Stopping the Insanity:
The Blind Leading the Blind
What if you have no idea what to convey to your website designer other than “please, just design something that looks professional”?
It’s time to get real. And let us warn you. The following might be hard for many small business owners to swallow.
If your budget is under $10,000 the majority of web designers you hire are simply not going to provide you the marketing and branding guidance you need to make the most of the website.
And if your budget is under $3,000, well, you’re chances of winning the lottery are higher than finding a website designer who will do anything more than let you lead the way.
We’re talking more than just HTML coding. This includes choosing Royalty Free images that are Emotionally Relevant to your site visitors, development of messaging that will grab hold of your site visitors and incorporating lead generation techniques that are all Emotionally Relevant to your target audience. Oh, and let’s not forget making sure your website is built around your company’s business model and sales funnel.
How many web designers do you know who will do all of this for less than $5,000 or $3,000? Probably not too many, if any at all.
They’re Web Designers. Not Mind Readers.
Why wouldn’t a professional web designer provider all of these services if they’re so important to the success of a website? Simple. Most of them, like most business owners, are not marketing or branding specialists.
Website designers are not mind readers. Most are not trained to understand how to make sense of different business models, sales funnels or customer buying behavior. They are only designing.
To end up with a functional website layout and design that works for your customers the website designer is expecting you – the business owner – to clearly convey the buying habits of your specific customers and provide a roadmap for how your site should look and function. If you don’t know how these things how do you expect the web designer to know? Herein lies the issue of the blind leading the blind.
It’s possible you have a marketing or brand coach who provides you the answers you need on customer behavior and the direction your website should take to boost your image and sales. Or perhaps you purchased one of those how to kits for copywriting and can just borrow from someone else’s headlines to engage your audience.
A marketing or sales coach and copywriting templates may be a temporary options. But you’re missing a whole lot here if you buy into these choices as the sole basis for explaining to your web designer what to build for your website.
Offline to Online - It’s All ONE.
The Emotional Relevance and buying behavior of your target audience is at the center of your company’s website design, sales copy, brand positioning and marketing campaigns. Your business model and sales funnel are right there in terms of importance.
Quite often small business owners and those they hire to help them forget the role these fundamental business principles play when it comes to websites. To underestimate their importance is to place your business and money you spend to grow it at great peril.
Everything you do in the offline line world – from meeting customers, networking, cold calls, direct marketing campaigns, etc.
– is connected to what you say and how your brand is conveyed on your website.
When there’s a disconnect internally at your business why would you think there isn’t a disconnect externally with how your customers perceive you? To think otherwise is not only dysfunctional it’s a recipe for insanity.
Remember that the success of your business is only as good as its weakest link. So if you plan on cutting corners with the very actions required to pre-educate and pre-sell customers what kind of results do you honestly expect?
Would You Fly a Plane the Way You Run Your Business?
Sure, there are web design firms who do offer a lot more than just web design. But if you’re a small business owner on a strict budget most likely you cannot afford to use this kind of web design team.
Like we stated above, using a marketing coach is great and leveraging a copywriting blue print can be good options. Their positive impact is short term and often, a short sighted approach. And if you choose a cheap “do-it-yourself” website design template forget it…you’re really on your own.
Utilizing these quick-fix options as your sole means for growing your business is akin to getting behind the controls of a plane for the first time and relying only on a guidebook for flying it.
What do you think the chances are you wouldn’t crash on your first flight?
This example underscores the very common and damaging issue of the blind leading the blind when it comes to a company’s website and marketing campaigns.
The innovative and long over do approach of SK Graphic Design finally brings this vicious “do-it-yourself” cycle to a screeching halt.
Let us do the job we’re passionate about so you can do the job you’re passionate about.
Seem fair? We thought so too.
Making sure your marketing and branding doesn’t crash and burn is but one of many things that make SK Graphic Design different. What’s the next step for you? Well, you could read the other five critical areas where we’re different or you could contact us right away to discuss your company’s marketing and branding.
Whatever you choose to do with your company’s brand and marketing we look forward to hearing from you.
In the meantime, if you’ve read to this point it’s because you’ve already accepted the only choice that makes logical and financial sense. We’re simply here to honor it.
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