Way back in the olden days, the proverbial shot of the storekeeper with a broom at his front step, apron tied around his waist, seemed to be everywhere. You know the scene. Mister Jones’ grocery (florist, hardware store, drug store, candy shop, appliance outlet, etc.) was the Main Street retailer and everyone knew his name. In the window was the display with his hot-selling items, specials, and maybe some local news of interest.
Mr. Jones wouldn’t dream of opening his store without sweeping the entrance area or washing the windows, updating his posters or flipping the “closed” sign to “open”. After all, dozens – maybe hundreds – of people would be walking by that day and he needed to put his best foot forward to earn his share of their hard earned money.
These days you have your own entrance area to tend.
You may not be Amazon, or even a mid-sized web company, but there’s a good chance you have dozens or hundreds of people coming by your online storefront. At the end of the year, even a small traffic website likely has thousands of visitors. Maybe there are even tens of thousands of people visiting your website. And yet, unlike the storekeeper, you’ve probably not cleaned the windows, rearranged the items on display, or swept out the entryway.
We’ve spoken to scores of business owners who have let their website go untouched. Not just for days or weeks, but virtually untouched for months or years.
How does that happen? You wouldn’t dream of letting your shop go, but that first impression that initiates a consumer or patient’s choice remains out of date, unattractive, and maybe not even responsive to visitors who choose to “surf” on their phones or tablets.
It’s true you can have a successful business without a relevant and enticing website. But why would you? In these “uber” competitive economic times, there are some simple ways to keep up with Mr. Jones. Build a useful and attractive website and make a plan to update it on a regular schedule. It’s as simple as minding the store.
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