So what, now what? 5 reasons why your web site needs to change, today.

In our consulting practice, we’re often called upon to help companies redo their web site(s), or build their first – nothing extraordinary there. What is extraordinary is how often we hear that the primary driver for changing a corporate site is, well, not defined at all. For that reason, when we’re engaging a client in such a project, our first question for them is not “what” (as in what do you want on your web site), it is “why” (as in why do need a web site, or why do you need to change your web site). If you’ve ever found yourself in that position, we offer 5 reasons (or drivers) why it may be time to redo your web site.

1. Your site was designed for you or others in your firm

Unless you, or others in your firm, are your company’s primary customer, why would you spend time, effort, and dollars marketing to yourself? Don’t build sites that you love, build sites that your customers will love. Sounds like common sense, I know, but ask yourself (and answer honestly) whether or not your current site appeals to your customers or to you.

If you find that it’s the latter, no worries, you’re not alone and that you’ve identified the issue is more than half the battle. Now go do something about it!

2. You have a site because your competition has one too

To be clear, I am an advocate for having a web site, especially if your competitors have them. But you should have a web site that’s part of your ongoing business development process, one that you’re actively planning and executing. That is, the “if you build it, they will come” strategy isn’t a strategy.

If you are not doing anything with your web site, start doing something!

3. You haven’t updated your content in the last 30 days

This is an easy one – and often overlooked. Look at your web site’s metrics (we use Google Analytics on all our sites), specifically new vs. returning visitors. The quick regression is this: returning visitors turn into customers, and customers turn into repeat customers. If you’re not giving people a reason to return to your web site, you are missing huge opportunities to generate additional revenue over the long term. In the late-nineties and even into the next decade it was typical to create your web site based on your fancy tri-fold brochure (the set it and forget it approach), but today that’s a recipe for online failure. I’m not suggesting that you need to turn your web site into cnn.com with up-to-the-minute information, but I am suggesting that you need to provide good, valuable content on your web site so that today’s visitors come back next week to see what’s new.

If the content on your web site today is the same content from last year, create new content!

4. Your web site does not consistently generate sales leads

Your web site should be the center of your firm’s marketing universe. A good web site will help you measure all your marketing activities and provide concrete evidence about which should continue and which should be amended (or discontinued).

If your web site is just sitting there not generating leads, why do you need a web site?

5. Your web site isn’t mobile friendly

You can choose to ignore mobile, but you may do so at your own peril. The average visitor to a corporate web site arrives and leaves in less than 10 seconds. That’s it – we have zero patience online! Bad news – it’s even worse on the mobile web, so make sure your site is accessible on mobile browsers.

If your web site isn’t readable (and fast) on a mobile device, go mobile!

The Myth of Open-Source vs. Proprietary

Stop fearing technology and solutions that are not open-source!  There, I’ve said it.  Why?  Read on.

Far too many companies, savvy marketers and salespeople continue to evangelize open-source as the alternative to being taken to the cleaners with a proprietary solution.  Enough already!

There is no doubt that open-source solutions continue to provide more and more commercially viable options, and for some, genuinely present the best solution for a given need.  What I can’t stomach is stretching the truth about a technology solely for the purpose of scaring potential customers into using your product.  Unfortunately, I hear it all the time in my consulting practice when clients tell me “we won’t use a proprietary solution, because we don’t have control over [insert many things here].”

My follow-up question is usually about their use of MS Word, (for example) but the list can go on and on.  For all you MS Word users out there who actually paid money for the software, are you aware that you don’t own it? You own a license to use a specific version, or versions, in perpetuity. However, you have no right whatsoever to change, revise, use in manners other than intended, re-purpose or resell that software, because you don’t own it.  How many of you, now that you know that, are going to stop using it?  I suspect somewhere between none and zero. Why?  Because it’s not really about open-source or propriety at all.

Those who mislead about the virtues of open-source vs. proprietary aren’t always addressing the right issues. Typically, customers are reticent about a solution because of the service or lack thereof that they have received in the past from a service provider. It’s rarely a true technology issue so much as it is a service and expectation management issue. Unfortunately, for companies that use more mainstream corporate technologies (Microsoft .NET, MS Visual Studio and MS SQL Server as examples), there are so many examples of poor service and poor execution of technology that it’s easy to fall victim to the broad brush-stroke that is anti-proprietary.

Recently, I was browsing a web site and read the following:

“We develop sites with code that is universal on an open-source platform. That means when your project is complete, you’ll own every element of your site. We don’t use proprietary code…”

If you’re the average consumer, that may look and sound great.  It may resonate with you because the solution above is “universal” and “you’ll own every element” of what’s produced.  Here’s the problem, from someone who is in the business – it’s marketing speak and full of holes.  Beyond the fact that it’s entirely void of details in terms of process and real technology, it’s as much a policy issue as it is a technology issue.  I know of many web site platforms that are not open-source, but where you own your site 100% no questions asked.  Good service companies stand behind policies that like because they provide good service.  They don’t need to own your intellectual property – that’s nuts!  It’s not a technology issue – it’s a policy and service issue.  By the way, companies who use open-source tools can provide bad service just as easily as companies who don’t use open-source tools.

There are many other myths to address in another post.  The myth of “free” is a favorite of mine, but one that I’ll save for another day.

How not to get burned

Ask questions.  Make sure that a service provider is willing to educate you and your team, work with transparency in terms of process, address your concerns and always answers your questions.  Unless you have a real business need that dictates the use of an open-source technology, be open to other solutions.  In the end, proprietary is not bad or evil, and neither is open-source.  It’s almost never the technology that’s at issue, but the service behind the technology.

3 Frustrations In Dealing with SEO “Pros”

SEO Guru - or not

Disclaimer: SEO is a topic that my colleagues, my company, and I consult on regularly.  This is about what our clients have shared from their past experiences with self-proclaimed pros and gurus, and in some cases, what we’ve done to clean up after a “pro” who crafted an all-too-nebulous, secretive, and oft-overpriced SEO engagement.  Gurus are great, but don’t sprain your shoulder patting your own back.  Let the praise come from someone else.

So here are the frustrations, presented in ascending order to provide some wonderful suspense…

3. Too many SEO pros still don’t know what they want to be when they grow up

You can trace this one back to a time before web design (it was a simpler time back then), but we’ll start there.  Every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the free world was a web designer.  In fact, this is still an issue in professional circles for those companies who compete for the “value-driven” consumer.  Newsflash – a pirated copy of Adobe’s Creative Suite and some YouTube tutorials don’t make you a web designer any more than landing a fighter jet on the USS Nimitz in Microsoft Flight Simulator makes you a Naval Aviator.  But I digress…

Eventually, the glut of army-of-one web designers created such an imbalanced supply, others looked for additional revenue streams.  Enter SEO.  Hey, he might be able to make your site look pretty, but I can trick Google into thinking you’re #1 (or #2, or even #10, but after #10, you’re pretty much shot).

Already, we’re seeing those ranks dwindle too in search of greener pastures – enter Social Media Consultants – or folks who tweet all freaking day when they should be doing work.  Volume (not decibels) surely gives credence to my Guru status, right?

2. It’s all a big secret

Sometimes we don’t care how it works, just so long as it works, right?  Well, when it directly impacts your business, that philosophy seems shortsighted, myopic, and altogether dumb.  But, so many SEO evangelists want to keep their work shrouded in mystery.  I have a client who recently ended an SEO engagement with another firm because they wouldn’t explain how they executed their strategies.  Their response to his inquiry was to ask for $6,000 / month, up from $2,000 / month for the same work in two new keywords.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.  Or, pick your own metaphor.  In this case, give the client a hammer and some nails and stop worrying that they’ll be a master carpenter.  In our experience, two things happen when you empower clients with knowledge.  First, they advocate for you, and second, they hire you again and again and again because we all have the same 24 hours in a day and most people just don’t have time.

1. Guaranteed Results

This simple concept is at the epicenter of debate over whether or not SEO magicians are really miracle workers or charlatans.  You’ll see this topic bantered about all over social media sites liked LinkedIn, where practitioners spew page after page of client testimonials and results and “proof” that they can deliver results.  Please, don’t be fooled.  It’s not that excellent results are not possible, it’s that no one (except perhaps Google) is in a position to guarantee them.  In baseball, the very best career batters have batting averages hovering around .300, which means they have a career failure rate of about 70%.  Imagine even the best hitter guaranteeing a hit each time to the plate – it’s complete lunacy, but people fall for it with SEO.  Take that a step further and imagine the same batter guaranteeing a home run each time – certifiably insane.  But if you’re an SEO pro, throw caution to the wind and guarantee the #1 spot.  Please.  What happens when 11 clients come to you and all want to rank #1, or even first page for the same phrase?  Social Media Expert anyone?

I believe in SEO.  I believe that there are best practices that if followed, consistently, can yield excellent results.  I believe that some SEO pros are better than others and consistently perform at a higher level because they work hard and stick to a plan that includes best practice white hat techniques.  I believe they are experts at trying new techniques and measuring results.  I believe they are experts at expectation management and they do not over-promise, but almost always over-deliver.  I believe that anyone who makes the decision to read publicly-available information and then experiment with its concepts can execute successful SEO.

We typically don’t refer to SEO “projects” because “projects” implies a single event.  SEO, in our practice, is like a lifestyle vs. diet.  When people diet, many fail, and some succeed.  After a successful diet, many reverse course.  A lifestyle is a fundamental change in the strategy and execution of one’s life on a daily basis, based on an ever-changing world and personal circumstances.  Is it not true that your business world changes regularly with new entrants, new products and services, new trends?  One and done SEO projects will do to you just that – one and done.  Be wary of SEO gurus who exhibit the above frustrations, and good luck.  There are so very many good consultants out there too!

Don’t Quit – Author Unknown

Here’s to a new week.  Good luck to all!  This poem hangs on my office wall, and it offers a lesson in life and business.  I hope it helps you as much as it has helped, and continues to help, me every day.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit....

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar.

So, stick to the fight when you're hardest hit....

It's when things go wrong that you musn't quit.

Meeting your customers’ expectations? All may not be well.

If you didn’t have products or services that customers need, you wouldn’t be in business.  Successful businesses meet those needs, but doing so is a bare-bones minimum.  Great companies go far beyond simply meeting customers’ needs by delivering great service at all customer touch points.

To be fair, if you’re selling bags of sugar or some other commodity, you’re probably safe to focus simply on meeting your customers’ expectations.  All buying decisions, yes all of them, are emotional.  Even sugar, for example, is purchased because of one’s love for baking sweet treats.  There’s an emotional connection, both to the joy of baking and to seeing the smiles on the faces of those who enjoy the end result.  Unless your sugar ruins my recipe, I’m buying, because it meets my expectations.

With premium products and professional services, however, solely meeting expectations is no ringing endorsement.  Be honest.  When is the last time you got excited about a product or service when you heard “yeah, it meets my expectations”?  If you were honest, the answer is never.

I’m a Home Depot junkie, which means my workshop/basement is loaded with stuff that I’ve purchased, and that I’m planning to use at some point.  From time to time (after 12 months of not using something) I’ll return it.  You guessed it – Home Depot’s return process does not meet my expectations.  It exceeds them.  Their incredible no-questions-asked return policy is painless, stress-free, and every retail store could learn something from the model.  In short, it blows away my expectations about product returns.

Find ways to surprise your customers with extraordinary service.  Send a hand-written note, agree to a meeting before or after “normal” business hours, remember their birthday or children’s names, send information on Wednesday even though you have until Friday, accept a return after 12 months without question.   If you don’t, someone will, and over time your customers may be lured away from your basic, vanilla, no frills, expectation-meeting experience.

Google+ what’s yours is mine

Just a little ditty from Google’s Terms of Service, you know, as we all pour our lives into Google+

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

The full terms are available for your enjoyment here.

Call your prospects to add value, not just to check in.

Think again!

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a courtesy call from a sales professional who is just checking in to see if you’ve made a decision and are ready to buy?  Typically the first check-in is followed by a second, a third, a fourth, and so on until a near perpetual game of cat and mouse breaks out only to end once the cat, or salesman, completely runs out of energy, or worse, when the mouse goes on the offensive!  The answer is simple, but it is rarely practiced effectively.  Make each call an opportunity to add value for your prospective customer.  However, there is a catch.  It must be genuine!

In our practice, sales consultants aren’t allowed to call a prospect simply to “check in” or “touch base” without at least delivering information that could be of value.  Perhaps the information is a new way to use a product or service, advice based on past experience, an interesting article, or even a networking introduction.  It should be relevant and genuine, and not simply an exercise in reaching out.

Prospects find new and creative ways to avoid calls and emails that offer no value, but serve only as a reminder that they have not yet said “yes” to your sale.  The next time you grab your phone or type an email in an effort to move an opportunity forward, do so by offering value and building trust.  Drop the phrases checking in and touching base from your sales vocabulary, unless you really like leaving all those voicemails!

4 reasons why small law firms need a web site

In my company’s consulting with law firms, especially small firms (including solo firms), we often hear that a web site isn’t important because “we get all our work by referral.”  Without a doubt, referrals are one of the best, if not the best, lead generation tools available in a sustainable lead generation program.  However, the internet has long changed the way people buy products and services and firms that ignore the trend may do so at their own peril.  Here are 4 reasons why small and solo law firms need a web site.

1. Web sites can help foster trust

Reasons for not creating and maintaining even a modest web site about one’s practice typically include phrases like “we don’t need one” or “I don’t have time,” and seem to focus only on what’s more convenient for the firm as opposed to prospective clients.  Even after a referral the next stop for most prospective clients will be online.  Referral or not, your web site provides a low-cost method to show your face(s), describe how your practice can help, and provide prospective clients peace of mind that you’ll be a good fit.

2. Web sites work even when you don’t

It’s 11:30 pm and your office hours ended much earlier in the day, but don’t tell that to your web site.  It’s still there providing information about you, your attorneys, your practice areas, case history, and more.  In fact, it also has a “request information” form so that prospective clients can ask questions or request a consultation.

3. Your competitor already has one

The Yellow Pages has taken a distant back seat to the web, and most consumers will spend at least some time online to research companies before they buy.  Even with a referral, not showing up online alongside your competitors could eliminate your firm from further consideration – out of sight, out of mind.

4. Web sites help grow your referral network

That’s right, you can use your web site to build an even better referral network.  Your web site provides an easy, low-risk avenue for others to suggest a visit for further consideration.  What’s more, with increased requests for information your ability to identify and select the best fitting clients will improve.

It’s okay to be ugly

That’s probably too broad a stroke, but in this case, I’m talking about software and SaaS (Software as a Service).  Hey, some companies don’t have Apple’s fiscal and human resources to make things “perfect.”  Besides, perfect isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be (I love Seth Godin’s take on this one: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/06/how-do-you-know-when-its-done.html).

Sometimes just getting to your end-game, however “ugly” the experience, makes you the winner while everyone else is waiting for beautiful design, a perfect interface, and to be all things to all people.

Ugly but functional beats out beautiful and in-development.  Stop waiting, and go be ugly.

400 product features and $2.50 will buy me a cup of coffee

Does anyone like salespeople anymore?  I’m more than a little biased, but there’s still hope for salespeople and the rest of the world to coexist in perfect harmony, even prosperity.  For one, good salespeople help their customers improve – process, customer service, marketing, operations, the bottom line – you name it.

If you’re not in sales, allow me to pull back the curtains a little on my colleagues and tell you about one of our favorite four-letter words!  I suspect that lots of salespeople have heard your favorite four-letter word, so this is only fair, right?  Our favorite four-letter word is BANT.  It stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline.  It’s often used to help marketers and salespeople identify the right fit for pursuing opportunities.  After all, if you have the money and you’re the decision-maker and you need my product and you want to buy soon, boy do I want to talk to you!  Unfortunately, young, inexperienced, or careless salespeople often focus on budget, authority, and timeline, (or just budget) but give little or no attention to need.  In fact, I pin the world’s disdain for salespeople on this very omission!

It’s cleverly disguised as content-laden, over-rehearsed, auto-pilot-delivered pitches that explain the 400 great, wonderful, fantastic, best-in-the-world features from some product or service.  Inexperienced salespeople lead with features, close with features, and carry on about features in between, hoping that one of them sticks.  They’ll use phrases like “we’re the only one in the market that has this, that, and the other thing.”  So long as your prospect is concerned about this, that, and the other thing, you’re headed in the right direction.  Statistically speaking, they’re not.

Features are not bad, as perhaps my title implies, they’re wonderful.  The issue is really how you, as a marketer or salesperson, use them in the context of customer communication.  One of the biggest mistakes I see and hear from salespeople is when a potential customer engages them with “tell me about your product,” and the salesperson just floors the gas pedal.  Do yourself a favor and don’t floor the gas pedal, yet.  You still don’t know which road to take!

Prior to iTunes, the average Joe had been known to buy an entire music album because of the one good song he liked, but also because he controlled the “next” and “back” buttons to get to the one song, out of fifteen, that was meaningful to him!  Most people haven’t figured out how to press the “next” button on a salesperson to cut through the meaningless information, and get to the important stuff.  The solution is simple – only talk about what’s important to your audience.  You don’t need to be a mind reader.  All you need to do is honor whoever you’re speaking with by asking good questions about what’s important to them.  I realize it sounds like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many salespeople don’t ask.  Once you’re armed with knowledge about what’s important, floor the gas pedal and drive down the right road.

Don’t differentiate by “featuring” your prospect to death – differentiate by asking what’s important, identifying need, and honoring the relationship.