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Would you ever buy a car that doesn’t run? How about a lamp that won’t
illuminate? Silly questions, aren’t they? But you’d be surprised at what people
will buy even though they know it won’t work.
Every year small business owners pour thousands of dollars hastily into web
sites projects that don’t bring in more customers, don’t get people to act and
do nothing for their bottom line. Like the aforementioned car and lamp, the web
site doesn’t do much of anything — it just sits there. I want to make sure that
doesn’t happen to you.
In creating and maintaining a web site that actually provides a good return for
the company, small business owners find themselves often at a disadvantage. They
don’t have time to research what makes an effective site, so they look on the
Internet to see what everyone is doing – and almost everyone is doing it wrong.
Not knowing where else to turn, owners haphazardly ask colleagues if they might
know someone…anyone who does web design or calls himself or herself a web
designer.
Your best bet in getting a solid return on your web design investment is to hire
a professional (see my recommendation at the end of this article), but even if
that isn’t in your current budget, I have 5 insightful suggestions below that if
you read them, understand them and practice them, your web site will be more
effective than millions of the other sites that are already out there!
“Visitors want to know about me and my business”
Realty – Visitors only care about what you can do for them, how you can help
them. Your web site isn’t about you; it’s about your customers and their needs.
Remember, your customers don’t care about you – yes, you read that right, and
your customers only care that you can provide a solution or eliminate a problem.
Customers are all tuned into the same radio frequency, “WIIFM – what’s in it for
me?”
“The purpose of my web site is to inform visitors”
Realty – Unless you sell information, nothing could be further from the truth.
If you’re in business to make money, the purpose of your web site is to carry on
a conversion with visitors, make a connection with them and move them along the
buying process so they become a sale. This isn’t to say that information is bad,
just understand that you want to provide prospects with enough information for
them to conclude, “I should contact this person and see if they are a good fit
for me.”
“If I just get something ‘quick, easy and inexpensive’ up on the Internet,
visitors will find me and the sales will start rolling in”
Reality – This never works. There are millions of web sites on the Internet;
even within your industry there are probably a number of competitors that
already have web sites – so there are lots of alternatives. Busy customers
aren’t going to invest time visiting a poorly designed web site. Purchasing a
cheap, half-fast web site will not only cause your company to lose some
credibility, it isn’t going to bring in sales. If conceptualizing and designing
a web site that truly brought in a more customers and more revenue, do you think
the people designing them would charge more than a few hundred dollars? Remember
what your parents taught you, “You get what you pay for”, and “If it’s true good
to be true (really cheap), it probably is”.
“If I have a lot of information about me and my company, along with my
contact information, visitors will be eager to take action and contact me to
buy”
Reality – Getting your visitors to take action isn’t mere luck. This requires a
clear understanding what your clients want, why they buy and what will motivate
them to take action. Remember that people buy with emotion and justify their
purchase with logic. If you’re not a marketing expert, you’ll want to ensure the
firm designing your site is.
“Anyone can design a web site that brings in customers, gets them to act and
makes money. There are thousands of students, hobbyists and inexpensive web
designers that can do the job just as well”
Reality – Anyone can design a web site, but a web site that gets visitors to
take action and brings in revenue and customers is only accomplished though
hiring marketing and design professionals. Within 3 years over ¾ of small
business owners that invested money in an option other than a marketing/design
professional: A) Took their web site down, B) Paid a professional to redesign
their web site, C) Abandoned their web site, D) The company is now longer in
business.
Bottom-Line Advice for Smart Business Owners
I like what Michael Port says in, Book Yourself Solid, “I learned pretty quickly
to look for a web designer who is proficient in all three of the critical skills
of web design: design, marketing and programming. I encourage you to do the
same…”
Michael’s got it right – if you want your web site to give you credibility, to
make you look like the leading professional in your space, if you want it to get
visitors to take action and fill your sales pipeline then hire the professional
he’s talking about.
There are thousands of web designers in the US, and probably thousands within
your own state, but few of them are adept at design, marketing and programming;
these professionals are always in demand and they aren’t cheap. Make sure your
expectations and budget are realistic
A final personal note: I’ve been designing web sites for years and I can’t tell
you the number of times small business owners have told me that their web
designer “flaked out on them”, “didn’t return their calls”, “disappeared”,
“ripped the off”, or “created something that looks bad or just doesn’t work”.
I've heard discouraging stories of small business owners who felt disappointed
and remorseful in the web designer they hired. Now there are a lot of good web
designers out there, but PLEASE be careful whom you invest in. If someone is
cheap, there’s a reason for that. If they don’t have a guarantee, if they don’t
have testimonials and if they don’t have a good track record of designing
successful projects, do yourself a favor and work with someone else.
Jeremy runs Can-Do Graphics, a 5-person firm that provides the consulting and
creation of all of the marketing, adverting and design collateral for small to
mid sized businesses. By become the business’ marketing team; Jeremy helps
clients on both coasts of the US to build in more customers, more credibility
and confidence to take their company to the next level of success.
If you're considering hiring a graphic designer to help you with your marketing,
advertising and design, don't waste thousands of dollars hiring the wrong
company. Before you hire anyone get the facts, type in
http://www.candographics.com
now and request Jeremy’s eye-opening insiders report AND his 5-day audio eCourse,
All for FREE!
Are you a small business owner dissatisfied with your company’s advertising
results, perhaps you’re not even sure if your ads are costing you money or
making you money. Be sure to visit Jeremy’s
http://www.advertisingthatmakesmoney.com and request the special
report and 5-day audio eCourse that tell you the dirty secrets ad sales reps
don’t want you to know. These are also FREE!
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