This is meant mainly for those just getting their feet wet and have made the decision to begin marketing your business online. One of the big traps I see is people somehow equating online marketing to some completely different and foreign animal, totally outside the realm of their comfort zone.
With that in mind, when building a website, we have no choice but to go to a website developer. Now, as a business owner, no one outside of your business should know how to market your business better than you do, however, for some reason, when it comes to building the marketing architecture of the website, so many people are willing to accept the advice of their developer.
This is not to disparage website developers, but the fact is that most website developers know very little about direct marketing concepts and strategies. They are particularly good at exactly what they do: coding websites to look slick.
On the same note, this very ability is often in direct conflict with strong marketing. Often the website developer will recommend too many graphics, links, pages, video etc. In fact their very paycheck often rests on up selling you to these often useless lead generating widgets.
Furthermore, too many developers have an over inflated sense of their ability to market online. Perhaps some of them have bought into the notion that because they are technically versed regarding internet technologies, this knowledge somehow transfers through osmosis some mystical ability to market as well.
I played college football and many people were involved with the football program. Well, there were coaches and then equipment managers. The equipment managers knew everything to know about the infrastructure of the locker room, the equipment room, how to get the equipment, from whom to order to get the best price, practice times, team break-out sessions, etc. They could tell you just about everything about my college football program.
But they knew nothing about offensive or defensive football strategy. By accepting your developers opinion, that is unless your developer can demonstrate the clear ability to market online through facts and examples of how he/she markets his own business, is like the coach asking his equipment manager which play to call on 3rd and 20 with 2 minutes left in the game.
With that in mind, when building a website, we have no choice but to go to a website developer. Now, as a business owner, no one outside of your business should know how to market your business better than you do, however, for some reason, when it comes to building the marketing architecture of the website, so many people are willing to accept the advice of their developer.
This is not to disparage website developers, but the fact is that most website developers know very little about direct marketing concepts and strategies. They are particularly good at exactly what they do: coding websites to look slick.
On the same note, this very ability is often in direct conflict with strong marketing. Often the website developer will recommend too many graphics, links, pages, video etc. In fact their very paycheck often rests on up selling you to these often useless lead generating widgets.
Furthermore, too many developers have an over inflated sense of their ability to market online. Perhaps some of them have bought into the notion that because they are technically versed regarding internet technologies, this knowledge somehow transfers through osmosis some mystical ability to market as well.
I played college football and many people were involved with the football program. Well, there were coaches and then equipment managers. The equipment managers knew everything to know about the infrastructure of the locker room, the equipment room, how to get the equipment, from whom to order to get the best price, practice times, team break-out sessions, etc. They could tell you just about everything about my college football program.
But they knew nothing about offensive or defensive football strategy. By accepting your developers opinion, that is unless your developer can demonstrate the clear ability to market online through facts and examples of how he/she markets his own business, is like the coach asking his equipment manager which play to call on 3rd and 20 with 2 minutes left in the game.
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