Every company has a main location -- the busiest hub where the most transactions occur. Even if you own a home-based business, you still have a main location: it's your Web site.
The other day, I met a gentleman who owns a very successful recreational vehicle dealership in another state. I asked him a question that stumped him and made him seriously turn around his thinking regarding his online marketing. I asked him: "How many sales did you make from your Web site last year?" He said he'd have to find out and get back to me.
Now if I had posed the question differently, such as "how many sales did you make at your main location last year?" he would have reeled off that information immediately because his main office is the heart of his business and he pays close attention to it, like any highly successful businessperson would.
Of course, he's not selling RVs directly off his Web site like Amazon.com sells books online. But with a properly SEO'd Web site that's user-friendly, he would definitely increase his sales.
What I wanted to find out was how many potential customers were finding his Web site in the search engines; how many were calling him and how many were not calling him, based on information (or lack of information) on his Web site.
The ones who weren't contacting the dealership were probably disengaged by the Web site for a variety of reasons (that could easily be fixed) and clicked out of there to find his competitors.
Start paying attention to the people who are stepping into your "main office" but are leaving because you're ignoring them.
If you can't answer the following questions, it's time to turn around your thinking and treat your Web site as seriously as you would while opening up and caring for a major business office or retail store in your company.
Ask yourself these eye-opening questions:
« When's the last time you reviewed your Web site's statistics to see how many visits your Web site is getting per week?
« How many sales did you make from your Web site last year?
« What plans have you made to ensure that your Web site will bring you more customers and sales in the coming year?
« Do you have an online marketing plan?
« How much of your marketing budget was devoted to improving your Web site to get more leads from the search engines?
« How much did you wish you had budgeted? (With 73 percent of Americans searching online for products and services, don't you think that devoting 75 percent of your marketing budget toward your Web site makes sense?)
« How do you measure how effective your Web site is at selling your product or service online? What type of information does your potential buyer need to make a decision or at least call or e-mail you?
People are buying homes from other states without seeing the actual home in person. Due to the use of video and virtual tours, home buyers with a limited amount of time can shop online and make a decision. People are deciding on other major milestones because of information they're finding (or not finding) online.
Turn around your thinking: don't ignore what could be your busiest sales location --your Web site. It's worth your time to investigate your "main office" to see how it could be improved for your potential customers to make a purchase decision or to at least call you.
Are you ignoring customers? - To learn more about this author, visit Lori Gama's Website.
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