After the dust has settles on your website and the number of visitors is counted in tens not thousands the disappointment of the Internet comes home.
This has happened to hundreds of business owners across the UK week in week out. Why is it that so many other business owners seem to be doing so well? You have put the effort in you have invested the budget but the promises of the web developer and the stories in the press have not happened for you.
Why are you not getting some of the £1.2 Billion of sales online in the UK each week? What is it about your website that the customers do not like?
A website user experience review
Many of the clients we see each month, in our website user experience review sessions, say the same thing. Our website is not working and we do not know why. We have not had many visitors since we launched our site four years ago. In fact we have never had a customer from the site. We have spent a fortune on Google Adwords and Search Engine Optimisation but we still cannot get the site to work as we want.
After a coffee and some questions about the products, services and original objective of the site we start to build up a picture of the process the client went through to get where they are now. The non existent design brief, the unrealistic expectations and the low budget allowance. All this combined with a misunderstanding of what is involved in the development, management and promotion of a website that works. These are the reasons many have not had the results they expected from their websites.
The website design brief
The first approach by the many is one of how much will it cost, when it should be how much of an investment will I have to make to get a website that can be beneficial to my business. I have a design brief with me that outline the products, target customers, functionality, and what I want to achieve from my site over the next two years. I have approached three other web developers and I want a quotation from you.
We recently published an article about this subject called What would you get if you ordered your food the same way you commissioned your website? and can be found in the Telegraph Business Club website at
This should give you some idea of the outcome of handing the responsibility of your business to a creative.
Unrealistic expectations
It is exciting to see that nearly 20% of retail sales are now done online. But we have to remember that people are a discerning lot. You, I and everyone you can think of make decisions on what, how and when they buy. The smallest thing that is out of place can stop you and them in their tracks probably going to a competitor website to make the purchase.
When you are in a shop the salesperson can adapt their conversation as they listen to you speak. Online we do not have that opportunity so we have to predict the user and their behaviour to enable us to give them what they want in the fastest and most intuitive way possible. Just because you have a website with a picture of the product on it does not mean that everyone who comes to the site will buy. It is more than a numbers game.
Your investment
This is quite a simple problem - the perception that the internet is cheap is self inflicted. There is so much free stuff online that why should you pay! How many of you can be honest enough to admit that everything you have had for free has cost you more in the long term. We have all bought a spanner form pound land and it has bent the first time we have used it. If we only want to use it once than that is OK and value for money. But we do not delude ourselves in the fact that the spanner will last a lifetime.
The same goes for the internet. A website that only costs you £1000 will not bring untold wealth. If you have an office or shop in a good location work out what it cost to set up and run. Without any promotion how many passing customers do you get each month? What is the cost of teach customer? Add up all the overheads and business costs and divide by the number of passing customers. Find out how much this group of customers spent in the month and then work out if they are profitable.
Think to yourself how much it would cost to open a shop / office in every major town along the M4 to London. Now work out what the cost of doing the same in every town and village across the country. The sums soon mount up and then there is the manning of each location, stock and all the other costs involved, travel etc. You will have a network of businesses across the UK with the ability to be seen by many millions of people. The business should do well, but the cost of setup will be considerable.
Now what is the cost of getting into every home and office in the country that has an internet connection? The £1000 you have spent on a website is no where near realistic if you want to grow a business.
The never ending race
When you publish a website you are entering the internet race. A race that never ends and you only win if you are in the top 10 places. At the beginning you get to the top fairly easily because all the other runners in your section are walking. They see you walking faster so they start to pick up speed. You increase speed because you were enjoying being at the top as it meant more income. They will then go faster and the race really picks up. But you are getting the returns on your investment.
If you stop for a rest or take time out from the promotion of your website the other runners will catch up and pass you.
A website is not ‘publish and it is done’. It is a living document and as such needs feeding and management. You have to commit to it if you want it to bring you the rewards that are there waiting for you.
But realise that the development, publishing and promotion of a website is more than talking to a web designer and popping a few pictures and some text on a webpage.
To get an independent user experience review of your website contact Nigel T Packer on 01693 820984 or email him now nigel@bsuinessforbusiness.co.uk
This has happened to hundreds of business owners across the UK week in week out. Why is it that so many other business owners seem to be doing so well? You have put the effort in you have invested the budget but the promises of the web developer and the stories in the press have not happened for you.
Why are you not getting some of the £1.2 Billion of sales online in the UK each week? What is it about your website that the customers do not like?
A website user experience review
Many of the clients we see each month, in our website user experience review sessions, say the same thing. Our website is not working and we do not know why. We have not had many visitors since we launched our site four years ago. In fact we have never had a customer from the site. We have spent a fortune on Google Adwords and Search Engine Optimisation but we still cannot get the site to work as we want.
After a coffee and some questions about the products, services and original objective of the site we start to build up a picture of the process the client went through to get where they are now. The non existent design brief, the unrealistic expectations and the low budget allowance. All this combined with a misunderstanding of what is involved in the development, management and promotion of a website that works. These are the reasons many have not had the results they expected from their websites.
The website design brief
The first approach by the many is one of how much will it cost, when it should be how much of an investment will I have to make to get a website that can be beneficial to my business. I have a design brief with me that outline the products, target customers, functionality, and what I want to achieve from my site over the next two years. I have approached three other web developers and I want a quotation from you.
We recently published an article about this subject called What would you get if you ordered your food the same way you commissioned your website? and can be found in the Telegraph Business Club website at
This should give you some idea of the outcome of handing the responsibility of your business to a creative.
Unrealistic expectations
It is exciting to see that nearly 20% of retail sales are now done online. But we have to remember that people are a discerning lot. You, I and everyone you can think of make decisions on what, how and when they buy. The smallest thing that is out of place can stop you and them in their tracks probably going to a competitor website to make the purchase.
When you are in a shop the salesperson can adapt their conversation as they listen to you speak. Online we do not have that opportunity so we have to predict the user and their behaviour to enable us to give them what they want in the fastest and most intuitive way possible. Just because you have a website with a picture of the product on it does not mean that everyone who comes to the site will buy. It is more than a numbers game.
Your investment
This is quite a simple problem - the perception that the internet is cheap is self inflicted. There is so much free stuff online that why should you pay! How many of you can be honest enough to admit that everything you have had for free has cost you more in the long term. We have all bought a spanner form pound land and it has bent the first time we have used it. If we only want to use it once than that is OK and value for money. But we do not delude ourselves in the fact that the spanner will last a lifetime.
The same goes for the internet. A website that only costs you £1000 will not bring untold wealth. If you have an office or shop in a good location work out what it cost to set up and run. Without any promotion how many passing customers do you get each month? What is the cost of teach customer? Add up all the overheads and business costs and divide by the number of passing customers. Find out how much this group of customers spent in the month and then work out if they are profitable.
Think to yourself how much it would cost to open a shop / office in every major town along the M4 to London. Now work out what the cost of doing the same in every town and village across the country. The sums soon mount up and then there is the manning of each location, stock and all the other costs involved, travel etc. You will have a network of businesses across the UK with the ability to be seen by many millions of people. The business should do well, but the cost of setup will be considerable.
Now what is the cost of getting into every home and office in the country that has an internet connection? The £1000 you have spent on a website is no where near realistic if you want to grow a business.
The never ending race
When you publish a website you are entering the internet race. A race that never ends and you only win if you are in the top 10 places. At the beginning you get to the top fairly easily because all the other runners in your section are walking. They see you walking faster so they start to pick up speed. You increase speed because you were enjoying being at the top as it meant more income. They will then go faster and the race really picks up. But you are getting the returns on your investment.
If you stop for a rest or take time out from the promotion of your website the other runners will catch up and pass you.
A website is not ‘publish and it is done’. It is a living document and as such needs feeding and management. You have to commit to it if you want it to bring you the rewards that are there waiting for you.
But realise that the development, publishing and promotion of a website is more than talking to a web designer and popping a few pictures and some text on a webpage.
To get an independent user experience review of your website contact Nigel T Packer on 01693 820984 or email him now nigel@bsuinessforbusiness.co.uk
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