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Every living being needs a few bare necessities to survive. For example, without at least air, food, water, and shelter, animals would die.
Your website is no different.
If a website is only getting sporadic updates and attention, its survival rate, as it relates to lead generation and profitability, is slim to none. I’d be out of a job if this proved otherwise.
Marketing never stops. Ever. It can be easy to take inbound marketing for granted, as it can be largely automated. However, that misconception is the difference between achieving and exceeding monthly goals and being at a standstill with successful lead generation. Marketing takes effort and constant tweaks to provide the content and website experience that your potential leads are seeking, which is exactly why…
Web Development Companies Aren’t Marketers
Does Leading Results provide web development? Absolutely — but our service offerings go far beyond web development. Our expansive team of experts executes all facets of marketing, including web development.
What I’m cautioning you about are companies whose main service line is web development, but who will tell you that they will execute services like online marketing.
If I need someone to paint my house, should I go to a remodeling contractor? No. Do they offer the service? Yes — most do as part of an overall remodeling package — but it's hardly their specialty.
Need more convincing? Here are the top 3 reasons that a web development company should not be managing your marketing:
Constant Website Tweaks are Necessary
Take a moment and think of a company that is thriving based on what they set out to achieve in their very first business plan. Can you think of one? I’ll save you some time — the answer is none. No sustainable company operates in the same fashion in which they started. New products and services are folded in, target markets shift, buyer personas are tweaked, and what worked for businesses in year one is history. Heck, for some businesses, what worked last week is history.
As a result of business and market changes, website tweaks are an absolute necessity. This can be anything from adding a new content offer, updating a workflow, adding a new employee, announcing a new service or product line, changing site page content, or updating meta descriptions and page titles. Your business is fluid, and being reactive instead of proactive with website tweaks and updates will never get your company to a point of being an industry leader.
Sure, your website company will sell you a support plan that entitles you to updates, but you need (and should want) more than that.
A/B Testing: The Breakfast of Champions
There is no book or blog post I can read that will tell me how to be successful with each of my clients. Are there best practices to follow? Absolutely — but best practices are only half the battle. What’s the offer that will move a prospective client through the Buyer’s Journey? What is the current pain point that a potential lead wants to alleviate? What call-to-action design, color, and content will prove to have the best view to submission rate?
I’m not 100% clear, but it’s my job to figure it out.
To be truly successful in marketing, you have to consistently test your content, offers, and the overall website experience. Some tests may be radical while other tests are safe, but the key to success is to keep evolving. Web development companies often drive with their own best practices and never step out of the box. To be successful and have a marketing website that drives leads, an in-the-box mentality will not cut it.
The Cost of a Web Development Company and the Hidden Costs of Multiple Marketing Partners
Let’s say, noting the above, this is 30 hours of tweaks and tests per month — a very conservative estimate. Say your website company charges $100 an hour. That’s $3,000 a month. Further, let’s say that you have more consultants or companies that manage your content strategy, social media, and email marketing. If that's the case, you can easily be spending upwards of $6,000 a month.
If your company has multiple vendors involved, you will find yourself with a broken communications system — unless your vendors have a flawless synergy and are able to fluidly communicate in your company's voice. Since that's unlikely, your messaging will be inconsistent and your unique company voice will be jagged, likely leaving your potential leads confused and looking for a new industry expert to engage with and solve their problems.
Marketers Know Marketing
I am a marketing nerd. In fact, I believe that most of us in the marketing field have nerd-like qualities. We, at Leading Results, take pride in the results we deliver for our clients. To be successful, we have to constantly stay on the cutting edge of best practices, tactics, cultural shifts, and new marketing tools and channels. We have to stay on top of trends in web development and design AND what all those changes mean and the impact they have on the lead generation your web presence generates.
So, is it best for a company who knows a lot about web development and a little about marketing to be entrusted with your company’s marketing, lead generation, and fiscal future? If you answered no, and you're looking to fire up your lead generation, it's probably the ideal time for us to talk!
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