This is frequently thought about but rarely asked. A question that can lead to more questions.
Let’s start by identifying your goals. By identifying your goals you can look at them with a short-term and long-term mindset. Short-term quick wins that allow you to see progress. Long-term which drives overall success and growth.
Where some businesses get themselves in trouble is comparing themselves to their competitors. They have this so I feel like I need to do the same. That’s not always the case. Keeping up with the Joneses can not only hurt your pocket but your business.
This is where moving at a pace that works for you and your business comes in. You have to work within your budget. This may require working on projects and goals within phases. Taking steps instead of leaps forward.
The important thing is to focus on what will work best for your customer base. Will sweeping changes affect the way they view your brand? Would you benefit from implementing them over time? If you survey most customers they’ll say over time is a better customer experience.
Giving them time to adjust to the changes. Not going too far too fast. You can look up and realize in trying to make advancements that weren’t needed right away. You’ve chased away clients that were comfortable with the way things were.
The other thing to consider is sweeping changes tend to cost more. Those costs are going to be passed along to the customers. By going with something more gradual. This gives you an opportunity to show the value of the changes. In addition to gathering feedback.
Brand Management is just as much about the target audience as it is about the business. The reality is that it should be more of a 70% audience 30% business split. They’ll be things that you have to do for the betterment of the business but the bulk should be about your customers.
You can grow a business by not pressing to take on things that you need more time to think through and plan out. Website under construction & coming soon affects the customers. It affects sales and the customer experience.
More than not you’ll fair better planning things out in a way that allows you to work behind the scenes. This way you don’t disrupt the flow of the buying process and customer journey.
Make changes in a staging environment while leaving the site live and active. Roll them out once they’ve been tested. The business that you may lose with your website down. Is business that could pay for that next phase of the project.
There is no shame with working in phases. Especially when it allows you to be more organized and efficient. Your customers and the third-party partners you may hire will thank you for it. This will allow you to work within your budget and still generate revenue at the same time.
