Planning a big project is like planning a trip. The bigger it is, the harder the plans become. 

Recently (okay this week), I spent some time packing for my trip to Ethiopia. We have been slowly planning for many months, and it all seemed to be rolling smooth. That was until it came time to pack our luggage. See I am in a unique traveling situation, where my wife and I are not just traveling to Ethiopia, we are traveling to bring back our adopted twins. The issue: I have to plan, and pack for not only myself, but two 6 month old boys as well. Basically once we arrive, they are all ours. So we have to bring diapers, clothes, and all the kid junk that goes along with it. Being first time parents….woah it’s a lot of stuff. 

So what does this have to do with web or marketing?

I know what it feels like to step into something new and big. If you have never had your own web site, from scratch before, or are just starting a marketing plan, it can feel like a lot. Sure at first it looks easy, but we all know getting from start to finish on a large project may have hundreds of tasks. 

So breathe. look at the list, “pick off the low hanging fruit” as Ryan likes to say. Work on it, set goals, and react as needed. 

Me, I’m back to trying to pack and stick to the plans / packing lists we laid out.

Would you let your customers see a showroom / lobby / office in a complete mess? Piles of paper on the floor and desk? Broken lights, missing ceiling tiles, stained floors? No! You dress your best, your employees dress their best, and you keep your showroom / lobby / office in tip top shape. Or at least I think you should. Your website should be no different.

The demand for good web design is increasing, revealed a recent Webcopyplus online poll. Almost 25% of web users indicated “poor visual presentation” as the number one element that drives them away from websites. Only 6.6% of web users who participated in a similar 2007 online poll indicated “poor visual presentation” as the main reason to abandon a website. That equates to a 267% increase during the two-year period.

From Webcopyplus:

Our web content specialists believe the increased desire for quality design comes from the fact that Internet users have become increasingly sophisticated. Consequently, more of today’s Internet users understand that a well designed website makes it possible to achieve more, with less time and effort.

A total of 318 web users were asked what’s most likely to drive them away from a website.

• 50.9% indicated “slow load times”
• 24.8% noted “weak web copy”
• 24.2% specified “poor visual presentation”

In the 2007 poll, 51.2% of 258 participants indicated “slow load times” and 42.2% noted “weak web copy” as their biggest turn-offs.

 

So what does all this mean?

A website won’t fix your slow business. UNLESS your site is well done. Work with your designer / developer to address all of the above issues. Your website is often the first thing a potential client / customer sees. They are judging the quality of your organization, products, service, and reputation based on 30 seconds of face time online.

So make those precious page views count!

My youngest boy evidently has a favorite ‘adult’ restaurant that he asked to go to several times while we were on vacation. So we headed out to it one afternoon for their specialty shakes and reasonably good americana fair. The service in this establishment was mediocre at best during a ‘less than busy’ period of the day. As usually happens, my kids focused on the the good things, while I remained puzzled by the items in this operation that could be easily improved upon with a little attention and no more money spent. We were no less than two-thirds of the way through with out meal when our waitress magically appeared with the check in hand. Without concern for our next needs or whether we would like to order more or whether we were satisfied she laid the check down on the table with this stellar quote:

I am going to go ahead and drop your bill of now and get it out my way.

End of quote… end of service. I could hardly believe it. For the 3 of us I was going to be on the hook for about $35 and this is how is was being ‘served’. It was a jolting reminder to me…

Whatever price your customer is paying for your product, they anticipate that level of service or more.

Up economy or down, it is not that complicated to give your customers top level quality service. It takes no more money to serve them with a great attitude. The only thing that can come from your determination to be personable in your delivery is a more loyal and appreciative customer. Obviously, you can figure out what might happened if the converse is true of you or your employees.