A mantra here at Brunello Inc is, ‘a good website is never finished’. Of course, it’s a bit of a self-serving mantra given the nature of our business, but it’s also because we are presented with a multitude of websites which have suffered, from one or all, of the items outlined below.
Here are the “High 5” items we recommend keeping in mind whenever you might think of cutting back on your digital marketing or that you don’t need to invest in your ongoing website maintenance.
1 - Relevancy
Your website needs to be relevant to your business at hand, and it needs to resonate with target audiences. The site needs to reflect the work you’re doing and the work you want to be doing. The website should feed your sales cycle and support your business goals.
Homework:
Are you able to update what you need on your site? Is information presented aligned with offline marketing and messaging?
2 - Breadth
There is a great big digital world out there, much larger than just your URL. Conversations started on Facebook, connections made on LinkedIn form new leads, and new hires. What you do off-site online, can have a huge impact on your website traffic.
Homework:
Do you have a plan for social media? Are you monitoring and participating in the conversations about your brand and industry online?
3 - Maintenance
Think of your website like a car. You can’t just purchase a car drive it off the lot and expect it to run flawlessly for the next 8 years.
You need to financially invest in your website beyond it’s initial cost to build. If not properly maintained on a regular basis your site will become out of date and could result is users being frustrated. That said, just because your site isn’t performing optimally doesn’t mean you have to start over from scratch. You may just need some intense site maintenance and ongoing site administration.
Homework:
Is your site up-to-date on security patches and module updates? Is your site responsive and user friendly?
4 - Efficiency
A website isn’t just about brining money in. A well-constructed website takes into consideration how your business operates, and can save you time, money and often a lot of frustration too.
In a recent project we automated a process which previously took someone 4 full days a month to complete. We were able to get the human time involved down to about 2 hours per month. This works out to a cost savings of 360 hours a year. Almost TEN WEEKS of productivity were captured by adding a single automated process to a website.
Homework:
Where are you missing out on adding efficiencies? How can your website help your business capture lost time?
5 - Growth
We’ve yet to meet a client who has enough business. So, an ongoing assessment of site performance, goals and return is imperative. Analyzing traffic data, prioritizing user input, testing new approaches and structured outreach are all part of a never-ending cycle of improvements and development cycles.
Homework:
How do you plan on growing? What new methods and approaches are you trying?
So, next time you’re sitting back admiring your success and wondering where to go with your online marketing, remember ‘a good website is never finished’. Contact Brunello today and let's achieve digital greatness together.