I work with small companies who are unsure how to use the web in their business. Some have no website and others have a online brochure . And while their competitors are successful on the internet they will say “the web just doesn’t work in our industry”.
I try to educate my clients about what is reasonable to expect from the web and how they can use it. They have a lot of bad information from any number of sources and sometimes I even have to back up into non-web related business strategy. If I gain their confidence we start the process. From that point their problems are small budgets, lack of time to devote to the project and little or no photos, success stories or customer testimonials.
I give them a simple (strategic) model for them to implement regarding using the internet for their business. It looks something like this;
- Build the best professional website you can to start with.
- Immediately start the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) process
- Discover and initiate a SEM (Search Engine Marketing) strategy (low hanging fruit first)
- Develop a habit of using the analytics to make decisions
- Realize the work is never done
My business goal is to partner with companies that can see the web as a viable way to go to market. I find that if I will be honest, prove myself relevant to their needs, establish my knowledge about the process, they reward me with their business. I believe that is the approach we should all use, no matter our industry.
