Missed Opportunity Regrets: Don’t Let Your New Website Become a ‘What If’.

April 11th 2017 | By Steve Grant

Have you ever had that soul destroying experience of missing an opportunity? It might have been something as simple as the chance to snap a photo of a moment in time that could never be recaptured. Or maybe you intuitively knew the 25-1 outsider that was destined to gallop into first at the Grand National, but you didn’t make it to the bookies in time. ‘Gutted’ is probably the word you’re looking for.

Regret is a powerful feeling. Why didn’t I… ? I should have.. What if…? There’s nothing worse.

Have you ever had that soul destroying experience of missing an opportunity?

If you run a business, and you are looking to grow that business, we guess you will be actively seeking out golden opportunities: opportunities to grab new customers; to convert enquiries into sales; to build your reputation and to gain credibility for your brand. You certainly won’t want to miss out on those opportunities, because you know only too well how you’ll feel when you look back and say, ‘What if?’

Marketing opportunities are out there in abundance. The trouble is, when you are faced with juggling the day to day running of your business and the challenge of getting enough work in to cover your wage bill and other outgoings, it becomes difficult to focus on getting the most out of the opportunities that are open to you. All of a sudden, those opportunities turn into chores, which is a real shame because when you view a task as a chore, it loses its appeal and its excitement disappears.

Chore, or Opportunity?

It’s like a spring clean. You could – and should – look at it as a chance to flush out stagnant energy, cleanse your living space of allergens and go through the liberating and therapeutic experience of throwing out the old to make way for the new. But instead, because there are other things you need to do, you end up viewing it as a laborious task. As a result, you only give it your half-hearted attention. You don’t put any passion into it, and it turns out that in the end, you know you could have done a better job. In other words, you missed the opportunity.

Rather than a chore, a spring clean offers the opportunity to refresh your living space.

It is unfortunate that many business owners view the creation of a new website in this way. They know it needs to be done. They agree that it’s time to bring the site up to date, because it’s just not competing, converting or bringing in sales. However, instead of seeing it as a sparkling opportunity to jump ahead in leaps and bounds, they look upon it as a time consuming chore.

This is dangerous for many reasons.

1. Adopting an it’ll do attitude

When you see something as a step towards better things, the perfectionist in you tends to come to the fore. Nothing but the best is good enough, and this is by no means a bad thing. The result is a glowing example of textbook brilliance; it meets your objectives and is guaranteed to serve you well and deliver a return on your investment. However, view it as a chore, and your attitude will change to one of ‘it’ll do’. You won’t be worried whether or not the result is in line with your commercial goals; you will just be going through the motions because it makes you feel like you’re ‘doing something’. You’ve got a new website, and ‘it will do’.

2. Half-hearted input

A chore does nothing to inspire. Viewing the creation of a new website as a chore, therefore, will lead to half-hearted input. You’ll not give sufficient thought to the key messages you need to communicate in order to grab audience attention and convert into sales. You won’t be worried about the quality of the content, the layout or whether the overall appeal suits your audience. Again a shame, because if you had gone all-out and really thought it all through, you could have had something very special.

3. Lack of focus on commercial objectives

No marketing initiative is worth pursuing without first setting objectives. But if you are viewing a project as a chore, as something you have to do but don’t particularly want to, it is all too easy to lose sight of why you are doing it. This is very risky, because if you lack the motivation of an end gain, it is literally going to be a case of throwing money down the drain.

4. Too much focus on cost versus quality

One of the biggest issues that arises when a new website project, or any marketing initiative for that matter, is viewed as a chore is that cost becomes the main focus. The harried business owner tends to be fixated on bottom line savings rather than making an investment for the future. So instead of taking time to consider what they could achieve by teaming up with a well-regarded website designer; one who will help them discover their brand values and key messages and who will align the design process with the commercial objectives of their business, they plump for a cut price option that will not inflict too much damage on the profit margin.

Don’t let that golden opportunity to shine above the rest get away.

A Good Website is an Investment; a Bad Website is a Dangerous Mistake

If you’ve ever had that feeling of gloom following a missed opportunity, make sure you don’t let the same happen with your website design project. Don’t put yourself in the position where down the line, in hindsight, you’re saying, ‘What if…?’ What if you’d valued quality above price? What if you’d put the effort in? What if you’d viewed the whole thing as an investment and golden opportunity rather than a chore?

What if you had a better website than your competitors? One that had doubled or even trebled your sales?

If you’re looking to partner with a web design and SEO agency that will keep you focused on your commercial goals, and will do everything possible to help you meet them, talk to Figment.