Whether you’re a new startup with modest funds or a smaller business without much in-house marketing experience, you’re more vulnerable to falling into the trap of thinking that a shiny new website will get your business recognized, noticed, and cheered on. It’s tempting to believe that you can just sit back and let the website do its magic, and then presto, the phone rings! But then no.
Consider this: A shiny new website with no other marketing efforts isn’t much different than a shiny new business card that you never give to anyone. That’s right… keep that box of 500 cards on the shelf in case you need them. And when you need one, you won’t be able to find it! This is where most businesses fail with a successful website or eCommerce strategy. They fail to understand that a shiny new website is just the first step of many that lead to online success.
Let’s dive below the surface and look at the differences that are not so obvious but will likely have a significant impact on the success of your website and, yes, your company’s marketing strategy.
First of all, I totally understand the appeal of “free” and the appeal of paying “only” $$/month for a website that jump-starts your online business. These types of SaaS website companies have their place in the world. Yes, there are times when I recommend these services to clients.
I recently realized that a typical marketing message from most SaaS website builders is centered around the entrepreneur, characterized as the “smart” type who rolls up their sleeves and explores the waters of website design with a pure passion for your business. Seemingly all these determined entrepreneurs need is a few useful online tools that are apparently smarter than they are, and the Internet is theirs for the taking. It’s certainly a compelling message for all Type-As, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple or easy for most businesses, small or large, to succeed online.
As a marketing director for 16 years in the high-tech industry, where I helped develop new B2B services designed and implemented as software as a service, I have experience on both sides of the fence. With that said, this article is not a rant, but rather an explanation of what separates a reputable digital agency from an online service provider. It is these differences that can make all the difference to your business, and once you know what they are, they will give your fledgling business website a fighting chance at success.
Here is my message in the bottle for those of you who have been left stranded on a deserted website island, unable to make your SaaS website (or template) successful in any way, let alone make it a thriving place to generate sales opportunities like most. business owners want.
The first lesson business owners need to learn about the Internet is that simply having a “great” website design (however you want to define it) won’t get you where you want to go. Fortunately, a failed website strategy will cost you much less than this colossal mistake: imagine building a beautiful store where no one goes because there are no roads.
“Absurd!” you say? Yes indeed, and this is the essence of what goes wrong when you just have a great website and nothing else to support its purpose.
Of course, good website design is a skill that is an important part of your website strategy, but it is only one part of an array of skills that make an amazing website strategy. Here is a sample of some of the skills that a competent digital agency applies to a typical website project:
• Creative
• Graphic design
• Logo design
• Personalized programming
• Brand
•Marketing
•SEO
• Analysis
• Integration and promotion of videos
• Integration and Promotion of Social Networks
• Hosting, testing and troubleshooting
• Security
As you can see, when you hire a reputable website design company, you’re actually getting experienced salespeople, programmers, and creatives who partner with you to not just get you online, that’s the easy part, but to work with you. to help build your website into a lead generating machine, or whatever your purpose.
I think we all know the marketing hype around SaaS website services. Some of this is justified, but much of it is not. Let’s turn the hype on its head and read the fine print to learn what a business is not getting from an online website service:
• You are not getting a custom website that looks UNIQUE.
• You’re not getting a custom website that DOES exactly what you want it to do.
• You don’t get any unique features that may be CRITICAL to the success of your online business.
• You are not getting a website development team that has your best interests in mind when working with you as a PARTNER.
• You’re not getting a uniquely branded and positioned website developed by MARKETING specialists.
• Doesn’t get top GOOGLE organic rankings because SaaS-based websites have lower than average SEO ability.
On the other hand, with an online SaaS provider, here’s what you get:
• A template based amateur website that you will pay monthly FOREVER!
• A DO IT YOURSELF service that requires you to be the expert in everything. How much time do you have to dedicate to this effort?
• Well, since you will be the MARKETING EXPERT, who will actually run the company?
• A SaaS website is a proprietary website (typically) STUCK on another host with no easy way to transfer. Professional websites use WordPress or other open source platforms that give you unlimited hosting options.
• Unless you’re paying BIG SaaS DOLLARS for digital talent (real people, not just algorithms), you’ll only get a small amount of technical support and little marketing information.
So, taking the hype out of marketing, some important questions any business owner should ask themselves can be summed up as… How much is my time worth? And… How much experience do I have in core website competencies that will be enough to differentiate my business and achieve brand goals?
Okay, maybe you’re a jack-of-all-trades entrepreneur who is often featured in SaaS website promotions, and you really do have multiple skills that will create new leads or sales for your business. We wish you only the best. However, before you travel into deeper waters and make hard-to-break compromises with a template/SaaS service, you may want to consider some additional facts about custom websites vs. SaaS that you may not have thought of yet.
A digital agency that develops websites offers much more than a faceless DIY website building service, which is the essence of what online SaaS builders sell. For example, a digital agency provides branding, marketing, SEO, and programming expertise with ongoing consulting that will turn your website’s core message into a unique and differentiated customer experience. Digital agencies are commonly found in your region, understand your local culture, and have an intrinsic interest in your community because it is also where they live and work. Bottom line: your success is their success.
