Most websites are nothing but electronic brochures. They provide the same information as your paper brochure, which is entirely a waste of time. You have to understand that most prospects that contact your academy found you online or saw your URL in an advertisement. Once they visit your website, they then make a yeah or nay decision to visit or contact your Academy.
What Your Prospect Does
So, here’s the scenario, a prospect does a search on one of the popular search engines and finds your site. You might not be listed in the top ten (which has to be improved), but they noticed that you are the closest Academy to where they live. They click on the link and head over to your electronic brochure. Nothing there is that appealing. You talk about yourself, your style, and how great your school is… just like everyone else.
The prospect does not go to your website to check you out… they are there to solve a problem that they have. Are you addressing those problems at your website? Probably not. Most schools do not. Big mistake. Your website must address the problems that the prospect faces and offer solutions.
Another Mistake
Another big mistake is that most schools have a simple form to fill out or an e-mail address for the client to contact you. If they are not turned off by your website (see above), and they do contact you, what do you write back? You probably make an offer of a few free lessons or some other incentive for them to contact you. Did you address their problems yet? Worse yet, all you most likely have is an e-mail address. It’s unlikely they will respond to anything you write in an e-mail, and they’ll just hit the delete button.
Do you use a professional web designer or someone at your school? What happens if they quit? Can they optimize the website for search engines, so you are number one on the list? Who writes the copy? How can you make changes, fast?
Some Solutions
Here are some solutions: Hire a professional website design company and pay them $1500 to $2000. Most of these companies know very little about developing leads from a website. They will basically design for you an electronic brochure that is difficult to make changes to. I know. Been there and done that. Another solution is to design one yourself if you have the time to learn. Still, you are not guaranteed results because it still will probably be just a basic electronic brochure. Or how about you hire a company that deals with MA sites and writes the copy and sets it up correctly. However, they only let you make changes once a year and they charge $150 to $200 a month.
What you need to know is that your website must be able to collect leads… leads that you can use. Most prospects do not want to schedule a VIP class immediately. They want more information that addresses their problems. You must provide a compelling need for them to opt-in and get more information from you… not just a free offer. It must be a safe and secure way for them to explore your academy and offer to solve their problems.
