Small Business Marketing: To DIY or Not to DIY
I have extensive experience working with startups and small businesses. I have done it from every angle you can think of, as the employee, the owner, the freelancer, and the consultant. One of the huge challenges that they face is when to use DIY tools, and when to rely on an expert. There are 1,000’s of marketing tools and platforms that have been built on the concept that you don't need to know marketing to use it.
While the concept may be true, the reality is far from the truth. We do not need to go dark or have an hour long monologue, like a Shakespearean play, but unfortunately the idea is the same. One of the biggest culprits is website platforms. You can buy a domain for $5, stock images for free, and just use a template. How bad could it be?
The True Profit versus Loss Analysis
As the owner of a startup or small business that is just launching, this can sound incredibly appealing. Your profit margins can range from $0 to minimal, and the marketing firm you found online quoted you $1,000s that you don't have. We have run into dozens of business owners who tried this and were left with websites that were hard to navigate, did not render properly on mobile devices, did not index properly on main search engines…the list goes on. The result was low traffic, an even lower conversion rate, and even fewer leads.
Rather than find a marketing partner that could design and build them a site that converts at a high rate, they spent the same money on paid advertising. They were then left puzzled, they have a website, there is traffic, so they ask themselves: “Why am I not getting more leads?”. The piece of the puzzle that they are missing is the realization that their website is what a handshake and business card were in the 1960’s.
Effectively Managing Your Brand Identity
The face of a company is no longer a face, it is your brand presence online. Prospects are smart, tech-savvy, and are pitched daily by your competitors. If they visit your site and your brand, product, and services are not clear, it is hard to navigate, or looks wonky on their phone, they are lost. Regaining that trust and engagement, is 10X the work and time that if you had initially spent the money from the start.
I know I just took you down a dark tunnel of what not to do with DIY websites but there are ways it can work. One is e-commerce, when you are launching a single or even multiple products, it is a great opportunity to showcase them in an affordable way. The templates are centered on the product(s), they allow you to easily enter a product name, description, and add a photo. Depending on your budget, the go-to is Shopify. It is very user-friendly, and it is easy to set up integrations with your Etsy or Facebook shop.
If you are looking to launch your E-Commerce business, you should be aware that many sites will take a commission. It will vary platform-to-platform, there are some that have templates and do not take a commission. A great option, is Ecwid, it is 100% free to start, and it takes no commission for any sales. Another option is Big Cartel, if you have 5 products or less, it is always free. It only bumps up to $9.99/month once you have 50 products.
So if you do not want to be a Romeo, Desdemona, or Lago, take the time to find a true marketing partner. One that wants to build a long term relationship, help you build your company, and will work with you on your budget limitations.
