Outdated Web Design is Costing You a Fortune

08 Aug Outdated Web Design is Costing You a Fortune

In business, as in life, first impressions matter. Since your website is the first impression many people will ever have about your business, it’s important to be honest about what it’s saying about you.  Take a look at your existing website. Put yourself in the shoes of a first time visitor. Imagine you have no experience with your company. What does the web design say about the organization? Does it communicate that you’re a leading force in your industry? Does it tell visitors that you’re on the cutting edge of technology? Does it demonstrate professionalism & trustworthiness?

The truth is, 75% of the population admits to judging a company based on their website design. If 3/4 of all visitors to your website are making a snap judgement, often within less than a second after landing on your website, what kind of a judgement will be made? 

I’ve worked with hundreds – maybe thousands of clients over the years. I’ve never met a business owner comfortable with turning off 75% of their potential customers. However, you wouldn’t know that by looking at many of the websites that still exist out there.

But hey, maybe they’re comfortable with the 25% of customers who are able to look past the web design, and move forward anyway. Fair enough. But here’s another shocking statistic. 57% internet users say they’re not comfortable recommending a business if their web design is garbage, or if it doesn’t display well in mobile. 

Let’s break down some quick math.

Say you’re in the business of selling “blue widgets”. Each new customer is worth $250 to your bottom line. Your current website, which was designed in 2013, receives 1,000 clicks per month. 750 immediately click the back button looking for a more trustworthy competitor because of an outdated website. The average global conversion rate from website visitor to lead is 2.86%, so of the remaining 250 visitors, say you convert 3% into actual leads. You have a rock star sales team that converts 50% of all new leads, meaning that you’re landing an average of 3.75 new deals per month, or $937.50. 

For those who don’t love story problems, here’s the equation. 

1,000 Clicks Per Month x 25% of users who don’t judge based on bad web design = 250

250 x 3% visitor to lead conversation rate = 7.5 new leads per month. 

7.5 new leads x 50% close rate = 3.75 closed sales. 

3.75 x the hypothetical $250 = $937.50 

Taking it a step further, 83% of satisfied customers are willing to refer. In the above scenario, that’s a possible 37 new referrals annually. But if 57% won’t even refer your business because of bad web design, that only leaves 16 possible referrals. Given the above example, you’re losing out on $5,250 in referral income based on a 50% close rate. However, businesses with referrals have a 70% higher conversion rate, meaning the actual loss is closer to $8,000. 

A Better Web Design Leads to High Revenue Growth

However, say this company had invested in a new website, and wasn’t turning off all these potential customers due to poor web design. Between new & referral business, given the same conversion rates, they’d be generating a total of 25 new sales per month – 15 from new business, and 10 from referrals. That’s $6,250 PER MONTH – an increase of 566% from the revenue they were generating with the old website. 

It also stands to reason that instead of the average 3% conversion rate they were experiencing on the old site, they would convert at a much higher rate by incorporating the latest web design & conversion optimization trends. I think you’re getting the point, so I won’t bother breaking down the math there. Bottom line is that an outdated website is costing your business a fortune in unrealized profits. 

Putting your best foot forward will pay huge dividends over the lifetime of your website. In fact, when it comes to marketing, your website is the single most important investment you’ll ever make. 

Imagine if you coupled this new website with a highly profitable SEO campaign. The return on investment is astronomical. 

When you consider the fact that your website never sleeps, never calls in sick, it consistently gets in front of key decision makers, and delivers your message perfectly every single time – day in and day out – it’s easy to see why leading brands invest so much in their website, and then invest heavily into driving traffic to that website. 

Imagine what a sales person like this be worth to you. You wouldn’t pay them $10,000/yr. Not even $50,000. A salesperson like this would be worth their weight in gold. Yet, this is exactly what your website can perform. What’s even better is that it will cost a tiny fraction of what it would take to employ that rockstar salesperson. The Return on Investment is insane when a website is done right. 

Summary

So again, put yourself in the shoes of a prospective new customer, and visit your website. What is it saying about you? What do you want it to say? 

At Brown Box Branding, we’ve developed solutions for clients at every level. Whether you’re a start-up entrepreneur, a mid-sized business, non-profit, or enterprise level corporation, our team has done it all. Get in touch with one of our web design professionals today, learn how we can craft a solution to meet your needs, and take your website to new heights.