I have an idea for a new parlor game. But this one would be for businesses and played in a company’s common area, like a conference room.

It’s called, “What does your website say about you?” And it involves one or two rounds of players. (Don’t mix the two groups; keep them separate.)

Round one: your employees. This includes your sales team, your management team, and your service reps.

Round two: your top prospects. Get 5 people who would make perfect clients for you. They can’t have done any prior business with you.

The game rules couldn’t be simpler.

Rule #1: Every player takes a look at the company’s site for about 5 minutes. They’re encouraged to visit as many pages as possible.

Rule #2: Every player has to answer the following questions:

1. What does this company do?
2. What’s their #1 specialty?
3. What makes them different them from their competition?
4. What industries do they serve?
5. Are they strictly local? Regional? National? Global?
6. How big is this company?
7. Who’s running the show? Are they accessible? Welcoming?
8. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being super professional, how professional is this company? Why’d you give it that grade?
9. How important is quality to this company?
10. How important is the client to this company?
11. What sorts of clients do they have now?
12. Describe the company’s personality.
13. Is the company in step with the times? Support your answer.
14. Does it seem like an industry leader? In what way/s?
15. Is it clear to you where this company can bring value to yours?
16. Is the site easy to navigate?
17. Can you easily find the information you’d typically seek on an industry site such as this?
18. Did you encounter anything that frustrated or bugged you on this site?
19. How was the overall design? Attractive? Professional or amateurish? Easy on the eyes? Fun?
20. Was there any one thing missing from this site that you expected to find there, or any one thing you encountered that was a turn off?

That’s it. Just 20 questions for each player after they give your site a “look-see.”

Most prospects check out your web site in a B2B environment to vet your company before they’ll even consider contacting you (or meeting a salesman).

Your site needs to tell your story – very quickly, accurately, visually, clearly, in plain English, and with no technical snafus.

Read through the answers from each group of players. Do they jibe? Do the answers reflect what your company’s all about? If the results point to a major disconnect, you’ll know you have work ahead of you. I suspect that the employee answers will differ quite a bit from those of your prospects.

I use this exercise myself. Every time a prospect reaches out to me – for example, in the printing industry – I go to their site and mentally answer those 20 questions. Then we have a phone conversation, and before we cover any other ground, I share my impressions of their company based on their website.

Sometimes, the stars are truly aligned. If I describe their business pretty accurately, just from my looking at their site, they’re darned near overjoyed.

When I’m studying any site, I look to see if there’s a reason for my return. Is there content that relates to me and/or helps me in any way? Is this site a resource for me? Will I bookmark it?

It’s not easy, this web site business. Getting it right, which includes keeping it current and true to your company, is work. Often, it’s a chore that no one is in charge of – or it’s created, uploaded…and abandoned.

Your company website is worth your attention. Expect that prospects will be stopping by for a “look-see.” Does your site serve you well – or is it hurting your reputation?

 (c) 2014 Margie Dana.