Does your web site mirror your strategy?

Does your web site really serve to advance your business?

How well does your web site reflect your business strategy?  Does your web site proudly declare what you do and what you stand for?  Does it communicate why you are different...and better?  Are there 'calls to action'...that are easily found...and actioned...and measured? 

Many companies I meet answer 'NO' to the above questions.  Now many of the companies I meet are small to mid-sized businesses.   Many sell with a 'business to business' sales model and offer technology based solutions and services...and rely on their sales force.   Many have limited marketing resources and pump their dollars into fulfilling current business commitments - not building for the future.

How often have I heard...

• Our web site does not describe or showcase the products and services that we expect to fuel our growth over the next few years...
• Our market focus has changed and we have not updated our web site..
• We don't offer some of those services anymore...
• We need to get testimonials and publish them to the site..
• Our web site needs a complete refresh in terms of look and feel.  It was written 4 years ago and has not really been updated since...
• and on, and on.

Consider that in the current '2.0' world, the direct or channel sales force do not own the entire sales cycle the way they did, even a few short years ago.   Prospective customers visit your site, even before they contact you...and they start to form opinions - so is your site ready to deliver the message that you want?

Are you playing your strongest hand?

Here's another thought.  Often when I visit a web site, I check the 'news' or 'events' section to see what's new.  What has the company done recently that they are proud to share?  Have they announced new flagship customers, new products or services, industry presentations or presence at events, etc.  When the last entry on the news page is 2 years old, that raises a big warning flag for me.  Should it?

Consider the impressions your site creates.

And keep in mind that we have not even talked about SEO, web traffic, high impact calls to action, demand generation, page optimization, content management, etc. How do you want your web site to really perform for you?  Do you want your site to drive leads to your sales team to help build the top of the funnel? Do you want the web to nurture interest and help move along slower moving prospects while your sales team focuses on where they can have the most impact?  I'll cover more on this topic in a future post.