You should not need us to tell you about the importance of your company website. But it still surprises me today how many companies come to us and you quickly discover that although they want a new website, they don’t see it as a tool to grow their business. They still see it as something that someone might click into after meeting them or via a link in their email signature. It’s a “nice to have” but ultimately not key to their business. Something we were told again at a recent meeting with a prospective client.
But is there anything in life now that you don’t search online for first, whether it is to eat (“top restaurants in dublin”), sleep (“top hotels in berlin”), get through the day (“how to look busy in work”) or simply survive (“strange pain in my leg”)?
This potential client (let's call them customer X) sold a product that was B2B and could cost in the region of €10,000. Now if someone is going to spend time researching where they are going to eat for a spend of €50, why would they not be expected to their research online when they are about to spend €10,000? Well we know they will. The first thing they will do is search for it. They will then click into a few more websites and make a decision on who to get in touch with.
Making the most of that click
So we need to make the most of that opportunity on when they click onto the site. We need to put ourselves in the customers mindset. We need to understand what their concerns are, what they need, what will influence their decision, what information do they need. And the time they will spend on the website before they decide on whether to go somewhere else? Less than 10 seconds. That’s the time we have to ensure we get their attention. Once we do have their attention and they decide to stick around, we need to ensure they do what we ultimately want (well what our clients wants), whether that’s to make a purchase, get in touch or view a key piece of content.
So we need to take this onboard and to put it simply, this is what we take into account before we start a website project. We make sure we understand the client, their aims and needs, their clients, their staff and their prospective clients. We spend time to get to know them all. This helps us make informed decisions during the project. We set out clear goals for the site and what it will achieve. This influences the entire project, through our initial research, UX, UI, site build & launch. So that we can confidently sit down with our client once the site has launched and illustrate this. In realtime too.
Real results
And it works. We know that. We are lucky to work in a industry where everything is tracked. The numbers speak for themselves. There is no disputing a 300% increase in conversion rate. An increase in online sales by €200,000. An increase in traffic by 400%. A jump in leads by 240%.
If you see your company website as “just a website”, it will always remain a “just a website”. But if you are willing to ensure your most important sales tool is working as it should, selling your business 24/7 and helping you to grow, be prepared to put some time aside to give your website the time and respect it deserves.
For a free consultation, get in touch with us today.
