Chances are that you’ve looked at your website and thought “It's not working; it's so out of date", but you’re not sure how it happened. The truth is many businesses look at their site as a big project that is checked off their to-do list and not looked at again for years. A website can be one of your most powerful marketing tools, but like all marketing requires ongoing effort.
A Tale of Two Employees
Imagine your site as one of your employees. Let’s call her Jane. You'd probably want an important lead talking to someone like Jane. She's engaged with the industry, constantly updating her knowledge about products and seamlessly linking that information to the customer’s needs. Always appearing professional, she takes pride in herself and the work she does. Buying something from Jane is just the start, she knows that good ongoing customer service will increase the odds that you'll tell a friend and return as a repeat customer. It's a lot of work for Jane to keep up, but she knows that it allows her to do a much better job and her contribution helps the company succeed.
Unfortunately, Jane is off sick today. So the important lead goes to Fred. Fred's been with the company for a long time, so long that he's got the old company logo and colors on his shirt. When asked questions about a new product, he doesn't know the answer and can't explain why you should buy one product over the other. He doesn't know that there's a sale going on, and has no knowledge of a new trend in the industry. As a customer, you feel like a burden talking to Fred and get the feeling that he's just collecting a paycheck.
Which employee do you want your website to emulate?
It's Important to Keep Improving But My Hands Are Tied
You can probably encourage all of your employees to become better performers like Jane. Perhaps they need a new uniform, more training, or just a daily conversation to keep them aware of new products, sales and industry trends. But how do you make your website effective like Jane? Even if you know what content needs improving and have it prepared, your hands might be tied in making those changes.
Business owners and marketing managers often rely upon a web team (either internal or external) to make even the most minor content additions. Getting changes done quickly and cost effectively can be major barriers. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to update your site with less cost and reliance on others?
Content Management is a Key Part of the Solution
Luckily Content Management Systems or CMS allow you to do just that. You've probably heard technical jargon like HTML, JavaScript and back-end databases, but really all you need to know is that a CMS is software that allows you to easily manage content on a website.
When we say content, we mean all of the things you might want to update including:
- pages that include text and images such as an About Us or Service Overview page.
- product pages with marketing copy, detailed specs, galleries, charts, photos & videos.
- blog posts with reader comments.
- galleries and interactive slide shows.
- customer login areas with private content including sales or training information.
- retailer or store location searches.
- email newsletters and social media posts.
How Does Content Management Work?
Content management systems are similar to traditional sites but they have more layers below the surface. On the front-end (what the visitor sees on a site) a combination of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, text, graphics, videos are glued together to create the branded, readable, click-able experience that we all know.