Collaboration Insights

When I was in my early twenties, I had just moved back to Nashville to finish school and pursue a career in the music business. As I found myself interning in the marketing department of a well known record company of the day, I made mention of the fact that I was an aspiring vocalist. Amused, the marketing director said “Good luck, singers are a dime a dozen around here!”

Harsh? Maybe, but true. There were some very important lessons contained in that little interaction that not only applied to my vocal aspirations, but also to your website for your  business.

I was having a conversation with a pastor the other day of a medium sized church that has a decent website. He began telling me how they were getting ready to sink a sizable sum on a brand new website. He was talking about the way it was going to be designed so that Google would pick it up when people searched, obviously just re-stating the sales pitch he had received. He has basically bought off on the new design with the understanding of “if you build it, they will come”.

I was very tempted to offer the same response that my marketing director had offered so many years earlier… “pretty websites are a dime a dozen”.

There’s a lot of talk about SEO, and designing to make sure your website is found by the search engines. This is all very well and good. There is no doubt the importance of this aspect of the design. However, if this is the extent of your marketing strategy, you are going to wind up with a very pretty, very expensive frustration!

3 Things Wrong with This way of Thinking

1. Tragedy of the Ass-U-Me – The tragedy in this way of thinking is assuming that people are going to be looking for you! While this is going to be the case sometimes, if you have not developed a recognized brand for your product, you are counting on the luck of the draw. For instance, let’s say your site comes up in the number 1 slot on a Google search for running shoes… but just below the listing for your online shoe store are the links to RunningShoe.com, Runner’s World and Brooks Running Shoes. You may have the superior product, superior price, superior  page rank, but the person searching wants to know they are going to an expert resource.
2. Shelf Life of Your Site – One of the major advantages/selling points of your small business over a large competitor is your ability to make changes and adapt to market dynamics quickly. A good real-world example of this came in conversation yesterday with the owner of an upscale women’s boutique. He described a beautiful display case that was very striking and drew a lot of attention to a particular product line. This was great when this product is in demand. However, when the product is out of season, he cannot afford to keep it in this prime store space. As a result, he has to go through a great deal of de-construction to remove the display to make room for in season product. By putting all of your marketing eggs in the website basket, you are putting up a static display that will require further expense to make changes.



3. Missing Out on the Conversation – This is the true tragedy resulting from all types of Interruption Marketing (thanks @dmscott for the term). Chances are, there is a conversation going on about your business… if not directly about your business, then at least about your market. Savvy customers are engaging one another for insight on the best bang for their buck. Savvy competitors are engaged in social media conversation in a way that educates their customers when they’re not looking for the product and processing real time feedback about what customers are looking for when they are ready to buy. In this scenario, you are “that other company”… just because you haven’t engaged in the conversation.

The point here is not to knock a great website, or to rant about interruption marketing. The point is that there must be a comprehensive approach to your marketing strategy. If your web design company is not seeking to educate you on how their product will complement a greater strategy of connecting with potential customers, it’s time to kick them to the curb. You might as well hang your company logo across the CocaCola truck in the picture above!

A comprehensive approach to marketing incorporates a great website, SEO, social media conversation creating buzz about your product and positioning you as a member of the “virtual community” and driving traffic to your website, and traditional marketing that drives people to join into your conversation.

Pretty websites are a dime a dozen… unless you are engaging in a process of fostering conversation that draws your potential customers to your site. When these potential customers become actual customers because they have been educated by your conversation rather than “sold by a pitch”: PRICELESS!