Lesson on Changing Lightbulbs, Marketing, and Your Business Website

Have you ever had something in your life that wasn't working, but you put up with it anyway because you didn't have the energy or time to deal with it? Me too...

Here's what happened...

Our refrigerator light bulb burned out about a year and a half ago. It was a minor inconvenience but totally not a big deal. I picked up a two-pack of new appliance light bulbs the next time I was at the grocery store.

When I got home and put the new bulb in, it didn't work. I tried the second bulb as well. When the second bulb didn't work, I figured I must have bumped them on the way home and broken them.

Being the problem solver that I am, I swapped the freezer light out since I knew it worked, fully willing to accept a dark freezer in exchange for a bright fridge. But, the freezer light didn't work either.

When my husband got home, I told him what happened, and he suggested that maybe the switch was bad.

The fridge kept food cold, and even though a light made searching for things easier, it was just a convenience. So I put off ordering a new switch for about a year. It was one of those things that I knew I should fix, but life gets busy. It wasn't an emergency problem, so we let it slide.

Then this past January, I spent a couple of hours deep cleaning the entire fridge while trying to find whatever it was that smelled funny. Digging through the dark abyss of expired salad dressings and who knows what else, I was motivated to get on Amazon to order a new switch. It came two days later. (I ♥ Amazon Prime!)

I am rather mechanical by nature. I helped rewire our old house, and replacing a switch seemed like it would be relatively simple. I pulled up a tutorial on YouTube, hoping to do it myself and surprise my husband. After 20 minutes of fiddling with the new switch, taking it out, and putting it back in again a couple of times I gave up. It didn't work.

We decided there must be some wiring glitch, which felt like too big of a problem to dig into ourselves. We didn't have the time, and the fridge still technically worked, right? I planned to make a service appointment when I had a free week, but life was busy and we just lived with it.

Until my dad came over...

My parents were over to help us celebrate my husband's birthday and I invited my dad to help himself to a beer in the fridge. He commented on the light being out. I told him the whole discouraging story and showed him the old switch which was still in the cupboard next to the fridge.

In typical "Dad style," he started to investigate. I leaned against the counter with my arms folded while watching my dad take out the light bulb, examine it, and screw it back in. I was thinking to myself, "I tried that, it didn't work," and "It is a bigger problem than a broken light bulb, Dad."

Can you guess what happened next?

It worked. The light bulb just needed to be screwed in tighter.

Suddenly the inside of my refrigerator glowed, shining its beautiful golden light on our food, making it look enticing and delicious. I squealed with excitement. My mom laughed. My dad did his "I'm the dad, and I've still got it!" happy dance. My 7-year-old ran to the fridge and opened and shut the door, testing the magic of it.

While eating dinner, I couldn't stop thinking about how ridiculous it all was:

• We lived with a broken light in the fridge for about 18 months.
• We went through a lot of hassle trying to fix it, making it a much bigger problem than it needed to be.
• We wasted money on perfectly good food that got buried in the dark corner behind the pickles.
• When all it needed was one minor tweak.

So, what does this have to do with your marketing and business website?

Chances are, if you own a business, you already have a website. You probably have a lead magnet and are marketing on Social Media. But is it all really working for you?

Your blogging, social media, and SEO should be driving traffic to your website. Your website should be converting that traffic to leads for your business. Your marketing funnel should be turning those leads into buyers.

One small piece of the marketing system that isn't working correctly can disrupt the entire flow. If you're not getting the subscribers, leads, and clients you think you should be getting, it may be a smaller problem than you think!

That's the beauty of working with someone who has been there, done that and can show you the way.

If you'd like some help with your website and marketing, please check out my Get Marketing Momentum Program. It's a small group coaching program where you can get my eyes on your marketing every week!

And it won't even cost you a beer. :)