"I really wish that when I started out on the net I could have had this course"
"What has been missing until now is now to make your website user friendly"
How to Deal with Knowledge and Skills Gaps
Business often feel overwhelmed by owning a website because they aren't able to do the "technical stuff" to publish the website and keep it up to date.
If this sounds familiar, you've probably plumped to get an external company, or maybe a friend to look after that side of things for you.
There's nothing wrong with that - I am a firm believer that you don't need to be able to build a website to create a site that boosts your online business.
But, and this is important, I don't believe that you should stop taking responsibility for how your website is performing. When you do this, you are guaranteed to become the owner of one of those 95% of websites that never bring in any sales or enquiries to change your bottom line.
So What's Wrong with Delegating Everything?
The core problem is that when you delegate all the responsibility to the person who's building your site, your site loses its its connection with your business. The unique qualities about your company doesn't come across to visitors anymore. You end up with one of those dull, generic online brochures that never gets updated from one year to the next. Your site is no longer guided by you, some who really knows your business, someone who understands and cares about your customers, someone who is dedicated to making your business a success, now and in the future. It's looked after by a totally seperate company simply "going through the motions".
When you stop taking an in depth interest in your online business, your website strategy becomes completely detached from you, your customers and your mutual goals. Outsiders start taking key decisions about how your offerings, yours sales messages and your sales process will be organised and presented to your customers, usually using a that brief "customer job form" you hurriedly filled out, right at the start, without much thought.
Someone else, who doesn't know your business very well, is 100% responsible for how your website will generate a profit for you, guesses how to meet your business goals, optimistically hopes it meets needs of present and future customers. This isn't the recipe for success. You wouldn't let a relatively uninform outsider decide other aspects of your business, so why should your online business strategy be entirely left to someone else?
If you stopped taking responsibility for your website, I'm guessing, to keep costs and production time down, at some point you've probably ended up agreeing to a generic one size fits all "solution"..the dreaded, stale, online 'brochure' which isn't generating any business for you...
What Should You Do Instead?
The key to solving this problem is being able to determine how your business is "to be brought to life online" - without any technical ability and removing the anxiety about computers and uncertainty about running a website that puts you off getting involved.
You have a whole wealth of essential resources at your fingertips, ready for you to tap into - you just need to know how to use this information to your advantage.
You don't need to be a programmer to harness the knowledge you have within your business. Anyone who meets customers in your business can be a rich source of information that helps you to succeed. Your sales team, your receptionist or customer-service department regularly interact with customers and these key personnel can give you essential information about your customers preferences when it comes to doing business with you. Communicate that quality, helpful, knowledge online and you're 100 times better than the standard "brochure" site already.
Enough is Enough - It's Time to Take Control!
If you had a step by step system to follow, do you think you could invite a handful of customers to your offices for a few hours and to chat about what they like and dislike about your website?
Wouldn't it be easy to sketch out a blueprint about what your website needs to do - if your customers told you?
A blueprint inspired by spending just a few hours doing some low-key research with colleagues and customers, and a few clicks round some competitor sites to see what they have got right...
Why shouldn't you use your business knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm in an online setting? I'm sure you can do a few hours of specific, guided research and enable yourself to put a blueprint together that's going to work well for your business.
And that blueprint just needs to be a handful of diagrams on few sides of paper - not a massive "thud-factor" report rambling on and on about your "requirements". Neat, quick and simple.
This is concise, clear information that you share with the person building your site. They follow the blueprint and build exactly what you need for your business. They're not left in the dark second guessing what you might need.
My advice is that if you want your company to succed online, do not expect someone else to work out what your website needs to do to generate profits for your business, that has to come from you. Of course, go ahead and delegate the technical aspects of your website, but not the strategy. That way you can be the owner of one of the 5% of business websites that succeed, not one of the 95% that fail.
For over 500 more jargon-free website tips, plus access to my step-by-step system showing you exactly how to retake contol and create your own profitable website blueprint, become a Website Success System member TODAY!
