But when prospective customers got there, they found something that, in Parker’s words, “looked more like a community service than a world-class business.” As such, it had a low conversion rate, and did a poor job of helping visitors understand the business.
“When people go to look at our website, we want it to match the expectation that they have for a world-class company,” says Parker, who is founder and CEO. “And so that’s what it does now.”
A website redesign might seem de rigueur for any growing business, but Parker says the overhaul and brand refresh this year is the best marketing investment the company has made in its five-year history. Customer journeys are now cleaner and clearer, and have seen better prospects, resulting in more qualified Papa Pals. And since the site was built economically with short-term agency resources and self-serve tools and templates, Papa kept the cost in check, helping to increase margins.
Parker expects it will have a substantial impact on business for years to come. “We had no lead-gen business before, no way to close deals in an automated fashion,” he says. The new site also better reflects the company’s mission of social impact, he says.
Following the site’s relaunch in March, webpage session duration has increased by about 20%, bounce rates have improved by 28%, content and event resource landing page views are up 128%, and total form submissions are up 147%. The website redesign, says Parker, has helped increase the velocity and strength of the sales pipeline.
“If you can’t come to our website and have a good experience, you’re going to just step away,” says Parker.