What is the power of a website? Is it something that serves as a simple brochure of your business? Does it provide products and services for people to purchase or serve as the main gateway contact for your business and customers? What could it do?
Often times when I speak with people about their website, they tell me it needs to be a simple representation of their business. It needs to show all the stuff they do and tell the world how great their business is.
One problem with that thinking: people don’t care how great you are; they care what you know and what you can do for them.
Websites have to be re-imagined today around the users that are visiting them. A brochure just doesn’t cut it.
Your website is a portal that is there to serve prospects, customers, and employees. This portal is a central hub where everything is organized and where information is sorted to supply people with what they need and are looking for. It’s a dashboard of resources, tools, and knowledge. The power of a website isn’t in convincing others to do business with you, it’s in the engagement with those you interact with. Here are some practices and concepts that can turn your brochure website from a glorified yellowpages entry into a true “Powersite.”
Powersite for Prospects:
Prospects want to know if you have the ability to help them. Many times they are looking for information to use for self-help first, before even engaging you. A power site offers this type of information and engagement up in the forms of blogs, whitepapers, social media, case studies, FAQ’s, video’s, and forums. When users are able to derive value from your site, they are able to engage your brand. Engagement is what drives business. People are more apt to buy from someone they know. Give your site a personality by giving away your knowledge and expertise. Allow potential customers to connect with you and you will allow them to form relationships with you.
Powersite for Customers:
Customers use sites to stay on top of trends, reach out with questions, refer you to others, find self-help information, and keep up with your company. If you don’t regularly update your site, you aren’t regularly updating your customers. The best sites have tools and resources in the form of blogs, check lists, and other information. They keep current customers engaged by supplying fresh information and ideas to help them with whatever customers need.
Powersite for Employees:
So many times, employees are forgotten when it comes to websites. Websites can be a source of pride for employees: a place to showcase their expertise. When a site is designed for employees, it allows them to blog and share their knowledge. It gives them the ability to learn and be a part of something. At Vertical Sight, we use it to house all the collective knowledge of the company into a searchable repository, allowing us to keep everyone up to speed with the best practices of Vertical Sight!
Re-consider your site. Consider how a Powersite may better engage your prospects, customers, and employees. Engagement drives action and involvement. Websites are places where people can go for that involvement at any time of the day and any time of the year.
Don’t let them down.
