As the year comes to a close, it is time to reflect on the past three quarters and create a strategic plan for the upcoming year. The plan should include evaluating what worked, what didn’t work, what had the best ROI, and what curveballs the industry or economy sent your way. Pulling together all of this information and then coming up with a new and exciting strategy for the year ahead can be a difficult and somewhat daunting task. It’s easy to fall into the same patterns and go-to strategies. But knowing what needs to change? It can be hard to know where to start.
Your perspective may prevent you from seeing exactly what needs to be done. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. The smartest thing you can do at this stage is to get an outside perspective on the situation. Find someone who can approach your strategy from a fresh point of view. Here are five reasons why a new way of looking at things might be just what the doctor ordered.
1. You know everything about your business.
When it comes to your business, nobody knows it better than you. While this is a strength most of the time, it can be a liability when putting yourself in your customer’s shoes to understand their needs. New customers don't know a lot about your company, nor will they be educated on the ins and outs of your industry. You’ll need someone who is less familiar than yourself to identify new (or missing) touchpoints or pieces of content where you are missing connecting with your current and prospective customers.
2. You look at your site on a daily basis..
When we get used to looking at the same site day after day, we become so comfortable. We either love it or become so frustrated we want to throw it away and start from scratch. While sometimes you might need a complete site redesign, other times you might just need to rework what you currently have. When putting together a website strategy for the upcoming year, it’s important to keep the end user in mind. Having a fresh pair of eyes review your site from the customer’s perspective will help determine what changes are necessary and which ones are not.
3. You've said it all before.
We've all heard the expression "Don't reinvent the wheel." Humans are problem solvers by nature, but once a problem is solved, we don't particularly enjoy solving it again. After you've talked to hundreds of people about your business, you'll find yourself reaching for the same words time and time again. In your mind, the "problem" of finding the right words to convey your message has already been solved, and by nature, your brain doesn't want to address that problem again. Often these words and phrases become so watered down they are filled with ‘marketing jargon’ and might not actually mean anything; even worse, these words just aren't converting. You need the help of someone who can offer a fresh perspective on your message. This assistance could be a game-changer to improving your SEO.
4. You can't see the big picture from the inside.
Here's another expression we're all familiar with: "You can't see the forest for the trees." As we know, the gist of this one is that you can’t see the big picture when you are intimately involved in the details. Someone with an outside perspective will see the whole of your business strategy and landscape in a way that you simply cannot. They may spot connections between two pieces of your business that you think of as being entirely different.
5. The value of a first impression.
You'll never see your website the same way that a first-time visitor will. Have you ever noticed that after getting to know someone, they seem very different than they did the first time you met them? The experience of coming to your website for the first time, and not knowing where to go or where each link leads, is an experience you simply cannot recreate yourself. You have an intimate knowledge of your site that will color your impression. This is just another reason why seeking the advice and opinions of a first-time visitor to your site can be so incredibly valuable. Getting a different view could significantly improve your user experience on your site.
Ready to give it a go?
If you're looking for a fresh perspective, CommonPlaces has a team of Web strategists that possess decades of online experience. We can analyze your site to see what touch-ups are needed and create a strategy to make your site stand apart from your competitors. If you would like to talk to our team about taking a look at your Web presence, feel free to contact us.
