The Website is a Changing
In last month’s blog, I wrote about adapting to change and shared TRC’s efforts to meet new challenges, even though our primary goal tends to be more singular than most organizations.
Well, this month’s blog follows the same theme. We are updating our website, which will provide a fresher and cleaner look. When people say cleaner in the world of websites, they usually mean that there will be less clutter and a quicker trail to needed options. And as I mentioned last month, we will focus more than ever before on what we consider a potential audience consisting of homeowners.
With that in mind, I want to stress that clarity, functionality and ease of use are paramount in our search for an improved website, whether it’s designed for a newer audience or valuable partners we’ve known for years. And this search for clarity and ease of use was the underlying reason for reinvigorating our website.
Most of us admit that taking the time to reflect in a reasonable fashion helps everyone — us included — assess what we do well and what needs changing. That idea was the fuel that fed us to tinker with the website and improve it.
Specifically, our assessment suggested that the majority of our website visitors were looking for a place to recycle a thermostat. If you recall, HVACR wholesalers and contractors have always been our main audience. Over time, we have added HHWs and other industries, but it was time to update the website to include all of our audiences.
Our results over two decades are a testament to our approach. Now we are keeping with the times and have modestly altered the emphasis of our website toward this new audience: homeowners.
If a homeowner or consumer visits the website, we provide an immediate answer to a fundamental question: I have a mercury-containing thermostat. How can I recycle it?
Previously, there were two main calls to action on our website, and they confused some audiences. The new website will hopefully guide one-time recyclers to the right page. They will be prompted to put in their ZIP code, just like before. You’ll immediately get all recycle sites within 25 miles.
The headings have changed, too. We’ve reduced the headers and hopefully better organized the vast amount of information provided on our website.
You might wonder, if I’ve taken the time to hint at some of the changes, why not just launch the website and be done with it?
Well, there are several reasons. First, we haven’t completed it yet. We scheduled April 1 as the launch date, but my PR friend insists it should be April 2. (He claims to base his caution on scientific evidence: it is bad luck to launch on April 1, April Fool’s Day, because people might think we’re just fooling them. I’m skeptical.)
Second, you always need a trial run to ensure that the website and all those click-throughs, for example, work as we intended.
Third, there is always the thrill of anticipation. They call it a “teaser” in marketing. You don’t have to salivate over our new website, but you and our diverse audiences —especially homeowners — are more likely to visit if we can create a degree of expectation, hence this preview.
Finally, if you have any suggestions, based on your experience with the current website we are about to retire, please let me know.
No one has a monopoly on good ideas, and if you have one, I’d love to hear it. There is still time for your input.
Our countdown might lack the excitement of a rocket take-off, but at TRC, we’re still thrilled with our launch. The new website will be more helpful and relevant to you, our audience, and in the end, that’s what it’s all about.