Founders, (some of) you are asking the right marketing question by accident

"What would you change about our website?"

The Question: What Would You Change About the Website?

"What would you change about the website?" is truly the “Sell me this pen” of the marketing world. This comes up often (always) in conversation with founding teams, and honestly, it's not always for the right reasons. Let's break it down and explore why this question might matter more than you think—or less.

Why It’s The Right Question: Websites Are More Than Just a Digital Presence

The right founding teams ask the website question if they’re looking to understand your strategic thinking, your analytical ability, and your marketing genius (experience will do in a pinch instead). Why?

First Impressions Matter

Your website is your calling card. It's your presence online, often the first place where potential customers will size you up, deciding whether to buy into you and your brand. They're asking themselves, "Does this company get my pain points? Do they offer solutions worth exploring?" It’s 2024, no one just stumbles onto your homepage without some context, not if your marketers are doing their job. The website needs to reflect the visitor's journey and deliver value right off the bat.

Positioning - A Fundamental Of Why You Do This

Now, let’s talk about positioning. Does your positioning statement actually resonate with the market? This isn’t something you can just eyeball; it’s a question only the market can answer. Sure, you can have some educated guesses or indicators, but your job as a marketing leader isn’t to pass judgment—it's to articulate the thinking behind it. Is the positioning right? Maybe you've done some competitive research that suggests otherwise, but that’s where the conversation should start, not end.

Distinctiveness and Differentiation

Next up is distinctiveness and differentiation. Nothing is unique in isolation—it’s all relative. When you compare your site to others in a crowded market, does it stand out? How does it use design elements like color, motion graphics, or white space? Are these choices helping your brand’s visual identity stand out, or are they just noise? These are critical strategic areas that any marketing leader should be able to assess and discuss.

Showcasing Analytical Abilities

Answering these questions shows you’re not just thinking strategically, but you’re also quick on your feet. It’s not just about the jargon; it’s about explaining why these elements matter and how they tie back to the business’s strategic goals—most often, that’s commercial impact. But that’s a topic for another blog post.

Respecting and Challenging the Vision

A big part of your role as a marketing leader is figuring out whether you align with the founding team’s vision—and not just the vision, but the culture of how that vision is discussed. Can you respectfully challenge their ideas while appreciating what they’ve already built? Remember, these founders might not be specialist marketers, but they’ve created something that works. Your job is to respect that while bringing your marketing expertise to the table.

The Value of Passionate Disagreements

Let’s not forget, passionate disagreements are part of what pushes a business forward. You want a team that has firm opinions but is also open to new perspectives that can lead to growth. Your ability to argue your points effectively is crucial for earning the founding team’s trust and getting them to buy into your vision.

The Tactical Perspective - Leave It To The Specialists

Then there’s the more tactical level, where you dig into UI/UX and conversion optimization. This is where performance-based marketers usually shine, focusing on whether the website is as optimized as it could be. Are the calls to action placed effectively? Is the credibility of the brand showcased through testimonials and published content? Are these elements guiding the visitor down the conversion funnel? These tactical insights are valuable, but they’re not where the conversation should start if you’re a marketing leader. Start being the operative word. While you should always have a strong grasp of all tactical items in your remit (truly a “renaissance man” profile, not asking much really), leave deep dive tactical conversations to later, and ideally have a specialist in the room with you to make sure you all get it right.

Where Founders Get It Wrong

The Quick Win Mentality

Founders often ask website-related questions looking for quick wins. They’re thinking about growth hacking or guerrilla marketing tactics. While these can provide short-term gains, they’re not the right focus if you’re looking for sustainable growth. It’s essential to steer the conversation away from only quick fixes (you likely can’t avoid them) and towards building a long-term strategy that will deliver lasting value. This is not to say you shouldn’t reserve some capacity for innovative tactics that give you the edge, but betting the farm on quick wins is reserved for the casino.

Unrealistic Expectations

Another common misstep is expecting marketing leaders to have deep market knowledge right out of the gate. “Well if the existing position isn’t ideal what’s your suggestion?” Founders sometimes forget that while marketers will quickly ramp up to become experts in the customer’s voice (it’s the bare minimum required), they won’t necessarily have deep domain expertise on day one. Marketing leaders should focus on understanding and representing the customer, which is something that evolves as they integrate into the company. That’s not to say you can’t have some initial thoughts, especially when they sound something along the lines of “Well looking at Competitors one through six, I’ve noticed at least four of them focus on aspect Y. They’ve got different takes, but it’s clear they believe it resonates. What are your thoughts on why this is/isn’t better than the existing messaging?” A bit research and an “Uno Reverse Card” can likely progress the conversation in a meaningful way.

Steering the Conversation: How Marketing Leaders Should Respond

Focus on Customer Understanding and Commercial Impact

As a marketing leader, your expertise is in deeply understanding the customer and translating that into commercial success. When discussing the website, keep the focus on whether the positioning truly reflects customer needs and how effective the site is at converting visitors. Emphasize the importance of science-backed marketing strategies and how they can be applied to improve the site’s performance.

Balancing Strategy and Implementation

While keeping the discussion high-level and strategic, be ready to show how you would implement changes in the short term. Websites are dynamic, and it’s easy to test different positioning messages to see what works. Your ability to move from strategy to execution quickly and effectively will build confidence with the founding team and will often be what separates good early marketing leadership from experienced, but ineffective, seat warmers.

Conclusion: Is It the Right Question?

In the end, asking about the website can be the right question, but it depends on how it’s asked and how the conversation is steered. Founders and marketing leaders alike need to focus on strategic impact, customer understanding, and practical implementation to ensure that the website—and the business—reaches its full potential.

So, was the question asked accidentally, or was it the right one all along? That’s something for both founders and marketers to figure out together, and how you handle this conversation could be the difference between a successful partnership and a missed opportunity.

Disagree? Think I missed something important? Sound off below.

*Image created with Flux AI