Digital technology is always on the move, always evolving and changing into something different. It can be difficult to keep up with, especially if your business is focused on anything other than mastering digital technology or marketing. However, tough though it may be, failing to stay current can blunt a business’ competitive edge.  

Is Your Web Presence Too Old School?

  If it’s been a few years since you overhauled your web presence, you’re probably missing out on some great new tools. Social media, YouTube and other digital resources are important ways for modern businesses to leverage their web presence for better exposure and higher customer satisfaction. But there’s another reason to stay current: keeping customers interested in what you’re selling.   The truth is that an old website isn’t exactly exciting to the average online shopper or service seeker. Outdated or poorly executed web design can actually harm an organization’s perceived credibility, and while many things may have changed in business, trust is still a highly important factor in a customer’s decision to buy from a specific brand or hire a professional service provider. First impressions matter, and if your website appears to be a relic of a bygone internet era, you could even be driving customers away.  

Standing In the Customer’s Shoes

  That may sound extreme, but it makes sense if you think about it from the customer’s point of view. Think about it this way: the evolution of digital technology is moving ever closer to ideal efficiency and user friendliness, which means that older sites will be less convenient than those that have been updated more recently.   For example, if you have to download a file or install a plugin on your computer in order to watch a company’s product demonstration video, are you going to take the time to do that or are you going to look for a competitor who offers video demonstrations via embedded YouTube videos right on the product page? In most cases, customers are going to want to go with the fastest option, and that means going for the option that includes embedded videos they can watch instantly with the click of a button.   The idea that a customer might be willing to download a file from an unfamiliar website onto their computer is risky. Most internet users are savvy enough to know that downloading files from websites they’re not familiar with—even if that website appears to belong to a business selling a product or service they need—is a bad idea. Most virus prevention advice clearly states that downloading files from untrustworthy sources is a no-no, and in this case, “untrustworthy” and “unfamiliar” mean essentially the same thing. Again, this ties into the idea of trust and credibility more than it does mere bias against old technology.   The goal of having a web presence isn’t just to tick a box on a list of things you need to run a business. To make the effort truly worthwhile, your web presence, including your website, needs to offer a useful experience for your customers. That means staying current and avoiding old-school tech tools that can make a business unappealing.