I like that Jennifer Modarelli, CEO of Portland-based White Horse is challenging clients on their lack of willingness to properly invest in their websites.
Writing on Ad Age’s Small Agency Diary, Modarelli says:
Your website is ostensibly your biggest office or storefront. Think real estate: Would you cheap out building your headquarters, manufacturing plant, distribution center, customer service center, or store? And yet, a website can be all of these. This piece of property is available to customers and prospects all over the globe 24/7.
…As digital media continue to evolve, allowing information to be shared across more and more channels, it is more important than ever that your site meet the needs of your users. Your site’s content, usability, and technologies are the foundation for how well you’ll be able to expand into cross-channel media such as mobile, social, and even tablets, and extend your reach globally.
My theory is that C-suites in these businesses still think of the website as a simple marketing asset, like a piece of collateral, rather than as a true location where a company can do business. That needs to change.
Agreed, and there’s another high bar many clients and their providers need to clear–a dynamic site, by definition, is never done. It’s always changing, growing and evolving, so whatever it costs to “build the house” are construction costs only.
When a company moves into their new house “the water” has to run, “the lights” need to turn on and “the temperature” needs to be regulated. These are the ongoing costs. The good news is when designed properly, “the house” will produce more energy than it uses.