Your organization succeeds because your employees have defined roles. It is now time to define one for your website.

For some websites we analyze, the site functions merely as the receptionist. “Welcome, want to know about our company mission statement? Third link on the left. Have a nice day.”

Other websites, the site functions as the customer service representative.

But I would say for most websites that we analyze, the site function is the PR manager. “Our company was founded 30 years ago on the principles of honesty and integrity and customer service. I can supply a lengthy biography on our company’s founders right over here.”

What you need to do is to give the website the job of salesperson. It’s really the job it is cut out to do. You can give it a good appearance, a snappy repertoire, make it immensely knowledgeable about your business and your industry and even have it do routine follow ups.

Like any good salesperson though you have to make sure it is always asking for the sale, or at least you have to make sure it’s not letting an interested prospect get out the door without leaving their name. Everything you ask of your human salespeople, you can ask of your website.

If your website is not actively selling your company the way a human salesperson would, it’s time to do some website organizational restructuring and work with a web development company that will help you put the sales pieces and sales process in place.

Once you start looking at your website as another important person in your organization with a defined role, it gets a lot easier to manage and a lot easier to make sure it is contributing to the bottom line.

It needs goals. It needs metrics. It needs tools. It needs evaluations. It needs all of the things to succeed that the people in your company do. Except of course, time off, breaks, benefits, expense reimbursement, bigger cubicle, better coffee…