Marketing a Small Internet Business
© Debbie Levitt
We all want more customers, but finding companies who still need a web site or who could stand to have their current site redone is the one of the hardest aspects of our supersaturated and highly competitive business. I've been running a web development company, As Was®, since April 1995, and have had a roller coaster experience with marketing.
Few businesses have to deal with the types of rejections that we hear. Nobody tells a lawyer, "My brother-in-law will take care of my legal issues on weekends." Nobody tells the cleaners, "I don't need your services because my teen daughter just taught herself dry cleaning." I have honestly heard (and I quote) "Our president's nephew's roommate is going to do our web site," and "One of our staff has a long-distance girlfriend in Sweden; when she moves here we'll have her make our site." Because of these experiences, I choose to stress my company's experience and professionalism. We also plug the fact that we refuse to use WYSIWYG software to build web sites and code every page by hand in straight HTML; we want to make sure our clients understand they are getting services, talent, and experience that they won't get from a hobbyist who uses FrontPage.
I have also found that print advertising of web services didn't work for me. Web site development is too abstract for someone to look at a print ad and say, "Yeah, that's the right company for me!" Many of our clients came to us by falling in love with a site we already had online; by clicking on our logo on the client's home page, this potential client was able to learn more about our company and services, and then contact us. If your logo is small, looks nice, and is placed at the very bottom of the home page, most clients won't mind. We've decide to make that a contractual obligation - all clients must allow us to put a small logo (100 pixels wide x 31 pixels high) at the bottom of their home page with a small tagline ("graphic design and web site creation") with a link to our site. It seems like a small thing, but in our business, it's important to make sure you're recognised for your excellent work.
Along those lines, make sure your company site is worth looking at. Don't stop reading, even if I've just insulted you. :) Whether you are "just doing this for fun," as a hobby, or full-time, if you are going to credit yourself with a link or list yourself in search engines, make sure your site is a good reflection of your talent and abilities. I have had major clients whose previous site design company had NO web site or had an awful web site. You wouldn't patronise the dentist with bad, discoloured, crooked teeth. Additionally, I don't think a site's flash-factor makes it better than another's. I would rather see that a company can create something clean, attractive, easy to use, and fast-loading than some animation or plug-in centre of the universe. I think clients feel the same way.
Go To Page: 1 2
