The days of the online brochures should really be gone now. Websites should be functional and even transactional. Visitors get more and more technically savvy and their expectations keep getting higher. So, what should your website do?

It helps to think in terms of three key audiences a website has.

1. Your existing customers.
How can your existing customers benefit from visiting your website and from coming back again and again? If your existing customers like your site and feel it makes their working with you–or even their lives–easier, they will spread the word. You can:

• Have a password protected area where they can review the work you are doing for them or where they can download project documents.
• Have an online scheduling system to make it easier to request your services (i.e. if you own a hair salon or a massage therapy business.
• Add the ability for them to upload documents you need from them.

2. Prospects.
We all want new business from our websites. To achieve this, our websites need to look professional, offer fresh content, and be better than the competition. Adding a little functionality can go a long way. You can:

• Show your portfolio in clever ways so they can find or sort samples in categories or groupings that make sense to them. Make it a little interactive so they get involved.
• Think about upgrading your testimonials to video testimonials. Showing is much better than telling.
• Give them a taste of what you are all about. At MB/I, we invite visitors to submit their website for a complimentary evaluation. No strings attached.

3. Your internal audience.
Your website should also help you and your staff. It should become a useful tool that saves all of you time and effort. You can:

• Qualify your leads by asking a few, critical questions so the right team members gets the inquiry and knows how to follow up.
• Add the ability for visitors to fill out documents online. This will save you the time it takes to mail, fax, or e-mail documents and to follow up on them. By making a few fields required, you can even make sure you get the responses you need.
• You might even consider an internal blog to communicate procedures, suggestions, lessons learned, etc.

There are many ways you can make your website engaging. What you choose will depend on your industry and on your business itself.