A few weeks ago I spent a day with a group of writers who work for a mid-sized, Web-based business in Virginia.
While the content on their site is well written, the messages being communicated are unclear.
As I looked at their site, it was hard to tell what the primary text on their homepage was trying to say. A variety of subheads and passages on the page seemed to be pulling in several different directions.
As a reader, I was left uncertain about what it is this company does, and to whom their site is aimed.
The writing is clear, but the message is not.
Later in the day, as part of a workshop exercise, everyone in the group rewrote some of the principal messages for the site.
What they wrote was excellent. Very clear and very focused on what the company could deliver to its primary prospects.
Perhaps naively, I asked why they could achieve such clarity as part of a workshop, but not on the site itself.
"We don't have the authority to do that," they replied.
When writers have the insight and skills to create a great message, but don't have the authority to do so, you have a problem.
In common with many companies that have entered the online arena, the management structure of this company didn't appear to allow these writers to do their job.
Too many interest groups within the corporation were weighing in with demands for their fair share of the homepage. Five or six of these separate stakeholders were using a part of the page to publish their views and positions.
Is this the best use of a homepage that is aimed at attracting new business for their company? Clearly not.
And this problem isn't confined to large companies. Small companies with domineering founders also end up with homepages that simply publish what those executives want to say.
Meanwhile, content creators and copywriters find themselves powerless to do the jobs for which they were hired.
It's time to address this problem.
Any company that is serious about using a Web site as a marketing tool needs to find a way to protect the quality and integrity of their online messaging.
And for larger companies, this should include appointing a senior level advocate to achieve that end.
Let's call this advocate the VP of Online Messaging.
The role of this person would be to establish, maintain and protect a clear purpose for the company's Web site, emails and newsletters, whether they are internal or external.
And once that purpose is established, that VP would empower the writers to write clear, customer-centric messages that are aimed at achieving the desired outcome.
This VP would not only protect his or her writers from internal pressures and interference, but would actively support, encourage and reward them for doing their job well.
It is becoming more and more clear that succeeding online is not simply about deploying the right technology, it's about using that technology to communicate the right messages.
Your company probably already has the necessary technology in place. But what is the value of that technology, if it is used to deliver ineffective messages?
Now is the time to start investing in the messages you deliver.
And your first and best investment could well be to appoint that VP of Online Messaging.
