Websites Are Important
As a business owner, it’s important to utilize the Internet as a marketing platform. It is possibly your most important storefront. That’s why, in this age of technology where people likely google your services, look for reviews, and make an educated decision about your company and your product, it’s essential to actively compete in this online marketplace.
Building a website is daunting for most, and there are quite a few free, online platforms available for you to build your site. Though easy on the outset, the use of free web design services will depreciate your business over time without thoughtful, professional maintenance.
Ensuring Your Website Has Traffic Today Requires Different Attention Than It Did Even A Year Ago
A successful website is one that is user friendly where consumers can easily navigate content. It’s clean, modern, functional, and relates to consumers enough so that they want to do business with you above your competitors. However, the first step towards getting somebody to read a website is having them find that website.
Therefore, within the vast landscape of information found on the Internet, a truly successful website is one that can compete. To compete, it needs to be constantly measured, improved, and updated. This can be time consuming. You may have the initial time to create a website, but the Internet is complex and constantly in flux. To compete effectively with an algorithm constantly being updated and adapted based on the wants and needs of the consumer, you have to pay attention.
Unfortunately, when running a business, there simply isn’t the time to pay attention without the existence of a team helping you to do so. That’s where a team of professionals, a group of people with time, experience, and fortitude, will help you respond and adapt to the constantly changing online world that isn’t always predictable.
The Internet Is A Disorganized Dumping Ground Of Information
Think about it, any business or individual can create a website and add it to the seemingly infinite collection of information that is the world wide web. We’d like to think of it as an organized collection of material, but in reality, it is not - it’s an unmanaged cloud of information floating aimlessly through cyberspace. Therefore, within all of this minutiae, information gets lost, especially the important information that you want customers to access - your website.
This is why optimizing your site for search engines is an absolute must. If you don’t have a background in online marketing or the time to gain the expertise necessary to succeed, then it may be time to consider partnering with a team of experts you can count on.
Having A Team Of Marketing Professionals Is Crucial
They know the ins and outs of optimizing the information and organization of your website to increase traffic. Furthermore, as technology develops, people change, and algorithms developed by Google and other search engines adapt to this change. Ensuring your website has traffic today requires different attention than it did even a year ago.
Be An Active Player In The Marketing World
When establishing your business, nobody creates a mission statement with the goal of being average. Businesses use words and phrases like exceptional service, professionalism, premier, or elite. In today’s society, it’s essential to maintain a professional online presence to rise above mediocrity.
Technology Is Fluid
Unfortunately, in the long run, building your own website will likely be an uninspired means to an end. In the short term, using online generators like Wix, Weebly, or WordPress may help you create a website, but these site builders will not help you negotiate the intricacies that come with creating a truly successful website.
They will allow you to drag and drop design elements, give you the space to generate and edit content, and may even be free. Furthermore, these site builders offer promises that they can’t necessarily keep in the long term.
Technology is fluid - it’s constantly in motion - devices and available information change at mind boggling speeds rendering what’s new today as obsolete within a relatively short period of time. These online site generators live in the moment, allowing you to create a shiny façade without the power to consistently stock its shelves to remain competitive. In other words, they depreciate over time.
Site generators will not give you the long term resources to compete in today’s marketing world. They lack the ability to collaborate with a team of professional analysts, writers, and designers. A good team of marketing professionals, however, will develop tools to effectively collect data, respond to change, and market your product.
What About Costs?
Understanding the success of a website seems daunting and expensive, especially if you’re an individual business looking to develop your online presence. However, any financial expert would agree that the initial investment of developing a customized website far outweighs the cost.
Your website is a central cog in the machine of your business. It’s as important as a good manager or an appealing storefront. In fact, a professionally built site will turn your website into an online business and could have a huge impact on your overall revenue. For example, with the right design, updated optimized content, and implementation of marketing tools, a monthly investment to a professional marketing and web developer could result in returns that amplify your overall income.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved.
• Domain Registration
• DNS Management
• Web Hosting & Bandwidth
• SSL Certificate
• Software Updates & Security Patches
• Programming Experts
• Design Experts
• Analytics Setup
• Content Writing
• Search Optimization Experts
• Image Licensing
All of this takes time and money, even without involving a professional. Acquiring licensing on a case by case basis for website elements like images gets expensive in a hurry. Furthermore, you need to spend the time and effort to consistently update content to remain competitive in the online marketplace. These hidden costs add up. However, beyond the consideration of cost, one must consider expertise.
In an impossible world, you would have ample time to gain the experience to create and update an exceptional website for your business. However, sometimes it pays to prioritize your time over money. Depending on the size and goals of your business, investing a moderate amount of money initially will likely pay off in the long run. A professional web design and marketing team will work with you on layout, purpose, initial content, advertisements, social media, and additional updated content. In the long run, this well-planned digital marketing campaign will pay off.
Customization Is Key
Imagery, Color, and Brand Recognition
Professional designers know the ins and outs of how image and color can affect an audience. The best graphic designers are truly artists who consider the color and composition of your brand. The professionals agree that brand recognition is important in furthering your marketing efforts. They consider concepts like hue, saturation, and the meaning of colors when designing your website, logo, and other marketing tools. In short, color and space have intrinsic value. As designers consider the composition of colors, they think about how they work together to create balance, emotion, and meaning which all contribute to the overall aesthetic of a website, marketing material, or logo.
This level of professionalism and training is something difficult to achieve without practice and collaboration. By working with a professional designer, you can create a brand that is unique to you and appealing to your customer.
As the backbone of your business, you want your website to represent the authentic image that you want to portray to your customers. Cheap or free sites won’t have the same level of optimization as a professionally-built site, and optimization in both content and imagery will make you authentic and allow you to stand out amongst your competitors.
Responding To Change
According to the World Economic Forum, we are currently living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This technological transformation changes how we consume information, buy products, and communicate ideas at a breathtaking rate. The nature of supply and demand coupled with customer expectations is constantly changing as consumers and business try to keep up with technological advances. In short, the bottom line is the same: in order to compete, business owners need to be creative, relentlessly innovative, and challenge their current assumptions.
In the end, we can refer back to the wisdom of the Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “The only constant is change.” Owning your own website simply doesn’t work in today’s society. It’s outdated because of the difficulty associated with constantly, accurately, and effectively responding to change.
If you’re looking for website and marketing representation and collaboration, our professionals at FieldRoutesTM pride ourselves in creating expertly designed websites and marketing campaigns that work with your budget. We specialize in field service businesses and know the needs of the industry. Furthermore, our FieldRoutesTM Compass tool features marketing analytics to ensure that your marketing efforts pay off in the long run.
Your Partner In Growth
We hope this guide has been helpful. Whether you’re looking to add efficiencies, make things easier for your employees, improve your customer experience, increase sales, or anything in between, FieldRoutes is committed to helping your business reach its full potential.
Improve your online presence, convert prospects into customers, and track your results in real-time with digital marketing services from FieldRoutes. Built by and for field service providers, FieldRoutes provides budget-respectful solutions that effectively promote your business, reduce your customer acquisition costs, and give you an edge over your competitors. Capture attention and drive new business with a well-designed, fast-loading website and discover your true marketing ROI. A dedicated launch team helps you hit the ground running, and your customer success manager is by your side every step of the way to help you achieve your goals and grow at your own pace.
Call for a Demo at 972.632.1923
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