It’s three a.m.  You’re awake again – aren’t all business owners awake at three a.m.? – thinking about payroll, insurance, sales and, oh yeah, the new website.  Competitor A has come out with their nifty, new Web 2.0 website.  It’s a virtual interactive bonanza - Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla, Nergizin-go.  Okay, we made that last one up.

So there you are, staring at the ceiling.  You’re worried about all the “social stuff” going on.  The countless “interactions” between Competitor A, their cool, new site and your potential customers.  Now you’re convinced your business 1.0 website simply can’t keep up.  You may be right.  But not for the reasons you think.

One of the reasons we’re crazy for WordPress is it enables seamless integration with gobs of social media tools.   But if you are looking for a plan to build bridges to new customers online, forgo the social media deep-dive for now and first start with that old school social media – your employees.   And not just any employee.  We’re talking about your rock stars.  You know, the ones you’d clone if possible.  If you want to interact in a meaningful way online, first pay attention to the people who make you shine in the real world and begin to duplicate what they do so well into the very structure and design of your next website. Here are a few examples to get you started. A rock star employee:

1. Sells your brand
Whether it’s your integrity or attention to quality or innate brilliance or bold excitement, your employee understands what makes your business unique and sells and recreates that experience with every client interaction.  Does your website create that same kind of emotion? Why not? Good-looking doesn’t have to be flashy.

2. Speaks like a human being
Ever been to a website and you’re not sure if they’re selling dog food or dogma? Right.  Resist the urge to take that advertisement copy from your brochure and instead listen to how your best waitress talks about your pizza. Online, you need to say it as clearly and concisely as the person who talks to your customers all day.

3. Offers to help
Your best employee offers assistance before being asked.  Your website should anticipate that your customers want to know what you do and what it costs.  Don’t make them hunt around or guess.  Think overt, not obtuse.

4. Doesn’t sleep
Okay, I guess you have to let your rock star employees sleep if they’re going to retain their rock star status (but wouldn’t that be great!).  But your website, on the other hand, is open 24/7, telling the story of your business with honesty, integrity and service.  Just like you would.

Sound about right?  Let us know if we can help.