Time for an Update?
October 25, 2005
“He doesn’t work here anymore,” she said. When I replied
that I’d gotten the name directly off of her company’s website, she told me, “That’s
old.”
It happens so fast, doesn’t it? You change something about your image or your company and you don’t change the website.
Hey, I understand. One of my books was revised and repackaged with a new title and people were still ordering the old one off of my website because I hadn’t updated it. To make matters worse, the new title was on there, too. So when some people ordered both books, I had to make an embarrassing phone call and say something like, “Uh, well you see, it’s sort of the same book…”
One of the reasons for the popularity of "blogs" is because, as blogging expert, Dave Young says, it's like a website that doesn’t gather dust. But, if you're going to have a website it's still better if it doesn't gather dust in the first place. When was the last time you dusted off yours? And if you don't have a website, it may be time to consider one. According to the Wizard of Ads, Roy Williams, it's today's Yellow Pages and a vital part of deepening your relationship with those you serve.
Of course, keeping up to date doesn’t stop at your website. Business cards, style of dress, even the language you use needs to be fresh and relevant. And um, seriously, about that hairstyle…
Wonderful reminder... especially with the holiday season peeking over the horizon like a cat ready to pounce.
It takes so little, if any, money to update a site yet has so many repercussions.
Posted by: Paul Boomer | October 26, 2005 at 01:45 PM
You've made a very good point here, especially for retail sites. I can't say how often I have visited some websites for a second time within a couple of weeks and nothing about them has changed. This usually discourages me from going back at all. As stated in the previous comment, websites are extremely efficient when talking about the amount of money and time spent on them. Any site can stay fresh with the slightest changes in advertising or promotion, or even pictures!
Posted by: Scott Cook | November 14, 2005 at 03:32 PM
cool advise. i have also noticed that people rarely update their websites. sometimes u know this may be attributed to the promise of the site never reaching even half the expected impact. then all of sudden the company move away from pursuing the web project. but this of course should not be the case with retailers as they need to give a fresh appeal to customers.
Posted by: Richwell Phinias | December 06, 2005 at 07:35 AM