Having an effective website now is more important than ever because it is the only digital experience that you can completely own and control. What about social media? We hate to break it to you, but you don’t own your content on social media. Sadly, there is nothing from stopping your competition or even the platform itself from shutting you down online, and there is nothing you can do about it. We have seen numerous businesses loose years of growth in the blink of an eye. That is not to say that in some circumstances, social media can be a great tool and lead generator, but you should never rely on something you cannot control as your primary digital customer experience. The pattern has been and likely will continue to be that social media platforms will allow less and less free access to the end consumer and instead force you to pay to get your business content seen. So we often ask why spend all that energy when you are going to have to pay eventually? If you happen to love creating content, engaging in dialogue, and constantly being on social media, then great, by all means, enjoy yourself. But your priority should always be to have a website that sells you, protects your reputation, and allows you to create a powerful and effective brand experience. “Ok, so I just need a simple website, right?” Well, it depends on how successful you want to be. There is the mistaken view that it’s better to have something up than nothing. This is one of the main reasons 99.9% of the websites on the web look bad and fail to get the desired results. While we agree with the statement that if you don’t exist online, you are setting yourself up for failure and annihilation by your competition, in this day and age, simply having a website is not enough. If you think about it, this all makes perfect sense. How can you or anyone create a good website without the strategy and knowledge of precisely what you need the website to say and do? Before we dive deeper, let’s take a step back and ask what the purpose of a website is? A website serves one of two purposes. It can serve as a digital brochure for you to be found online and to validate your existence. While this is the most basic level, it still needs to be created based on a brand strategy and an experience that serves your brand’s digital needs. The second purpose for a website can be as your organization’s sales piece, software portal, or store. Most of the time, it will serve as the main point of contact for your customers, and the only digital experience they will have that you can control. Now, why does this matter? Because the website is your opportunity to create an experience, tell a story, and engage your customer into taking the desired action, whether it is to call you, email you, make a purchase, or sign up for an email newsletter. Your website is the first experience most customers will have with you, and it is the only one you can control 100%. So if you do not know your customers, their needs and wants, and understand how you solve them, then your brand strategy will be ineffective. It is impossible to plan the content, flow, and structure for your website around goals that do not exist. As the old saying goes, “You can’t hit a target if you don’t aim for.” You can be certain if you haven’t guided the customer to the target you want them to hit, they are not wasting their time trying to figure it out for you. Always remember, if you confused them, you will lose them. Keep in mind that your users are just like you; everyone suffers from data overload and insufficient time. So the best thing you can do is to create a clear, memorable, immersive, and easy to use experience. A great website should tell your story, be your billboard, and quickly tell people how you can benefit them. There is no limit to the depth you can put into your website if you do it correctly. So let’s do it right the first time. Unless you prefer to throw stuff against the wall and hope it sticks. Let us help you create a great first impression and an engaging brand experience. We will work with you to clarify your brand strategy, determine your goals, and ensure you have the right digital experience to optimize your brand online.