Whenever I start working with a new client, the first question I always ask is: "What does success look like for you?"
It's a simple question, but an important one. The answers I get are surprisingly diverse.
Some business owners want more leads and sales. Others prioritize brand awareness and social proof. Many just want a "nice looking" website - though they can rarely articulate what that means!
In this post, I'll break down the 5 main goals most small business owners have for their websites and online marketing efforts.
For many businesses, the #1 goal is increasing leads and customers.
This often comes from a fear of "we need more leads or we'll go out of business!"
While important, this mindset can be dangerous if taken too far. Just focusing on lead gen tactics without an overarching strategy leads to:
The key is balancing lead generation with your overall positioning and customer experience.
For example, a boutique needs a different website than a discount retailer. Chasing "leads at any cost" might damage their brand.
Some effective strategies include:
But none of these work without a solid website foundation and aligning your messaging, design and content to your ideal customers.
I worked with a home services company targeting homeowners in a 20 mile radius. Their old website was generic - it could have been for any company in any industry.
We redesigned the site to focus on local homeowners as the ideal customer:
This led to a 2x increase in conversions within 90 days.
Other businesses prioritize brand building over direct sales.
Law firms, medical practices, agencies, and B2B companies often focus on this. They want to be seen as:
For them, the website is like an expanded business card.
These companies need content that shows thought leadership and authority, such as:
The design should also match their brand positioning - clean and modern, warm and friendly, bold and cutting edge, etc.
A specialized law firm needed to attract bigger clients and referrals from other firms. Their old site was disjointed with no clear brand.
The new website presented them as focused experts:
This cemented their reputation and increased attorney fees over 20%.
Some business owners originally started sharing information online just because they were passionate about a topic.
Now, they want to turn that audience into a business - but without losing their followers. Examples include:
The priorities here are showcasing their content and personality. Sales come second.
They need:
Converting fans into buyers comes later once trust is built. This takes patience and consistently great content.
A popular quilter had thousands of blog readers. But she wasn't sure how to turn this into a business.
We designed her site to transition readers into customers:
In the first year her pattern sales doubled - all while retaining her loyal readership.
Some businesses only serve customers in a small geographic area. Their priority is promoting their service area and physical location.
Examples include restaurants, boutiques, contractors, photographers, gyms, etc.
Their website needs to:
Getting found on searches for "best __ in San Francisco" is key. Ad campaigns should also be geographically targeted.
A family-run dance studio struggled when big chains expanded into their area. Their site didn't highlight why students should choose them.
Their new website focused on their local roots:
This helped them compete against the bigger brands coming to town.
Some websites aren't directly for business goals - they're passion projects or causes.
People build these sites to:
The focus is on getting eyes on the site and building momentum vs revenue.
These websites need:
Success is getting visitor feedback, social shares, and monitoring growth signals. Proving the concept to eventually turn it into a business.
Someone with a nonprofit background wanted to create a site to match volunteers to opportunities.
The MVP included:
Focusing on a solid foundation instead of advanced features allowed the site to launch quickly. Site traffic has grown 10% a month since the soft launch.
Why does your website need to exist? Defining this helps align your strategy and priorities.
Of course, over time business goals often evolve. You may start as a passion project and turn it into a lead generation machine.
But starting with focus established the right foundation. You can iteratively improve and optimize to meet shifting needs - without having to rebuild your site from scratch each time.
I hope this gives you insights into common small business goals. Feel free to reach out if you need help getting clarity around your vision and how a website can help make it a reality.
Copyright © Zach Sean Web Design
