“We blew a lot of money on a web site years ago,” one told me. “But it didn’t do anything for us.”
“We spend a lot on IT already,” another said. “We don’t want to throw more money at computers that we don’t understand.”
If this were 1999, I could appreciate this perspective. But it’s 2015 now, and the Internet is here to stay. For many of us, it’s tough to imagine life without it. For those of us who embrace the Internet, it’s going to be the first place we look for your organization. It’s where we go to see what you’re about.
So, what is your web site for? It’s a marketing tool, first and foremost. By “marketing tool,” I don’t mean your web site has to be a high-pressure sales mechanism. But for many people (if not most people), it’s where they get their first impression of you. Are you putting your best foot forward? If your site is slow, or not phone friendly or is clearly out-of-date, people will keep looking.
In 2015, a web site has become an ever-shifting proxy for so many marketing and branding efforts we’re comfortable with in the physical world. Your web site is now an electronic version of:
- The sign on your building
- Your office décor
- Your Yellow Pages ad
- Your trade show booth
- How you sell goods, services or tickets
- Your brochures and literature
- Your quarterly newsletter
- Your voicemail
What is Your Web Site For?
Your web site isn’t an IT project or a waste of money on technology no one understands. It’s a marketing tool, and it should be paying for itself many times over. It should be working very hard for you.
If your site isn’t doing its job, or if you think it’s a waste of money, let’s put it back to work.
Question-mark key photo by jamuraa 
