No business can survive without marketing. Not my business. Not your business. Marketing brings in clients. And clients bring in the money that keeps your business alive.
As Webmasters, we sharpen our design skills constantly and try to keep up with new developments in the field -- trends, new tools, etc. However, for many of us, our understanding of marketing theory is less refined.
What is the core meaning of marketing?
There are sales and marketing professionals who do nothing but discuss and debate what marketing really means. They hold seminars and write books and articles on the subject. In my opinion, these people have too much time on their hands.
As far as you and I are concerned (as Webmasters), marketing means promoting your own business and your client’s business. Anything you do to attract potential customers and encourage potential sales (or whatever action creates income) is marketing.
When inexperienced designers start a Web site design, they typically begin by laying out the major functional blocks of the home page or by doing a color and graphic layout.
But designing a site is just the same as building a house. You have to start with the foundation and work up.
If the foundation isn't solid, it will need reinforcement work later on. If the foundation isn't the right shape, then the final form of the house will not be what you need. Trying to fix a foundation after it has a house built on top of it is an expensive and time-consuming process.
A Web site is the same way. The functions of a site will drive its final form. You need to define the requirements as completely as possible before you start the site layout.
Why? Because if you don’t, you may have to throw away what you have done and start over.
Not defining the requirements early can easily double the amount of work you have to do. Unfortunately, you don't get to increase your price to compensate for this. After all, it’s not the client's fault that you didn’t collect all of the requirements before you began.
Too many new designers make the mistake of putting up a Web site, sitting back, and waiting for the phone to ring. If only business was that easy.
There are thousands of designers promoting their services on the Internet. Some of them are very good at getting top Search Engine rankings for their Web site. However, unless your site shows up within the first few pages of the Search Engine listings, most searchers will never even see it.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have a Web site. A good site is an important part of your promotional activities. You just have to realize that although your site is a contact point and a place to show off your skills and abilities, it probably won’t be your primary advertising tool.
One of the most interesting things about running a business is the people you will meet. Or in the case of an Internet-based business, the people you won’t meet.
Once your business site is online, it will attract clients from all over the country and from all over the world. As a result, many of your clients will only be voices on the phone. Some you will know only through e-mail.
This can create some unique situations for you. Communication is hard enough when you meet face to face. When you add the complications of distance, voice only (phone), or text only (e-mail), it can become very difficult.
It’s important to learn how to communicate and to develop close working relationships with your clients despite these barriers.
The best way to keep clients happy is to keep them informed. Answer their questions and keep them updated on the status of their new Web sites. This could take a lot of your time, but it is an essential part of the job.
The key is to communicate with your client frequently. The two of you have to define the Web site in words before you can start coding Web pages. You also have to document any agreements or understandings that you make.
Proposals are the tools you use to get work. Contracts are the tools you use to get paid.
A good proposal gives your prospective client evidence that you understand the work to be accomplished and that you can deliver in a timely manner. It will also give you a chance to outshine your competition and get the job.
Once you have the job, you need to document your business agreement with a contract.
Your contract will define in detail what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, when they are to be done, what is not going to be done… and most importantly, what and when you get paid!