The Best Thing An Online Marketing Company Can Hear
Filed under: Low Cost Marketing, Online Advertising, Small Business Advertising, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Web Development, Small Business Websites, business development, rural advertising
Today while in our sales meeting I heard on of the frequent comments I hear from people that have spoke to small businesses about online marketing, websites, etc. That comment is "I do not get any business from my website" or "I do not remember ever getting a call from my website" or something similar.
To me this basically means I am walking out with an order or going to be getting one sometime soon. If you are someone that focuses on online advertising or web development or anything related to that field those words should be music to your ears. If you get worried when you hear that because now the customer has a negative perception about doing business on the web this is your time to turn it around and show them that you are the help they needed to make the web work for them.
Keep in mind when many small business buy or bought their websites it was done on a purely technical basis, no one actually explained to them that it was for gaining business or promoting their business online.
Their "web development partner" could of cared less in many cases if the customer ever received a visitor, they took their check and ran. Website was built, their work here was done.
Well, if these same small businesses who have the concern about business on the web based on their lack of success with it can be shown a plan to success suddenly it opens up a whole new world for them. Suddenly they can compete better with their competitors who may not have a presence online, or maybe grow their business through contacts online they did not even know had been looking for them (I have a great story about this if you want to contact me).
Either way, "I have never had any business from my website" should be music to any online advertising or marketing companies ears, listen for it and do not run away scared when you hear it, walk away with an order.
My husband has a few web sites (two businesses and a community one he runs in our neighborhood). His web site for his percussion lessons business doesn’t take any direct business (OK, he does take pay pal for lessons after someone has signed up…but it doesn’t actually do eCommerce to close a sale on the site). But, he does buy Google ad words that go to his site. I make him (he might even offer up badger) ask how a prospect found him. More often than not it’s via Google searching, then seeing his site. With Google Analytics, he gets to see how much his cost of sale is. It’s amusingly small ($.87, $1.32, etc). So anyway, the point is unless he bothered to ask, or saw the Google reports, he’d think his web site doesn’t get him any business either.
Michaela,
You are right on, most of the customers I speak to each day were never given access or really do not know if their site has received a visitor, the ones that do have access typically have had site built that was never optimized so it never shows up in search. I really feel bad for people who were taken for thousands of dollars but were never given a chance to be successful with their sites based on their developers never focusing on bringing them visitors.
Bruce