Thinking strategically is one of the most important things you can do for your business. It means having clearly defined goals, a path to get there and way to measure if your actions are working. Every action you take should be a fit for your strategic plan. Sometimes I’ll hear someone in the early part of their business make a comment like “I have to start tweeting!” This seems to be true since many successful business owners are tweeting, but my response is always “Why?” or “What do you hope to accomplish by tweeting?” If it’s early on in our work together, it sometimes throws the person for a loop or they think I’m being sarcastic (I’m not). Nothing is a given in my business world and everything has to pull it’s weight.
The same is true of your website. You know you need one, but what’s it for and does it perform that function well? A website can serve very different purposes depending on the business. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
- gather leads through a form
- build newsletter subscriber list
- encourage people to call for an appointment or consultation
- sales of product right on website
- provide basic information (the online version of a brochure)
- give potential customers an easy way to get to know you
- provide customer support or help
Which of these functions should your website be serving? Does it? What changes would help your website function better? What other functions does it serve?
This is a good one. I began a blog on how I live on a fixed income. At first it started out on my passions… then it extended out into how to live on a pension; and how hard it was, what I missed out on, what I did instead of going out; and most of all, what I did when I finally did save up enough money to go to the movies or be able to afford that big outing… where did I go? What did I do? Usually, I found things to do that were free or very cheap… found cheap places to eat… bought second-hand books, clothes and vinyls/music.
This is what I tell my followers. It informs them that – even though on the outside my life looks good – I’m living below the poverty live and never eat lunch, not because I’m starving myself, but because I can’t afford to supply myself with it. I also tell people how I work around getting rid of that hungry feeling around midday.
Mozette, It sounds like a good niche. I’m sure your tips would be valuable to lots of people.