by Clancy Cross
The days of slapping together a
5-page Website as an online calling card are all but extinct. Every
organization, even sole proprietors, has a straightforward choice to make
regarding its online presence—invest the necessary time, effort and money to do
it right or “stay home.” Yes, I believe
an ill-conceived and poorly-executed Website (and other online activities that
define your online presence) can be more damaging than having no online presence
at all.
In these 30 questions you'll find
value at three levels: 1) When you discover the importance of the questions; 2)
When you uncover specific answers needed to improve your online presence; and
3) When you implement solutions that get you closer to the results you want and
need.
STRATEGIC – To
keep an organization's online presence from becoming an afterthought, it must
be a high priority in strategic planning activities.
1.
What is the purpose of our Website (and other online activities)?
2.
How does our Website contribute to and fit in with our strategic plan?
3.
Who do we expect to visit our Website?
4.
How do people find our Website?
5.
What do we expect to happen as a result of visits to our Website?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS – What's true for meeting a new person is also
true for meeting a new Website. People
will judge your organization by your Website and they'll often make that
decision in less than 30 seconds.
6.
Does our Website have a clean, professional look?
7.
Is our content meaningful and relevant?
8.
Is our content tasteful?
BRAND – Your Website can damage, reflect/reinforce or enhance your
brand. How well you perform in the area
of Internet branding will impact outcomes in other areas of your online
presence.
9.
How do our customers define our organization's brand?
10. Does our Website content and
appearance promote/reinforce our brand?
11. Does our Website help create/redefine
our brand?
COMMUNITY AND EXPERIENCE – The biggest lesson from both Starbucks
and the explosion of social media is that people are seeking an experience. Many people visiting your Website, especially
the ones you hope to attract, expect an online experience.
12. How does our Website enhance the
relationships with our stakeholders?
13. What are we doing to
encourage/inspire frequent return visits?
14. How are we engaging people to spend
more time on our Website?
15. How does our Website encourage a
social atmosphere on our Website?
16. How do people use our Website as a
resource?
17. Does it engage the brain (inspire
to think)?
18. Does it touch the
heart (inspire to feel)?
19. Does it challenge specific action
(inspire to act)?
20. Does our Website serve all
demographic groups in our stakeholder population?
21. Do you have audio and video pieces and
are they the appropriate style and length for your audience?
22. How are we adding value to those
who visit our Website?
23. Does our Website create a positive,
memorable online experience?
USABILITY -- This may be the hardest objective to achieve. Even the
most popular Websites fall short in creating a user-friendly experience for every
person of every demographic and every available display device. As challenging as it is, you can't afford to
ignore usability.
24. Is our site easy to navigate?
25. Is it easy to read?
26. Can people easily locate what they
want and need?
27. Does our Website have multiple
purposeful points of entry (i.e. landing pages)?
RESULTS – How you define Internet success and track your progress
is the only way to realize the full impact of your investment. Find out what metrics are available and
understand how they provide insight about achieving your organization's
strategic objectives.
28. What metrics are we tracking?
29. What do they tell us about what
we’re doing well?
30. What do they tell us about what we
can do better?
Whether tapping
into my own mind or the minds of experts, I find the best way to learn is to
ask good questions and take lots of notes.
Use these 30 questions and the follow-up questions they inspire, to find
out how to make your Internet presence more successful in fulfilling your
personal and organizational missions.
Internet technologist, musician, entertainer and business owner. Visit his blog at: www.ClancyCross.com
