EvoBloggito

Part 4, Why Bad Websites Happen to Good Companies: Leaving the Website to the Webmaster or Web Designer

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jan 8, 2009; Category: Bad Websites/Good Companies, Business, Design/Development, Marketing; Tags: Business, Design/Development, Marketing; No Comments

Don’t get me wrong: web designers and programmers are critical to the process of creating a website. But they cannot manufacture a viable web presence without the ongoing interest and participation of C-level (CEO, COO, etc.) managers in establishing, supporting, and adjusting a company’s web strategy. Companies that don’t understand the place their websites have in connecting and communicating with their customers will not give them the attention needed to be more than online brochures. In such a situation, the "web guy/gal" can do little more than make the website an attractive shell, devoid of any real "meat" that would engage a company’s customers.

If you’re a C-level manager, how can you be productively involved in your company’s web effort? In the words of the warden in Cool Hand Luke, first you have to "get your mind right." To accomplish that, commit to a minimum of 4 hours a week for 6 weeks to do the following:

1. Educate yourself about about how other companies are using the web to connect with their markets rather than talk at them. A good place to start is with David Meerman Scott’s book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. The book contains some great information that will help you understand more about your website’s potential.
2. Use Google Blog Search to find blogs that relate to your industry. Get RSS feeds to 5-10 blogs (if you don’t have an RSS client, get one. Google has a free reader, and there are other free options.) Read the blog posts you find interesting and make comments when you feel you have something of value to add to a post.
3. Establish a LinkedIn account (or pay more attention, if you already have one). Make some connections, join some groups, participate in discussions, and answer some questions. Avoid blatant self- or company-promotion and focus on helping people with their problems.

After 6 weeks, a light bulb should go on (even if it’s flickering a bit) about how the web has become a place for connecting, rather than for broadcasting messages. If that light bulb is lit up for you, you’re ready to participate in your company’s web effort. You won’t be an expert, but you will have begun to realize your company website is not doing what it could to contribute to your company’s sales, marketing, and customer relationship goals. That realization will enable you to participate constructively in creating a web presence that engages people in your market.

For more posts in this series, see the “Bad Websites/Good Companies” category at right.

The Pace of Change: What's it Mean?

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jan 7, 2009; Category: Video, Zeitgeist; Tags: Change, Education, Future; No Comments

Many of you may have seen this. It’s a 2009, Americanized update of a video from mid-2007, originally produced for a British audience.

What’s it mean? That’s the question left hanging at the end of the video. Share your thoughts.

What You Can Learn from the How-Much-Does-a-Website-Cost Question

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jan 1, 2009; Category: Design/Development, Marketing, Zeitgeist; Tags: Buyers, Partners, RFPs, Website Cost; 2 Comments

Sometime during every first conversation or email exchange with a prospective client, we get asked the how-much-does-it-cost question. We understand people’s need to weigh value, and we don’t mind having that part of the conversation, because how and when the question is asked tells us if the prospect is in our market (businesses that include the web as part of their business platform).

The Commodity Buyer
If the cost question is the first question, before they’ve even attempted to tell us what website features or development services they want, it’s usually a pretty short conversation, because we end it as soon as possible. Commodity buyers not only don’t tell you what they want before asking how much it costs, they can’t tell you if you ask, because typically all they know about websites is that they need one.

The Ego-driven Buyer
Ego-driven buyers do almost all the talking; we rarely get to ask questions. They make a show of their lack of concern about what a website might cost. Often they say something like, "This is not a cost decision." About 95% of the time we hear that, it’s a cost decision.

The RFP-dependent Buyer
Typically, RFP’s are issued by government and quasi-government entities. RFP’s tend to be an odd mixture of too few specification details overall, with a few weird specifications thrown in, such as "must be compatible with MS Access." Huh? The cost question is based on specifications, which is good. Unfortunately, in our experience, government and quasi-government entities rarely have anyone on staff capable of fairly evaluating web proposals, and RFP’s are often more about showing a paper trail of due diligence than about effective vendor selection. As a result, we rarely bother to respond to RFP’s.

The "Business-Partner" Buyer
These are the folks we work well with. First, they they ask some questions about our capabilties, and then they tell us about their project. We ask questions, and pretty soon, we’re having a real conversation. They’re clearly passionate about their business, and they’re looking for a long-term relationship with a developer who can help them as their business and website needs grow. Typically, they ask us for a written estimate after we’ve had an opportunity to think it through. They have a fair idea what to expect cost-wise, so our estimates almost always seem reasonable to them. God, we love that!