Put Your Website to Work!

For must of us our websites have been little more than a digital flyer. Whether you prefer to do it yourself or you had your website professionally designed chances are you have not received much business at all from this investment.

Ask any person seeking out to start a business of any kind the top 5 things they need from a marketing perspective "website" will be in that list and most likely will be number 1. So why is it that this heralded icon of the entrepreneur is so unproductive and ineffective? Let's dive deeper.

While it would be easy to blame the web developer or designer, the truth is that the effectiveness of a website to deliver is often linked to a lack of understanding of the purpose of the site to begin with. I don't know about you but I can honestly say I have always believed that if I had a website I would receive customers from traffic on the internet.

If You Build It They Will Come

This could not be further from the truth! While it is possible that an effective SEO strategy can get more eyeballs, it's what's on the page when they get there that counts. If the messaging doesn't speak to your ideal customer, they will bounce and you'll never know them.

It's time for us to re-define how we look at websites and their role in our business to put this asset to work to help grow our businesses.

While there are many possible uses for a website from brand awareness to online shopping I'd like to really give my website some muscle. My website is my Online Business Center. That's right! I want my website to reflect the and be perfectly aligned with the way I do business and the way my customer experiences my business.

I recently republished my website, designed with this very purpose in mind. It wasn't easy! The reason it is so difficult is because in order to build a website that truly supports your business you have to know what your business is. I know that sounds silly but be honest with yourself. Do you really know (and have systems and processes to support) how your business monetizes your product or service? Is your customer journey clear? Herein lies the issue. To build a website that truly serves your business and to put it to work, you have to know what you want it to do. This is challenging to say the least.

The only way I managed to identify this weakness in my own business is when I used the Streamline and Scale Framework to take a deep dive look at my business. Not just the marketing but the processes and activities that support the marketing. What I discovered is that even though marketing will generate leads, it's what we do after we receive the lead that determines our Marketing ROI.

It is true that we have to have to start with a marketing qualified lead (MQL) but how does a lead become marketing qualified. We have to define who our ideal customer is and have the messaging to match in order to truly realize successful conversions on marketing leads.

This process was not easy. It takes time to really think through how you want your business to work. But it's WORTH IT! Now my website represents the way I want to do work. Check out my updated website here. It's not perfect by any means and there are many refinements that are needed, but it provides the "track" for me to run my business on. I know exactly how my customer needs to experience my brand to receive the most value and I've built that into my website and my underlying processes.

Before looking at my business through the lens of the Streamline and Scale Framework I was constantly stopping and starting. Each time I missed the ball on something like an onboarding process or a followup I was blind-sided.😳 Now I have full visibility to the entire scope of my business and can begin to grow my business by prioritizing the changes that will have the most impact on revenue and customer experience. Without a full understanding of the scope of your business, it is virtually impossible to even think about scaling.

By designing my website with the end in mind and aligning the content with the customer journey I can begin to streamline these processes and drive growth for my business. I am set up for success! Now the "real" work begins.

If you're ready to take your business to the next level and put your website to work a great to start is with our ebook introducing the topic. Check out the updated website by visiting getcrystalizedagency.com and downloading our free ebook "Scale-Ready: Unlocking The Key to Unlimited Growth". Learn how to take your business to the next level and put your website to work!