How Much Value Does a Website Really Hold?
One of the points of resistance I find when talking to any prospective client is the idea that a website is just a pretty picture with words you can click on that take you to other pretty pictures.
I have often been talking to a prospective client and heard the words “I don’t really see how I can get much value from a website?” Now don’t get me wrong, this is in no way the clients fault. The more technologically advanced people out there might be reading this and banging their heads against the desk in frustration at their experiences with these same scenarios, but the important thing to keep in mind is that there is a reason we know better.
Those of us with technology oriented work or even way of life are sometimes quite arrogant. And yes, before you ask, I do include myself in this grouping.
Whilst in a group of like minded people there is nothing wrong with bitterly whining that your hosting provider has failed to provide a 99% SLA which has caused a higher load on your backup redundancy host. But say that to your average accountant and they will think you are speaking another language.
Not to mention our insistence on making everything appear 10 xs harder by providing vague descriptions and breakdowns of processes which leave the client more confused than when we first started talking to them. I have tried to break the mould by making my Website Design and Development business as clean and clutter free as I could without trying to confuse my potential clients.
I personally find that the best way to communicate to a client the value they can get out of their website is to purely break it down in the simplest form and treat the website as a person. Also make sure that your client understands the BASICS almost as well as you do. Note: I say the basics because it is too much to ask that a client grasp the complexities in one session that took you years of studying.
For example, if you are talking to a general practice and they are querying the wisdom of a website, talk to them about how many phone calls or emails they receive per DAY asking them basic questions. Ask them about how frustrating it is when they receive ten calls asking them if they provide this service or that service and what their operating hours are. I can assure you that their response will be very much in the area of “it takes a lot of time for our staff to be responding to those questions when they could be doing other things”.
Then, if you wish, you can push home your advantage by breaking it down into time. I sat down with a prospective client today and calculated that we would be saving them almost $4,000 a year that would have otherwise been used paying someone to answer a phone and have a five minute discussion to answer a single question. The question? “Do you have parking at your clinic and how do I get there?”
We take for granted things such as a page saying “Parking on premises” and a Google Map showing the location, but sometimes it is the little things that work wonders.
Had a similar experience or even one that left you struggling to convince someone?