If your strategy for growth doesn’t include the web, you’re likely to miss a lot of sales. However, even if you’re a shrewd operator, you can easily spend a lot more developing a web site than you need to. You don’t know what you don’t know. And in the case of building a web site for your business, what you don’t know can be costly.
This is how it usually goes: You meet with a web developer, you will give him some idea what you want your site to do, he gives you some thoughts, and you agree on a scope of work. What you almost never get is the strategic marketing advice that you need to make your web site ring the cash register.
Let’s face it – web sites are a commodity. Just yesterday, I talked to a man who builds web sites. CHEAP. Many of his clients are marketing agencies. After they determine the keywords for their client, they hire him to develop the site. Once the site is up, these agencies do some level of search engine optimization. In other words, they make some changes to make the web site easier for the search engines like Google and Bing to find when a prospective customer types in a search term like “used 1998 Honda Accord transmission”
Don’t be fooled. No matter what the developer says, the cheap sites (below about $1500) don’t have much search engine optimization, though they may look nice. The web developer may very well tell you that your new or redesigned website is optimized, but how do you know?
Good news. You don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars, but you have to know what to ask and how to check.
The biggest problem, really, is that the developers don’t usually understand your business, and don’t know the right questions to ask. They don’t understand the complex issues surrounding part look up, or the strategic issues of your customer mix now and/or where you want to migrate it, or shipping issues, pricing issues, and don’t mention cores or they are for sure thrown for a loop.
And you don’t know what to ask of the developer, you just want all the “cool” stuff. A blog? Sure, no prob! (With no discussion about who will post to it DAILY, using relevant terms and content designed to boost traffic to your site.) At my web site, www.MrMissionPossible.com, you can find free information that will help you develop a web site that makes your business money, and hust how al the pieces fit together. This is a three part article, watch the next 2 months to get tips and practical explanations of many terms, so you can pull together all the information you need to do better on the web.
My new book “Getting Your Banker to Yes – Tips Traps and Secrets to Getting Your Business Funded” will be out in October, watch for it. It’s co-authored with the President of a 4 location community bank, in a Click & Clack Format, entrepreneur and banker telling it like it is.
Ron Sturgeon, founder of Mr. Mission Possible small business consulting, combines over 35 years of entrepreneurship with an extensive resume in consulting, speaking, and business writing, with 3 books published and 2 more expected in 2010.
A business owner since age 17, Ron sold his chain of salvage yards to Ford Motor Company in 1999, and his innovations in database-driven direct marketing have been profiled in Inc. Magazine. After the repurchase of Greenleaf Auto Recyclers from Ford and sale to Schnitzer Industries, Ron is now owner of the DFW Elite Auto suite of businesses and a successful real estate investor.
As a consultant and peer benchmarking leader, Ron shares his expertise in strategic planning, capitalization, compensation, growing market share, and more in his signature plain-spoken style, providing field-proven, high-profit best practices well ahead of the business news curve.
To inquire about peer benchmarking, consultations, or keynote speaking, contact Ron by calling 817-834-3625, by emailing rons@MrMissionPossible.com, by mailing 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117, or online at Mr. Mission Possible.
