Is your website profitable?
How important is a good website for my business?
Get your website right and you make more profit, get it wrong and you lose potential business. So if you want your business to be successful you need a good website.
So what makes a good website?
The core focus of the businesses I run are to make profit; ethically, responsibly, enjoyably… yes, all of these, but the bottom line is just that, the bottom line.
A successful business is a profitable business.
So the short answer as to what makes a good website is a website that helps your business generate, enquiries, sales and profit.
There are millions of different looking web sites, which is right for my business?
A website that is designed to deliver on your business objectives is the right one for you. Your objectives need to be carefully ascertained before a single line of coding is done.
Start back to front:
Start at the very end. Sounds rather strange but it’s the correct plan. You start with the end result that you wish from a potential customer that is browsing your site: this may be an ecommerce sale, an enquiry or a phone call.
You then create the website around the required action and it makes a pathway which ensures you have the best chance of getting that conversion.
First impressions:
They count. That’s why there is the saying. When we meet people we make instant assumptions about them, the way they dress, speak and conduct themselves. It’s natural.
It’s the same with a website.
Your website is the shop window for your business. It has to outline your business in an engaging and understandable manner to the consumer looking at it and entice them to contact you.
As an entrepreneur and business owner I like to read a lot and select pieces of pertinent advice. A particularly good one I believe in is the “Elevator pitch.” You are in the elevator with Richard Branson and he asks you “What does your business do?” you need to be able to tell him quickly, efficiently accurately and engagingly within that ten-second period, to give yourself the best chance of engaging with him business wise.
It’s akin to the importance of the first ten-second impressions your web site makes.
One could also equate it to a hungry consumer walking into a restaurant and standing in the door and looking inside. It’s most likely they want to eat, but many considerations are running through their mind.
“Does it look clean, well set out, appealing, well run, friendly, efficient, does it have recommendations and reviews, does it have a menu so we can see what it produces?”
These common questions are just the same as a consumer thinks when they look at your website.
You need to ensure your website gives you the best opportunity for converting a consumer into a customer.
The absolute basics for a website:
- Responsive capability.
- Clean, efficient feel and quality user experience.
- Explanation of what it is your business does, clearly.
- Examples of your work.
- References from satisfied clients.
- Data capture points so you can open communications with browsers.
- Clear calls to action and contact points to drive business enquiries.
Strategic thought process behind your website:
- Tell your story.
- Address core business goals.
- Educate.
- Show off your assets.
- Create an experience.
Getting it right:
I am always interested in practical, more than theoretical examples. So lets start at home, practice what we preach, and look at the Digital Fire website.
We built the website with our business goals in mind and with a clear idea of how our existing and potential customers would look for and interact with us via the website.
It is well designed, well optimized, we get a lot of traffic, we monitor the flow of traffic to and through the site, and it leads to enquiries regarding our services.
Monitor, evaluate and manage:
A website needs constant care and attention. It’s like an engine. Look after it and it will take you where you want to go.
As the business owner I evaluate the enquiries from the site over a quarter. I see how many are turned into revenue. As such the website costs, upgrading, managing, advertising spend etc., are compared to what it has generated and that’s how I gauge its success. I look at it as an employee, is it doing well, is it hitting its targets, is it generating profit?
I am pleased to say that in all instances, our site is doing well.
We are about to upgrade the site to keep apace of new developments and trends, but our focus will always be on its profitability as an entity, not just on how it looks.
Getting it wrong:
Only some businesses have ecommerce functionality. Getting your site wrong in this instance, has clear repercussions – your sales drop, or don’t occur in the first place.
The other frightening instance is when you can’t see the potential loss of sales, because you aren’t aware of the consumers dropping off due to a bad experience or going to competitor sites.
Its not just small business that get it wrong. The mighty M&S in the UK was recently the victim of an enormously costly website failure
Source: eConsultancy. 2015
Conclusion:
You need to carefully outline your business objectives and then create a website that delivers upon them. Rush it at your peril. A website needs careful planning, execution, testing, upgrading and management if you wish it to be a quality asset and revenue driver to your business.
Don’t get someone to knock up a website in a garage, or use a friend of a friend who can do it all for a low cost. Rush the job, don’t give enough time or credence to the importance of a website and you will set yourself on the slippery path to failure. A bad website is bad for your business.
The Digital Fire website generates ten times what is cost to build and maintain every month. Think about what you stand to gain with a good website rather than what you stand to save by skimping on what is a crucial business tool.
Lastly, make sure you get it right first time. Use a professional service. Like us!
Thomas Boyd MD Digital Fire.
* Image courtesy of Mag Pleasure.
