You’ve had a new website built and have been running various PPC, social and offline campaigns. You are getting lot of traffic to the new site, but its been 9 months since the new site went live and the number of leads converting is very low, certainly not matching your expectations, nor what the agency you worked with hinted at when you awarded them the contract. Spend, spend, spend.
So what is going wrong?
You have had a number of discussions with the agency to see what ideas they can come up with – they come up with new ways to spend your money, again with little or no results.
It’s a common problem I come across day in day out and in 9/10 cases it comes down to the beginning of the website process – no one has worked out or established what type of site it is you need and what are the objectives of that site.
An agency should guide you through a process to answer the above questions, instead of ‘just’ building the website you want.
Creating a Digital Strategy before any work commences manages exceptions and also keeps the focus on your customer – after all they are the ones buying your product or service!
After all your website is one of the most important aspects of your business – its often the first touchpoint a customer has with you, it’s this first impression that makes or breaks whether a potential client will choose you over any other service.
Your website has to meet the needs of your business and that of your customers. You need to understand your market and ensure your website reaches, responds and delivers that for you and your customers.
The right sort of website typically receives a 67% increase in leads compared to a business that doesn’t have a website.
What can you do to restore order?
First thing is – don’t panic. Sit back, grab a coffee and relax, its all fixable and quite often without the need to rip it up and start again.
Instruct and independent to carry out a full Digital Audit of your online activity; someone (like me) who has no association with the agency, but who has experience to conduct a thorough review of what is working – there will be elements that are working, and some that need addressing.
Work with the consultant to ensure you understand the process and the final report. Once you have received the final report, digest the areas that need immediate attention and areas that have been shown to be quick wins – these are your priority areas – everything else can wait for now. Working in a phased approach will show what works and what doesn’t – allows you to measure results.
The consultant should provide you a timeline that will be broken down into short sprints – each one allowing you to see activity and most importantly measure against it.
Remember though, it takes time, don’t give up after the first couple of months if the results are not what you wanted. Any sort of campaign that is performed properly without risk to your website will take time. Your consultant should guide you on the results coming in, explaining how and where they are coming from and which channel or tactic is working the hardest.
One of the key takeaways should be that at the outset of any digital work both you and the supplier should set clear objectives, expectations for delivery but most importantly you should BOTH work for YOUR CUSTOMER, not for you.
If you’d like to discuss a Digital Audit then please use the form below.