Duct Tape Marketing

 So you've got a website. Too bad it's costing you more business than it's earning you.

Sorry to break it to you, but dude, your website sucks.

Nobody else is ever going to tell you. Your spouse loves you too much to be honest, your friends don't want to hurt your feelings, your kids are too busy to care, and your potential customers, well ... their eyeballs and their wallets have gone elsewhere.

Let's be honest. You've seen bad websites before too. Real stinkers. And yet, you probably have no idea that your site is a dud, an eyesore, a menace, a clunker.

Now look, don't feel bad. Don't fret. And don't give up. You can fix your site quickly and easily. Just look for these five symptoms, and treat them accordingly.


Symptom 1: Your website is not big-boned.
If a potential customer has to wait for your site to load, then you're wasting their time, testing their patience, and worst of all risking losing them to the dreaded Back Button. Think about it. When you surf the web, what do you do when a website takes too long to load? If you're like most of your customers, then you click back and move on to the next result in your web search. If your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load on a fast (Cable or DSL) connection, it's time for a diet.

The Remedy: Trim the fat.
Flash and exciting graphics can make a website pop. Of course if no one can get to the page, then those nifty graphics aren't helping, are they? In the old days when everyone had dialup, an image over 25K was considered excessive. Somehow, now that “everyone has broadband” too many designers and businesses have lost sight of load times with amped-up, super-sized graphics. Test your site from several computers, on several different connections, with several different browsers. Count the “Mississippis” and think about trimming the fat.


Symptom 2: Say what?
If a customer walked into your store, would you ever show them a quick video of dancing elephants or a magical spinning cube? Sure it might look cool, but if any element on your website isn't informing your potential customers and helping you make the sale, then it's not just expendable, it's counter-productive. Every second a potential customer spends on your site is valuable (to them and to you), so get our of their way.

The Remedy: Respect your customers.
Stop and think about your customers. If you don't have one yet, assemble a list of FAQs (frequently asked questions) that you hear from them or you think someone might have. Don't just add the list to your website. That's not enough. Look at your homepage. Does it cover most, some or even any of these questions? If it takes you more than a click to find the answer or a link to it, then you need a rewrite.


Symptom 3: You're such a bore.
You love what you do, and you love telling people all about it. You're so in love with your own words, that you don't realize your website has become the yammerer at the cocktail party who doesn't notice that everyone else is glancing at their watch. Like Symptoms One and Two, this symptom is all about disrespecting your customer and failing to think about your website from their perspective. If your homepage covers more than three to five major points, then you need to get help.

The Remedy: Get to the point, already.
Yo, shut up. Figure out exactly what you need your customers to know. Better yet, figure out exactly what your customers want to know, and then say it. Sit down with a piece of paper or your laptop and make an outline. Start with three big roman numerals (or five, if you really, really have to). Organize all of your thoughts around these three themes. If something doesn't fit, then think about whether you really need it. Odds are, you don't.


Symptom 4: Nice daisy dukes.
You've heard the story before. Two candidates interview for a job. One comes dressed professionally in a suit, the other shows up looking like a bum on a bender. You know the candidate in the suit gets the job. So then why does your website look like it's wearing jean shorts and a greasy t-shirt? You're competing for every customer's job and so is your website. Sloppy graphics, a ratty layout, typos, and poor color choices all detract from your appeal.

The Remedy: Clean up your act.
You don't have to look slick to look good. Take the extra effort to polish. If you can't be bothered to make sure your own logo looks its best, then why should any customer think you'll invest yourself in their project? Appearance is realty. You only get one chance to make a first impression. People judge you by how you look. You know the clichés, so embrace them. Your mom will be so proud of you.


Symptom 5: Eh, who needs data?
You launched your website, so who cares if anyone visited. It's not like you can follow up with them anyway. What are you, an idiot? If you're not already collecting email addresses and other information about your customers, you really should. If you're not collecting statistics on your web traffic, you absolutely should. Wake up!

The Remedy: Horde your data.
Knowledge is power. Whether it's adding an email sign up form to your website or setting up a Google Analytics account to track visitors, the more information you collect, the more effective your website will become. Give potential customers a way to leave their calling card and then communicate with them. Know your visitors. Don't obsess about your stats, but see where people are coming from, how they're finding you, and what they're doing while they're on your site. Use what you learn to improve your content and your marketing efforts. Data is your friend. Make a play date.


Now that you've faced the hard truth and admitted you have a problem, you can get to work fixing it. Remember that your website represents that first foot in the door for potential customers, so just make sure you don't stub your toe.