We often get inquiries from people wanting a new website but don’t really know why they want one, but they assume they do because their competitors have one. Whilst we could blindly develop and deliver a new website with what they tell us they want, we first go though a series of questions to ascertain WHY they need a website.
We’ve found that no-one ever wakes up and says to themselves “I need a website today”. There is always an underlying problem to be solved, whether that is they need to increase revenue, lower admin costs or drive customers to a new product, there is always an underlying reason.
What is your digital strategy?
We prefer to develop a digital strategy to support your business strategy. We consider who your ideal customer is. We look at your competitors sites, and identify their strengths and weaknesses. We identify what your current website isn’t doing for you that you’d like it to do. We look at your current call to actions and if they match what you want your visitors to do. Where are you heading in the long term? We need to know that what we put in place today will support you, not just now, but well into the future.
How much will a website cost?
We get asked all the time, how much is a website? – so we wrote a blog post on how much a website costs. But until we know what problems you are ultimately trying to solve we can’t advise on what functionality you need or don’t need. You may need a forum, a membership section, e-commerce functionality, a newsletter, email marketing auto responders. Or you may not.
How much is a car? This is a very similar question to how much is a website. It all depends on which car. With which features. Of which build quality.
If we’ve developed an online strategy for you, we will have identified all the functionality you require now, and in the future. We can then plan to implement the functionality in stages which will help your cash flow.
We don’t name drop
Do you ask your mechanic what brand of spark plugs or wipers he’s used when servicing your car? No neither do I. I don’t care. So long as they work when expected and do the job they’re intended to do, I’m not interested. This is why we don’t bamboozle you and name drop with technical brands in our proposal. We detail how we will solve your problem, and deliver results that matter to you.
Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
If you don’t have a plan (or strategy) how will you ever know if you’ve succeeded or not? Strategies differ from business to business. For example a Dental Clinic is very much a needs basis, someone is looking for a dentist today because they have toothache. There’s less value in Facebook Ads to potential customers (how do you know who has toothache?). However, people typing into Google “Dentist near me”, are guaranteed to want a dentist…..near them. So a dental clinic is better off directing their marketing budget to Google Ads vs Facebook in this case. It’s not a one size fits all unfortunately.
What is your digital strategy, and does it support your business strategy?
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