5 Arguments Against Redesigning Your Website

Do you know that Intuit runs up to 70 different tests each week on the TurboTax website, according to The Lean Startup, in order to see how their customers respond? That means that you could visit their website on a Thursday and by Monday, the same page could be changed. Come back in three days and it’ll probably be changed again.

These types of business owners give a lot of time and attention to their customers, which makes the online experience better and easier for you as the visitor.

And what do you do? You start becoming a loyal visitor of that website. Isn’t that what you want from your own customers?

If the customer continues to be the most important part of any business and customers use the Internet most frequently to shop and compare products and services, why is it that so many website owners are hesitant to redesign? These are the top 5 arguments we’ve heard – and how we respond.

1. That’s fine if you have an Amazon-sized budget, but I’m just a little guy.

Hinge Marketing recently released a study of how 500 high-growth companies use online marketing to grow leads and build their brands. Consider this quote from their latest book, Online Marketing for Professional Services:

Fully 66% of firms [we studied] plan to increase their online marketing budget this year. The average increase is 56%. And this is not a new trend. Over 46% of the firms we studied had already redesigned their website within the past 12 months.

You can’t afford to ignore online marketing. Look at what you’ve spent on traditional marketing in the past year and determine – truly – how effective it has been in building visibility and leads for your business. A website redesign is a great way to kick off a new marketing strategy and re-excite your customers.

2. Oh, our customers know what we do. How much can you really say?

When was the last time you casually asked your customers what they thought of your website, the impression it leaves on them and the quality of the information they find there?

Customers change and online shoppers have become more sophisticated. They make decisions very quickly about what is missing from a website, and often judge a business based on that, even if it’s a company they’ve known for years.

On the other side of the coin, how well do you know your customers right now?

• How are their lives changing?
• How could you help them solve their day-to-day problems in your own unique way?
• What value can your company bring to their lives?

A website redesign is a great opportunity to think about whether or not you’re really communicating with your customers.

3. We think the website is fine the way it is. There haven’t been any complaints, and our traffic has been steady.

Did you ever notice how quickly people complain about Facebook’s website? That’s because millions of people are using it every hour. If you’re not getting any feedback from your website visitors, that could mean they’re not planning on coming back.

In the online world, silence is deadly. When was the last time you evaluated your website and really thought about how it’s addressing the needs of your target customers?

And don’t you want your traffic to increase? Too many website owners are complacent about their traffic numbers when they should be using them as indicators of how prevalent their website should be in their marketing planning.

4. We don’t really want people to contact us online. We really only use the website to give people enough information to pick up the phone and call us.

This one blows my mind, honestly and truly. If you’re lucky enough to have attracted customers to your website, be grateful and sell there. Don’t expect them to then pick up the phone and call you for the “real pitch.” People are online because they think it’s easier, so don’t make it harder.

If your website isn’t currently a way to generate leads for your business by offering valuable content and stimulating them to request more information through a simple online form, then you’re missing a huge opportunity. Redesign your website to gather leads and keep it simple.

5. Our website is about as good as our competitors’.

A website is a key part of your business’s identity. It’s not just a way to stay on par with your competitors. It’s an opportunity for you to surpass them.

Having said that, redesigning your website isn’t an opportunity to rip off your competitors either. Be unique and show that you solve your customers’ problems better, more efficiently, and with more understanding than your competitors ever could.

Online Marketing for Professional Services captures the attitude you should have:

If you’re sitting on the sidelines contemplating whether online marketing makes sense for your firm, you should be aware that many of your competitors are not so complacent.

So even if you think you’re in line with your competitors, at some point, somebody has to differentiate themselves and earn those customers’ loyalty. Why not you?

Photo credit: juan pablo santos rodríguez and i k o