Some business Coaches specialize in traditional sales and marketing concepts. A few Coaches focus on the techniques driving on-line sales through powerfully designed websites, search engine marketing and social media tools. Find a certified Coach with these skills, and if you spend thousands annually on your marketing efforts without desired results, hire them on contract to help. A good business Coach should ask you the right questions to drill deeper into the important issues for successfully planning on-line web strategies. This can pay immense dividends in the long run.
What are your top three, key goals for your web marketing?
If you dialogue with an expert, it helps you take a ten-thousand foot view of your business. A good Coach can test your intentions and uncover better approaches. Every business requires a unique business proposition and there are certain strategies common within a web design and web marketing approach suitable for most businesses. Setting your sights on three main goals help you focus.
With the constant changes, owners looking at their on-line marketing may find it confusing. A business Coach experienced in web marketing can help un-clutter the field. Everyone claims to be an expert and it’s difficult to know who is providing the best information. Website designs can range from $5k to $15k for very similar work. How do you determine if the higher cost company with expensive offices and 20 designers are tailoring a design to your unique needs? The right sized, smaller organization will work harder, provide great results and treat you more importantly. Your website may be in the hands of professionals either way but are you paying for their overhead?
What is critically important to your business’ growth?
Having someone really listen and learn about your business can help immensely. Once a Coach understands your needs and has website design experience, she/he can help you make more effective decisions and perhaps even play a consulting role during the formal presentations the web design contenders make to you.
The cost of contracting a business Coach for 3-6 months or longer can save thousands in deciding which firm to hire. An actual situation I use is one where my client’s existing web designer was contacted to build a new web presence for the company. It was a fairly complex opportunity with new branding, website, social media, blog, hosting, collateral and more. I was hired to listen to the incumbent’s proposal which came in at over $20k. A second firm (Designer B) with over 15 years of web design, branding experience, yet a low overhead was able to provide the same level of web presence with all the features, training, social media and more for less than $10k. It was an easy decision. Designer B got the job and the owner was very happy with the results… saving over $10k along the way. How would this savings help your bottom line?
Business Coaches with a solid web space background can be hard to find but they are out there and maybe they can save you thousands of dollars while helping to guide your web presence and make your business more successful.
