Marketing & Sales for Web Designers

What are You Doing?

[Fortune Hunter]

I am a one man shop doing design right now and I would like to hear from other designers who are doing well with their marketing and sales.

Questions:

1. What are you doing to market your services?

2. Where are you marketing your services?

3. What are you doing to increase your sales?

4. How are you managing marketing and sales along with your development work?

I am very interested in hearing what other 1 man shop designers have to say on this topic. I know the larger web development companies have dedicated sales people and possibly marketing people, but how does the small 1 man shop compete.

Fortune Hunter

[nycweb2222]

I have sent you a private message a few days ago that addresses your questions but I never heard back from you.

1. What are you doing to market your services?

mainly word of mouth and some local targetted marketing.

2. Where are you marketing your services?

press releases, newsletters to current clients. networking with people all the time and some local marketing.

3. What are you doing to increase your sales?

rolling out a lot of new services and not just doing web design.

4. How are you managing marketing and sales along with your development work?

it's not easy. I have hired a pro copywriter and am looking for a few other people to help out.

[Fortune Hunter]

NYC:

I responded to your email I hope you got it. I am doing many of the same things you are trying to do to market my services.

[EileenC]

As a copywriter, I often refer clients to web designers for web site creation. There are several web designers in my area whom I refer business to. The problem? Their own web sites are terrible! The copy stinks, the sites are cluttered and not well designed, etc. I've seen their portfolios, and their work is excellent, but I sometimes wonder if a prospect is even going to look beyond the web designers' own home pages. As another example, the economy in my area is small-business driven, and most small business owners don't understand the technical jargon that web designers speak. So, it stands to reason that you don't want to use web-designer jargon on your site, speak language your prosects can understand. It's a basic marketing concept, but I'm finding too many web designer in my area are missing the boat on it.

[Fortune Hunter]

EileenC:

Your strategy sounds like it would work well in a professional networking group like BNI. I was talking to NYC about it as well.

I recently joined this group for myself to promote my own business and it seems to be moving me in the right direction. Time will tell. You probably have a chapter in your area.

I also do copywriting, but I also do the web design. I am much more new to web design then I am copywriting, but I am trying to be a one stop shop for all of my small business clients.

Many small business clients don't have the money or experience to round up and evaluate several professionals in putting together a web site. I have found they would rather just pay me for everything.

I am pretty good at most aspects of it, but I admit there are better people then me in certain areas, but most of my clients don't care as long as they don't have to try and find them and work with them on their own.

I take it your experience has been different?

Fortune Hunter

[edited by: stuntdubl at 4:46 am (utc) on May 9, 2004]
[edit reason] No urls, thanks. See TOS [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]

[EileenC]

Fortune Hunter, I've visited BNI but have not joined because of scheduling issues at this point. With BNI, the key to success seems to be finding the group with the right mix. For me, that would be a group with graphic designers and web designers, but the groups I've visited are mostly in the mortgage broker-insurance agent-real estate agent loop, and they don't refer me any business. Also I am moving away from small businesses as my target and on to larger companies.

With small business clients, they often know they need something, and when they hear I do web content they think, "Oh, yeah, I should get a web site." If they're serious about it, I'll either refer them to a web designer or project manage the whole thing and bring all parties together for a meeting. The smaller the client, the more the scenario is like the one you describe. But I have found that for me, trying to be all things to all people does not work well. I don't enjoy the hassles of project management, especially since it's usually with smaller clients with tiny budgets who are "high maintenance." The more I promote my specialized work (i.e., market to web designers as a content writer, or direct response writer to companies that hire them) the bigger budgets they have, and the more pleasant they are to work with.

[rogerd]

In addition to formal networking groups like BNI (OK for small biz, but kind of cult-like - everything is sell, sell, sell...), consider joining a service club or other community activity. Depending on the group, you'll meet people from all kinds of businesses. If they need a site designed or re-designed, volunteer. By the end of the project, everyone in the group will know what you do and the quality you are capable of. (You can do this even if you don't join a group, but the networking will be far more limited.) I suggest you join only groups where you feel strongly about their mission - otherwise, attending meetings and working on projects will be pure drudgery.

[danieljean]

My accountant recently suggested joining my local chamber of commerce. Has anyone else tried this? Was it worthwhile?

[EileenC]

75% of my business comes from networking at Chamber events or with similar organizations. So yes indeed, I'd say joining the Chamber can be very worthwhile, as long as you are an active member. I attend at least one networking event per month, and usually come away with one or two good leads in my pocket. I'm on my Chamber's marketing committee, which has helped me to make contacts and get great advice from people more experienced than myself. And I just taught a Lunch & Learn program through my Chamber and got six solid leads from it.

[stuntdubl]

Speaking at any professional organization can be helpful.

You may get direct leads, or you may just benefit from the credibility that it brings you (assuming you do a good job).

Along the same lines, writing tutorials or articles within your industry are other great ways to gain the exposure you need to attract quality clients.

[Fortune Hunter]

EileenC:

I see what you mean about needed other members related to what you do. When you get time to attend you can look up the local BNI office (you can find the local office from the national web site at www.bni.com)and tell them that you are only interested in a chapter that already has a web designer and graphic designer. They should be able to search their database and find a chapter that meets this criteria for you.

You mentioned that you get so much business from the Chamber. I have been debating joining my local chamber, but wasn't sure how good it would be. Maybe I will look into it again.

Rogerd:

You mention the group is cult like and focused on sales...isn't that the point? I agree joining commmunity service organizations is a good idea as well and I do some of that, but sometimes it is a good to be a group where people don't make any pretenses as to why they are there. They want business.

Fortune Hunter

[EileenC]

Fortune Hunter, thanks for the great tip about BNI. I will do that. As for my Chamber experience, I know others don't feel the Chamber has helped them with their business. But in my case, I had seven (yes, seven) Chambers to choose from in my area and visited them all before choosing the one that was right for me.

[Fortune Hunter]

EileenC:

What types of things were you looking for in a Chamber? Were you able to evaluate the chamber with just a visit? I have several (I don't know about 7) chambers in my area. We have one big one and several small towns nearby also have one.

I need to join one, but I don't know if joining the biggest is necessarily the best decision. Any suggestions of what I should be looking for?

Fortune Hunter

[EileenC]

FH, I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for, I just attended one or two networking events at each Chamber. Some were very clique-ish, not very inclusive of newcomers. One was too big, and I felt lost in the crowd. At another, I felt beseiged by people trying to sell me stuff. The one I ended up joining is not the most convenient (25 minutes away). At the first event I went to, the ambassador greeted me, asked me what I did, asked for a card, and the next day I got a call from someone he had passed my card to who needed stuff written. At the same event, the executive director asked me if I wanted to connect with particular people or types of businesses, and she'd introduce me. I gave her my usual spiel about what I do, and said a good place to start would be graphic designers and web designers (who are good candidates for two-way referrals). She called me later that day with three contact names and numbers, said she'd told them to expect my call, and one of them has been very fruitful. The people in this Chamber are friendly, eager to get to know you, and are always passing along resources, ideas, and leads. Every Chamber in the world gives lip service to "personal attention," yada yada yada, so you can't go by that. Just go, mingle a few times, and see how they treat you.

[le_gber]

1. What are you doing to market your services?
word of mouth / networking is one great way to market yourself. I also work for three bigger companies as a subcontractor.

2. Where are you marketing your services?
On the net mainly, yellow pages and directories as well, good for local business looking up for somebody offering your services

3. What are you doing to increase your sales?
Diversification is one of the key I think. Do not just offer web design, offer hosting, seo, internet marketing, maintenance ...

4. How are you managing marketing and sales along with your development work?
I was thinking of hiring somebody at one point, but I will try to go on the outsourcing route. Easier to get out of if anything goes wrong.

Regarding networking, I would try the chamber of comemrce as it has been suggested. Even if you don't join their group, they will know of other local organisation that do network. Here in the UK networking breakfast is really helping me out. It's not the BNI or BRE (very big organisation which have to comply to group/organisation policies), but local group of people who most of the time left one of the previous two because of their rigidity and set up their own group.

For people in the UK I would greatly advise to look into your local businesslink they have been very helpfull to help me start up when I did.

Hope this helps

Leo

[fourstardragon]

I joined the local chamber of commerce for a year and it did little for my restaurant or web design business. That likely was because of my inexperience at networking.

If I was better at networking, I would have received more benefit from my membership.