Recently a company approached me with a thorny problem: They decided to establish a digital presence. After a high five figure investment and six months of work and debate they had a beautiful website with all the bells and whistles. Unfortunately, they had no visitors, revenue or profit.
Whether you’re a smaller manufacturer who wants to get online profitably or a larger manufacturer looking to improve what you’re already doing online there are principles you should follow to help you meet your goal (and avoid the situation this company found themselves in). Here are six critical ones.
1) Strategy First, Technology Second
In the movie Field of Dreams, the voice told Kevin Costner “if you build it he will come”. That makes for a great movie — but that’s not the way the internet works. I see too many businesses build beautiful, technologically-packed websites that no one visits because they let technology trump strategy.
Technology Trap: Avoid flashy “intro” pages. Numerous studies have shown that internet users (including business executives and buyers) have a short attention span. You site should get to the point and load in a couple of seconds. Intro pages frustrate visitors, add little value and are a prime example of technology trumping strategy.
