As we are at the height of the spring season and at the beginning the of the downward slide towards summer, I thought spring cleaning would be a good topic to discuss. Here in the Southwestern United States, we love spring. It’s why most of us moved here. We dread the summer because that means we will have at least 4 months of 100+ degree temperatures. That said other parts of the country have rain, humidity, bugs, etc. No place is perfect, right?
So why should a business do spring cleaning? Well, it is always good to take a fresh look at your business. Taking a look at where it has been and where you are going, can never be a bad thing. You need to look at what is working and what isn’t. What has worked in the past might be worth bringing back as a refreshed campaign. I recently saw an ad for a Ford Dealership here in the Metro Phoenix area that is putting a new spin on an ad campaign they did 40+ years ago. You always want to stay fresh and relevant for your current and future clients.
In particular, a business owner needs to look at their website and ask themselves when was the last time it was updated? Was it yesterday, last week, last month, 6 months, or more, ago? If the answer is anything but, yesterday, last week, or last month, then the website is not relevant and most probably has outdated information. That is not good! It is not going to drive traffic to the business or website either.
A website update does not have to mean a complete revamping. Depending on the business, a website should be updated at the least weekly. A website should not go more than a month without some kind of content updates. Those updates could be as simple as changing pictures, adding a new customer review. To help with this, adding social media feeds to the website will help a little with new content. This is especially true if a business has one kind of personality on Facebook and a different kind of personality on Instagram, both of which are different from your website. It will bring it all back to the business and your overall brand image.
Although Social Media is where it is at these days, meaning a business is not considered a business if they do not at least have some type of Social Media presence, a website is still a necessary item for a business. The website is kind of confirmation that a business is legitimate. It cements the customer’s decision to patronize the business based on what they find on the website. Consumers are wanting to connect and do business with those businesses who align with their same values. They will find this on the website and it should compliment, and support, the post that is happening on the businesses Social Media pages.
Why should a business keep your website, up to date? Because the website should always be relevant. I cannot begin to tell you how many websites I see that have not been updated for months, or even years. I have seen Christmas specials that is still being advertised on the site 6 months after the holiday, a coupon that expired months or years ago, a Google Map that is not functioning properly, words that are misspelled, a page that goes nowhere, employees that are no longer employed there but still on the website and on and on. It’s like business owners think of the website as an afterthought. That should not be the case.
A business would make changes, such as putting an item on sale if it is not selling, right? If it still doesn’t sell one might continue to drop the price? All this is making a change, its the same concept with a website.
If a business has not updated its website in a few years, then I would say it is in a dire need of a spring cleaning. It doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul unless you are doing a branding change, just keep it fresh and relevant. A business should have a website that grabs attention.
Another thing that I come across when looking at websites, wordiness. I do not understand this. Nobody is going to read all of that text. People go on to a website and want to accumulate information quickly, without having to read a bunch of text. Therefore, websites should tell a story between the text images, and/or videos. The ultimate goal should be piquing the interest of your prospective customer enough to either contact you or to make a purchase.
So…What type of spring cleaning are you going to do? Who’s going to do it? Remember, when you are too close to something you do not see the obvious. You need an unbiased, subjective viewpoint.
Geoff Cummings is President|Founder of On The Level Marketing & Consulting, LLC. Successfully helping businesses with all their marketing needs by branding their businesses and keeping marketing simple and straightforward.
On The Level Marketing & Consulting | Marketing Built For You!
Creative|Trustworthy|Hassle-Free
All Rights Reserved 2019
As we are at the height of the spring season and at the beginning the of the downward slide towards summer, I thought spring cleaning would be a good topic to discuss. Here in the Southwestern United States, we love spring. It’s why most of us moved here. We dread the summer because that means we will have at least 4 months of 100+ degree temperatures. That said other parts of the country have rain, humidity, bugs, etc. No place is perfect, right?
So why should a business do spring cleaning? Well, it is always good to take a fresh look at your business. Taking a look at where it has been and where you are going, can never be a bad thing. You need to look at what is working and what isn’t. What has worked in the past might be worth bringing back as a refreshed campaign. I recently saw an ad for a Ford Dealership here in the Metro Phoenix area that is putting a new spin on an ad campaign they did 40+ years ago. You always want to stay fresh and relevant for your current and future clients.
In particular, a business owner needs to look at their website and ask themselves when was the last time it was updated? Was it yesterday, last week, last month, 6 months, or more, ago? If the answer is anything but, yesterday, last week, or last month, then the website is not relevant and most probably has outdated information. That is not good! It is not going to drive traffic to the business or website either.
A website update does not have to mean a complete revamping. Depending on the business, a website should be updated at the least weekly. A website should not go more than a month without some kind of content updates. Those updates could be as simple as changing pictures, adding a new customer review. To help with this, adding social media feeds to the website will help a little with new content. This is especially true if a business has one kind of personality on Facebook and a different kind of personality on Instagram, both of which are different from your website. It will bring it all back to the business and your overall brand image.
Although Social Media is where it is at these days, meaning a business is not considered a business if they do not at least have some type of Social Media presence, a website is still a necessary item for a business. The website is kind of confirmation that a business is legitimate. It cements the customer’s decision to patronize the business based on what they find on the website. Consumers are wanting to connect and do business with those businesses who align with their same values. They will find this on the website and it should compliment, and support, the post that is happening on the businesses Social Media pages.
Why should a business keep your website, up to date? Because the website should always be relevant. I cannot begin to tell you how many websites I see that have not been updated for months, or even years. I have seen Christmas specials that is still being advertised on the site 6 months after the holiday, a coupon that expired months or years ago, a Google Map that is not functioning properly, words that are misspelled, a page that goes nowhere, employees that are no longer employed there but still on the website and on and on. It’s like business owners think of the website as an afterthought. That should not be the case.
A business would make changes, such as putting an item on sale if it is not selling, right? If it still doesn’t sell one might continue to drop the price? All this is making a change, its the same concept with a website.
If a business has not updated its website in a few years, then I would say it is in a dire need of a spring cleaning. It doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul unless you are doing a branding change, just keep it fresh and relevant. A business should have a website that grabs attention.
Another thing that I come across when looking at websites, wordiness. I do not understand this. Nobody is going to read all of that text. People go on to a website and want to accumulate information quickly, without having to read a bunch of text. Therefore, websites should tell a story between the text images, and/or videos. The ultimate goal should be piquing the interest of your prospective customer enough to either contact you or to make a purchase.
So…What type of spring cleaning are you going to do? Who’s going to do it? Remember, when you are too close to something you do not see the obvious. You need an unbiased, subjective viewpoint.
Geoff Cummings is President|Founder of On The Level Marketing & Consulting, LLC. Successfully helping businesses with all their marketing needs by branding their businesses and keeping marketing simple and straightforward.
On The Level Marketing & Consulting | Marketing Built For You!
Creative|Trustworthy|Hassle-Free
All Rights Reserved 2019
