In times of trouble like we are currently experiencing with the COVID-19 virus, it is imperative for service companies to step up their support function. The status quo is not good enough, not nearly good enough.
Listen, everyone is going through difficult times right now. Many businesses are suffering and some are in dire straits.
Here are four things you can do to help your clients/customers:
Be Responsive – when someone asks you for help or send you a request, answer them as soon as humanly possible. Since our inception in 1996 we have always practiced this. We always respond the same day. While this seems elementary, you’d be shocked at how many companies in my line of work don’t respond for weeks at a time.
Be Flexible – you will inevitably have clients/customers who are having a difficult time paying their invoices. Wherever possible you need to be flexible either give people more time, reduce bills and help them in anyway you can to get through this tragic in our history.
Be Proactive – when you see clients missing out on opportunities, especially those that won’t cost them too much money, let them know, provide them with any and all ideas you have that might help them survive, and eventually thrive.
Be Understanding – it’s always good to put yourself in other shoes. Perhaps your business is doing OK, but that’s not true of everyone and it always helps to try and show understanding. You will have people angry, upset, sad and experiencing every emotion there is. People’s frustration level is at an all-time high. So it is our job to try to calm them, help them.
As the expression goes, this too shall pass. Eventually we will have treatments and/or vaccines and we will be able to move on from this difficult time in our history. Until then it is our duty to help others in anyway we can. The least we can do is provide the best support we can. This will ultimately pay off and your clients/customers loyalty towards your company will result in more referrals and longer-term satisfaction. Everyone remembers those who helped them during difficult times.
I recently had a friend connect with me on LinkedIn. I hadn’t talked to this person in quite a few years and naturally (as I tend to do) took a peek at his companies’ website. I won’t say what his organization does, as that will give it away and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I will tell you I was shocked at what I found.
While I can’t point to the URL, I will tell you what I discovered and how this may apply to you and your business. We will examine Design, Content & Security.
Design:
Their website looks like something we were building in the mid to late 90s, or as I like to say the early days of the web. The amazing thing is that this organization serves tens of thousands of members and is collecting huge fees (which isn’t going to their technology 😉 ).
The website was not responsively designed, and therefore looks terrible on mobile devices and even pads. The website screamed, I don’t care what anyone thinks, and I don’t even care if anyone uses this site. It was a disgrace and so out of date from a technology standpoint, using outdated platform like cold fusion. (who knew that was still around…)
As with most sites built in the 90s, it is very boxy with gradients and a logo which is using beveling, a drop shadow, a glow and other outdated design elements. The site is easy to navigate with a simple main menu, which most time would be a real benefit. Unfortunately as most of the content is out of date you just easily navigate to outdated and in many cases irrelevant information. The biggest design no no is the fact that a site doesn’t function on mobile devices. This is a disgrace in 2020.
Content:
From a content standpoint, most information was 5+ years old, though they had a few new links to articles. I took a look at their photo gallery they had photos from 2007 – 2010 which shows you they aren’t adding too many pictures. Their video gallery was just as bad with the latest videos being from 2013. Their call to action it’s a video to entice you to join which dates back to 2011!! So from a content, and SEO standpoint, the site fails miserably.
Security:
Although this site has people sign up on it, the site is not secure and pages are not encrypted. This of course is a real no-no in 2020. But this site seems to not only have an outdated design, they seem to be using security measures from the 90s, basically none at all!
Bottom line:
This site is terrible, and has a look and feel from the 90s. I don’t think anyone viewing the site would argue my point. The saddest part is it wouldn’t take very much to get this website in shape. You could do a redesign and throw the content into a content management system with a stylish, responsive theme. I would review and remove outdated content and advise they get onto a schedule of adding more current, relevant information to their website.
So How does this relate to you and what can you do:
If you look at your website and it looks terribly out of date and at very least it isn’t mobile friendly, it is time for you to make a change, quickly! Well over 50% of the people visiting your website will be on mobile devices, so if your site is a mobile friendly you will lose them, and lose them fast. The same goes with your content. If you have content that is old and stale, you have a problem. If someone comes to your site and see this, chances are they think that either of you are out of business or you’re just not very good at what you do. Outdated content shows a severe lack of pride. Remember: Your website is your window to the world and outdated site says to people, you don’t care if they look inside.
If you want a free evaluation, contact us today, we are happy to advise you.
