Envisioning Success

Defining Your Business Goals

Posted by Chris Shockley under General, Marketing

Introduction

When I talk with people about their website, whether they have one already or are looking to have one created, I find that most have an idea about what they want their site to do, but they do not have it clearly defined.

Defining the Goals

If you don’t take the time to list out the specific business goals for your website, you won’t be able to definitively tell if it is succeeding or not.

At best you’ll have a bit of an idea. You may be getting some emails and calls, but for the most part it’s very subjective.

Take the time to sit down for a few minutes and consider specifically, what do you want your website to accomplish. This is the only way to know it is acheiving results or not.

A list might include something like:

• 5 new prospects per month
• Sell “x” widgets per quarter
• Add 10 people per month to our newsletter

Think about it just like you would if you were going to spend your time and money doing any other marketing. What do you want to get out of it?

And if you’re not really sure where to start, find a design firm that is willing to sit down (in person, over the phone, etc) and talk it through.

Measuring Results

Once you have your goals laid out, you can start to examine and measure how your website is doing. Keep in mind, your website can’t “do” anything on its own. You need to make the necessary efforts to bring out the desired end. Having the goal and measuring for success ensures that you are taking the steps necessary to succeed. Remember, it’s not just the website that is succeeding, it’s you and your bottom line.

In conclusion

Regardless of how you go about pursuing these gains, keep in mind that regardless of the goals you set, your website is probably one of the least expensive marketing tools you have, so don’t get too depressed if results are slow in coming, at least initially.

With the right effort, your website will become a source of profit whether directly or indirectly.

Good luck and keep working at it.