Fools Rush In

Why does everyone hate painting (or is it just me)? It is not the act of painting itself, but the sanding, taping, laying down old blankets … in other words, the planning and the preparation … 

The funny thing is, once you get all the preparation done, the actual act of painting is a breeze and the quality of work is usually quite high (assuming it is not me doing the painting of course!).

When I tell this story to clients, everyone agrees it makes sense: preparation equals a better result. If this is so obvious, why is it so common for businesses not to strategically plan their website? or conduct some sort of advance preparation before the project starts?

Is it because the site has to go live immediately? When did it become so urgent? Is it seen as a painful process best done quickly (like taking off a bandaid)? Or is it because no one understands how to properly plan a new website project? Our experience is the latter is the underlying reason for the rush.

As the saying goes ‘Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread’. Inexperienced people, or those who lack knowledge, rush in when informed people would be more cautious. The problem is, until you find an online supplier who asks you the right questions, you don’t know what you don’t know!

The New Zealand Online Industry is filled with companies who do not offer this type of pre-planning service and advice, so the NZ business community is not used to Online Agencies asking questions like:

1) why are you building this website?

2) why are you in business? why do you do what you do?

3) who are you building this website  for? why would this customer type want to buy from you?

4) what is your target markets barrier to buying your product or service? and from buying from you?

5) who are your competitors? why are your potential customers shopping with them?

Web design and development companies do not know to ask these questions because they are not business people. They are highly skilled artists and/or builders. You should not expect them to ask these types of questions.  If they did ask, they wouldn’t know what to do with the answers!

The most important thing to keep in mind is, if you have an ‘offline’ business plan (a necessity for all businesses), don’t assume it will easily transfer over to the online environment.

The online business environment brings a whole new set of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to your business. Your company’s SWOT analysis is the starting point of developing your strategy (Strategic Planning 101!), so planning your website requires a different focus to maximise your online success.

Don’t look to your offline Agency to do this for you either.  They have your offline interests at heart, but even they won’t be able to help you with your online strategic planning.

So where to next?  Tell Senior Management to extend the timeline of your new website, rushing will cost more money in the long term.  Find an Online Agency who has proven, previous successes in Online Strategic Planning, and get them onboard.

Success online does not happen overnight, and neither does the planning and preparation of your new website. Take your time. Get into the strategic planning of your website. 

It is a lot more fun than watching paint dry!