“We don’t want to change our site – our customers like it”

Frequently, websites prove to be the weakest link in the chain – the chain that begins with a potential customer searching on Google, and then (hopefully) calling you or buying your product.

But there’s a massive hole in the middle of that process, called “bounce-rate”…

…which is the percentage of people who immediately think “urgh” or “not for me” or “don’t see what I’m looking for” and click back to find one of your competitors instead.

So whats the problem with most websites?

- Poorly written
- Difficult to navigate
- Unsure what you’re supposed to do next
- Information isn’t presented in the most relevant way (i.e. the most compelling features right at the bottom!)

For a lot of businesses, the idea of over-hauling the website equates to moving a mountain.

They remember the long, drawn out process of having the first one… the problems with the agency or designer… all the little things that weren’t right… how expensive it was… BLEH.

Getting a website exactly how you want it could be far simpler, and cheaper than you think (yes, I will plug our services here!) And if you feel good about your site – you will want to advertise it more. Otherwise, it feels like climbing uphill with an unnecessary bag of heavy rocks on your back.

But thats logic. It makes sense.

What doesn’t make sense, is keeping with your current website because:
- Your friend designed it
- Your wife likes it
- Your customers say they like it.

Your current customers are likely to say they liked it, because they responded to it. And it’s certainly useful to learn why they like it. But its the customers who don’t respond that you need to worry about – and its much, much harder to find out why they didn’t respond. They’re already on the phone to the other company.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

A hundred people land on your site, and here is what they think:
Two people = “I called because I liked the flower logo, it reminds me of a flower I have in my kitchen”.
Ninety-eight people (if we could ask them) = “I didn’t call because I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I couldn’t even find the contact page to ask”.

If you keep the current site, you won’t realise it but you’ll be attracting the same demographic – the ones who like your site (which may, or may not, be quite narrow).

But by applying a few sound marketing principles, you massively increase the probability of attracting a wider (but still very relevant and valuable) customer base.

So the real question isn’t “how much would it cost to have the site re-designed?”

But…

“How much is the current site costing you in lost business?”

So – get in touch and I’ll let you know what I think of your site (if you dare! I won’t bite, really).

Of course the real results don’t lie with anyone’s opinion – yours, mine, or any other marketing expert. But in sales. And this is why AdWords and Google Analytics are so useful – you can see exactly what your customers are doing.

So get in touch!