to bringing a business to life, scratch out the checkbox that says, “Get a website”. Instead have it read, “Develop a marketing strategy for long-term success”. The website will automatically be part of the process.