You wouldn't buy a Maserati only to leave its gas tank bone dry, would you? Of course not. You made an investment in a machine that would get your from zero to 60 in about five seconds. Without gas, though, you'll never get there.

The same goes for websites. It doesn’t matter how much money you put into the front-end, your website will sputter without fresh cartoons, videos, tip sheets or headlines. That's what attracts and engages customers long term.

Unfortunately, too many businesses are maintaining websites that don’t live up to their potential. Why? Because creating fresh, quality content isn’t an easy task. It takes time. And it takes creativity.

But here’s why it makes sense to put a little investment into that online engine of yours.

Last year, Focus Research surveyed 172 business professionals about their marketing strategies. Among the questions: What content has been most effective for reaching out to customers. The largest percentage of those business owners (37%) identified blogs as the most productive tool. Webinars and data-driven reports ranked second and third, respectively.

That being said, nearly half of the survey’s respondents (49%) indicated that web content would be a top investment priority in the year to come. The only higher priority was social media marketing, which was listed as a must-needed marketing tool by 60 percent of business professionals.

The bottom line is this: Content matters. Whether you own an insurance agency or a legal practice, customers aren’t going to visit your website unless they can expect something that titillates their senses. It’s got to be fresh. It’s got to be informative. And it’s got to be engaging.

It’ll take some work – particularly if you are trying to do it on your own – but it’s money well spent when it comes to maintaining and growing your customer base.

Need some help getting started? Drop me a comment and we’ll chat. In the meantime, here’s some data to digest from Focus Research: