I just got back from a weekend trip to New York to see the Mets play in their last season at Shea Stadium. I had a great time and my kids can now say that they went to Shea. The new Citi Field looks awesome and I can’t wait to see that when it opens next year as well.
As I was driving back with the rest of the family taking a snooze I started thinking about stuff. I was driving through Philadelphia on Route 95 and I was paying particular attention to the billboards. The stretch of 95 through Philly is just a mass of billboards and over the years I have seen some entertaining ones. This time there are some full video screen versions that were pretty amazing.
Anyway, I’ll get to my point now. I was thinking about the reality of the fact that we see roughly 3,000 advertising images on any given day in all the variety of media and other message delivery channels. Personally, I have grown almost numb to the onslaught. It takes a lot for me to notice a message these days. When I say notice, I mean seeing the message, having it register and then taking some action on it (even if it’s noting that I want to research it more).
It was on this stretch of road though that I really thought through what I believe to be the primary role of a business web site. It’s more than e-commerce, lead generation or branding. If your website is doing what it should do it’s the actual foundation of your business, regardless of what you do or even who you think you are. What I mean is that because the world is so cluttered with messaging and forms of communication there is rarely an instance where you can have the full attention of someone without other things to interrupt your message. I know for me, when I am at home and the kids are in bed and I am hanging out watching a ballgame, I am probably the most relaxed and least distracted than any other time during the day. It’s at this time that I do my serious research. This is when I go to a site and dig in. If the site is well laid out, has an easy navigation, great content and helps me get what I am looking for I’m hooked. If I have seen something during the day that I want to research more this is the time of the day that I do it. If the website misses the mark then so does the other message. If your website is not the best possible representation of your business then you are building a business on a foundation of sand. Your website can easily weaken your other marketing efforts if it’s not up to speed. In this day and age, no matter where someone sees your message they are going to measure who you are by your website. You could have the best salespeople, the strongest product and the best advertising but if your site is subpar then the rest of those great aspects of your business suffer.
I am going to take my own advice on this one and work to make my website the best it can be. I want people to look at my site when I have their full attention and have them say “This is a strong company.” Right now, I am not convinced they would. I know how I feel when I visit a weak web site especially if it’s at one of those times when I can really pay attention to the details of the company. I get turned off. I don’t want anyone to have that experience with my company’s web presence. Do you?
SMB Takeaway: Your website is the foundation of your business. You can either build your company on a foundation of sand or stone. Choose the stone so that your website doesn’t allow the best parts of your business to get washed away in the tide of business.
Thanks and have a great day!
