Darth Vader was right… Technology will not save you.

The scene is classic to the point of being mythic, as well as a good example of why George Lucas should stop writing dialogue, but that is another blog. Depending on how you count in the first or fourth Star Wars movie Darth Vader is in the General’s conference room. There is an all around warm fuzzy conversation that technology, in this case the “Death Star”, will be the salvation for the Empire. The goal: to rid the Empire of those pesky rebels using the big old Death Star to do it. To this plan Darth Vader says: “Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed; the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” (http://imdb.com/title/tt0076759/quotes)

Well, it turns out that Luke’s old man was right; both in the movie and in real life. This is particularly true when it comes to web sites, web marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Here are just some examples I have seen lately…

• A Website won’t save a dopey business model (Think: “Go Go 90′s and the unemployed 00′s)
• A Website won’t save you if you think that is all you need to do, or what you need to do is “look like” your competitor. (Web Site Envy)
• A Website won’t save you if your ‘CRM’ and client service is slow or non functional. (Customer remains one click away from your competitors.)
• A Website won’t save you if you don’t talk to your target market. (SEO, call to action and good copy)
• A Website won’t save you if you are into cool tech and flashy web design ahead of business goals.

The conclusion is simple really… view you web presence as one part, albeit a very major part, of your whole marketing plan, including the sales process. Let’s face it; the real goal of any site is some kind of “sale”: Sign up for the newsletter, contact us, donate to us, buy a pez dispenser, get in touch with us, know us and our product/service, contact us, or contact us. In short, web sites need to help you to build some kind of engaged relationship.

Again, I refer to Dr. Vader’s injunction; Cool flash animation, nifty rotating pictures, cool server tech, RSS feeds and the rest of the web site technological terrors are insignificant next to the power of cash flow. To begin the right conversation, with the right people that results in the right sales relationship an ongoing sales relationship is the goal of any good website. What is not the goal is web tech for tech sake.

- Pete