You run a business.
It was a dream come true for you when it happened: you could finally be your own boss and throw yourself into something that you love doing. You wake up in the morning positive and looking forward to the productive day ahead.
Those of us who run our own businesses can probably relate to this opening paragraph. Whether you are a plumber, book keeper, shop owner or any other trade it is possible that part of your plan did not involve spending hour on end hunched over a laptop trying to compete with the constant stream of online traffic and being confident that you are on the right track.
‘Online’ is the way forward and many businesses now plough their advertising and marketing budgets into online promotion. It can be a very time consuming endeavour though especially if you want to make the most of it. It is also possible that you don’t have the time or the desire to learn about websites, social media, online marketing and SEO (whatever THAT is…!).
Here are your options:
Learn. It’ll take time for sure as things are constantly evolving and changing online so this will be an ongoing project. You will need to dedicate time to learning and then maintaining whatever products you decide to start. Even if you have the desire to learn you might not be able to invest the time and why should you? You started your business to do what you love. Not to advertise and market online. Besides, who is going to tell you that what you are learning and doing is up to date and correct?
Hire a marketing manager. This could be awesome: you would have someone who comes ready prepped to do everything you need from websites to mailing to point of sale to advertising…. Assuming that they do have this broad range of skills. They might not. Assuming that they do you will then need to brief them on everything that is required so there will be a large initial time investment until they know what they need to do for your business. The main drawback of this is you will have to pay them a salary for what they do. Full time this could cost quite a bit.
Hire an online specialist. This is where Full Circle Website Design sit in your options. There are a multitude of companies out there. Some will design websites but not optimise them. Some will optimise but not do SEO. Some will do this but not do social media. Or logo design. Or advertising design. If you can find the right company, you could get everything that you need for a fraction of the cost of hiring a marketing manager and retain your valuable time to do what you intended to do when you started your business.
Do nothing. Your business is doing just fine without all this online stuff. Maybe it is and if so, you’re in a good place. I would certainly argue that your competitors will be found online though and to rely on word of mouth or repeat custom alone can be a brave move if your business is paying your mortgage and putting food on your table.
Consider this: if you work with us we will get your website designed and online. From there for the sake of about £50+vat per month we can host and maintain it, sort out your SEO on and off page, create and manage your social media, get you listed on Google, provide analytics of your online products and traffic and more.
For us this option speaks for itself. Pay us £50+vat per month to get the job done or hire a marketing manager. At the very least, call us for an informal chat or meeting. You might be surprised at what we can do!