If you own a business, you may find that you and your team are too often “putting out fires” rather than focusing on the goals you set out to accomplish. In other words, there’s a Godzilla-sized problem, and it’s taking all your resources just to keep it at bay; meanwhile, a small army of ape-sized problems are flying under your radar. Odds are one of them will grow up to be King Kong.
You get the picture. When panic-driven urgency is solely determining what gets done, it feels like you’re never on top of anything — because you’re not.
This is where your website comes in.
Remember the monster metaphor we used earlier? Turns out your website is a lot like Clark Kent: a little nerdy, seemingly inconsequential, and definitely no one’s idea of a superhero. But given the chance, your website could be the Superman your business has been waiting for all along.
You see, used effectively, your website has the power to keep those metaphorical monsters from ever spawning. How? It all comes down to integration. Consider the logistics and operations of your business: if someone wants to buy your product, your site should play a role in the process; if you have ads out in the world, your site should be used to measure their effectiveness; if you need to follow-up with customers after a purchase, your site should be the one doing the work.
Don’t get caught in the trap of living ASAP to ASAP. Your website is one of the most effective tools you can use to delete that acronym once and for all.
Here are some super practical tips for getting started:
- Get familiar with your website. Make sure you and your team know what’s on your site. It’ll make adding and/or removing content a lot easier.
- Invite your website to your meetings. Having a meeting about a new service or product or event? Make time to discuss how you’ll incorporate your website.
- Give your website a champion. Got someone slightly techy on your team? Give them permission to bother you about ways the site could be used more effectively.
- Consider web maintenance. Work with someone (or a team of someones) who can implement the changes and strategies that your site’s champion may develop.
- Process, process, process. Outline the update process. It may look something like this:
- Write content
- Take photos
- Track the change
- Implement the update
