Many wellness businesses and professionals create a website because they
think they should -- after all, it's what everyone else does, right?
But a website is like everything else you do in business. You need a
clear goal in mind, or you're probably better off doing nothing. Even a
small website can easily cost thousands of dollars to create. Even the most
minimal site will cost hundreds of dollars a year simply in domain
registration and hosting fees. Add more to that total if you pay a web
developer to make periodic updates, use credit-card processing or offer
services like message boards or chat.
Websites often waste time and money while producing few results. Many,
many business owners think that their "web presence" is producing intangible
benefits that just can't be measured. To tell you the truth, we rarely find
that's the case. The reality: If you can't measure the results, the
problem's not that they're intangible...it's probably that you're not
getting any results. Period.
Some companies use websites for lead generation. Their
hope is that potential customers -- "leads" -- will find their website and
see something there that sparks their interest enough that they then contact
the company by e-mail, phone or even live chat. For example, Life Time
Fitness provides information on their websites about membership options and
pricing. You can't sign up online, but their hope is that you'll come into
the nearest club (which you find using the online club locator) and join.
Others actually sell and deliver products and services through their
sites. In fact, some businesses rely exclusively on
their websites. Examples include strictly online businesses like eDiets or
Plus One Active's online personal trainers. And professionals like trainers
and dieticians may offer downloadable coaching sessions or workout and food
plans to online customers as well as in-person coaching sessions with local
clients.
Yet others primarily use their websites to support current customers and
complement their physical "brick-and-mortar" location. For
example, health clubs often offer membership renewal, workout tracking, and
reorders of nutritional supplements through their sites. And while you
probably didn't buy back-office software and computer equipment for your
business through a website, searching the vendor's online support forums and
database is often the first thing you do when you have a problem.
2) Billions of websites exist. What's your plan for how people will find
yours?
While lead generation is the reason we hear most often for having a
website, the reality is usually very disappointing for most wellness
businesses. The fundamental problem: how the heck will potential customers
find you, when billions of websites exist?
The critical question to ask:
Is it reasonable to assume that customers will find you on the Internet?
Or is it likelier that they will find you through some other method: word of
mouth, driving by your storefront, seeing billboards, cross-marketing with
their favorite retailers, etc.? People looking for a health club may well
start with an internet search. People looking for a personal trainer often
start by asking friends. You must understand how your customers behave when
they're shopping for your kind of product or service.
Let's say you decide it's reasonable to think that your customers will
often start by looking for your kind of business with an Internet search.
How do you increase the likelihood that they'll find you?
Three ideas to get you started:
First, search engine optimization (SEO) increases the odds that your site
will show up in search engines. Investigate everything from keywords to
metatags to links to related sites.
Second, evaluate sponsored search services provided by sites like Google
and Yahoo. These services allow you to selectively present Web ads based on
an Internet surfer's search query. If that surfer clicks on your ad, you pay
a small charge. If no one clicks, you don't pay.
Third, consider whether you could use a soft-sell approach to publicize
your business on related sites. For example, if you offer specialized
fitness programs for people with chronic diseases, be active on websites
targeted towards those individuals. Don't overtly market your
business--that's a real no-no. Post useful suggestions and ideas. Include
your website address in your signature when you post.
3) Your company's website should have a clear call to action. What's
yours?
What do you want people to do when they visit your site?
If you're clear on your goals for your website, determining the call to
action is easy. You definitely don't want them to click a couple of times,
then wander off never to be heard from again. In general, you want them to
find enough of interest that they'll pay your site another visit. Ideally,
you'd also like to get their e-mail addresses and perhaps a city and state
so that you can take the initiative in communicating with them in the
future.
If lead generation is your goal:
Offer something that will encourage them to reach out to your
business. For example: a health club hoping to spark interest in a club tour
can offer an Internet-only premium -- say, a coupon for two complimentary
smoothies and two protein bars when they come in. (Offering two encourages
them to bring a friend!). If you offer nutritional counseling, perhaps you
want them to sign up for a newsletter so that they have a no-risk way to get
comfortable with your approach. Then, in the future, they'll be likelier to
respond positively if you market programs to them via e-mail.
If selling products and services exclusively to online customers is your
goal:
We think the best call to action in this situation is to offer something
that will get visitors to volunteer his or her e-mail address so that you
can communicate with them again in the future. Many visitors don't buy on
their first visit. You need to be able to reach out to them later in order
to eventually win their business.
Two ideas: give them the opportunity to register on your site to reach
valuable information, or invite them to subscribe to a complimentary
newsletter.
Other tips: Design your site to create an immediate sense of confidence
and trust in site visitors. For example, display trusted logos like Verisign,
BBB Online, and eTrust. Prominently display your customer satisfaction
guarantee and contact information.
Include testimonials and customer references. Carefully chosen audio and
video can really connect with potential customers by showing them a snippet
of a real training session, for example. Provide clear and thorough
descriptions of what they can expect when they buy from you. After all, the
only information they've got to rely on is what you provide on the website.
4) Your website should be about your customer, not about you.
Focus on the ways you improve your customers' and clients' lives.
Customers DON'T want to see and hear:
How long you've been at your location (usually not important at all), how
long you've been in fitness or wellness (important only if customers choose
you based on your expertise). If including short bios of team members is
appropriate, focus on the most relevant experiences they've had, not a
rehash of everyone's life story. And honestly, customers don't usually want
to hear too much about your passion for helping people, your vision for a
healthier nation, or similar "big picture" ideas. Certainly it's OK to
mention these - but don't go overboard.
Customers DO want to see and hear:
Proof that you understand their priorities and their goals. Evidence that
you know how to help them get there. Customer and client testimonials.
Useful information to help them take action: directions to your store,
telephone numbers, and store hours, for example. One of the best examples of
a customer-friendly site we've ever seen isn't even in the wellness
industry. It's PrintingForLess.com, a commercial printing site that offers
instant online price quotes, no registration required, and tons of genuinely
helpful information about printing brochures, business cards and the like,
written with small businesses in mind. (Yes, we are a happy customer!).
WWe saw a website for a fitness retailer recently that didn't list any of
the manufacturers whose equipment they offer. Are potential customers likely
to choose that store? Of course not.
5) Your website should be fresh. Is yours stale?
Websites need freshness dates -- just like the food we buy at the
grocery!
Schedule time for you and your management team to look at your website.
Delete what's old and outdated.
If you have a "Media" section with one article in it from your grand
opening three years ago, either get rid of that section or update it.
Otherwise, your business looks stagnant. Pages that say "coming soon"? Lose
'em! A few months worth of healthy living tips for 2004, never updated
since? It's time to retire them or get serious about updating them every
month. Still have pictures of staff members who have long since moved on?
Photos of your business before the big refurbishment? Those need to go too.
Then, add what's new and interesting to customers.
Updates on the new equipment you've installed, the additional
chiropractic services that are now available, a monthly health tip? It's all
good - as long as it's relevant to your customers and you keep it fresh.
