Reap the Rewards of a Proactive Approach to the Web
Let’s say you hire a salesman for your business. Upon hiring him you provide training, give him all the tools he will need, and then send him forth to do his job. However, you know it’s not a one time thing. You know that for him, and ultimately your business to be successful, he will need ongoing training, continuing education, and his tools upgraded on a regular basis.
This mindset of continually changing, measuring, and improving can also be called a proactive approach, and it’s an essential lifeline to any business. In fact, flip through Fast Company’s List of the 50 Most Innovative Companies and you’ll find that all of these tremendously successful companies adopt and employ a proactive approach to not only what they do, but also to how they present themselves on the Web.
None of these businesses got to where they are today by settling for a mediocre presence on the Web. Just like your other marketing materials, your Web site should be a continually evolving representation of your company. Start with a solid Web strategy and invest the time and resources into adding new features, updating graphics, and exploring new tools. An experienced Web designer will help you discern what elements you need on your site now and based on current trends be able to forecast what features you will need in the future.
Here are some practical ways you can begin employing a proactive approach to the Web:
- Review your Web analytics for a detailed picture of how many people are coming to your site, where they are coming from, and what they are doing while they are on your site. (If you find your Web analytics software confusing, try a simple, more actionable program like StatsAdvisor. )
- Survey your customers about what they like and don’t like about your site.
- Spend quality time researching and evaluating the Web sites of companies who are at the top of your industry. Also spend time reviewing online presentations of top companies outside your industry.
- Read insightful blogs on improving your web strategy.
- Partner with a web agency to identify opportunities
