In the Business of Knowing Your Business

04/13/2011 3 min read Written by Lynton

Boy with Magnifying GlassWe project managers and online marketing specialists are a crafty, hard-working bunch. On a daily basis, we review projects with clients, implement new online marketing strategies and assist potential clients with navigating through the online world. The latter part of that statement is what this blog post is about. As a company, organization or individual, maybe I know what I need in online services. Maybe I think I need a new site, or e-mail campaigns, or social media assistance. At LyntonWeb, we hear this kind of thing all the time: "My website stinks; I need a new one," "I want a social media campaign," and many more complaints like that.

If you're reading this, and you're considering looking for new online services, consider this first - what are the real reasons you're asking what you're asking?

What's the situation?

The first time we talk with a new prospective client, our first goal is to understand their situation. Sure, we get approached daily with "I need a new website." What we LyntonWeb'ers really want to know is why you think you need a new website. Does it look like it could be part of a prop from a low-budget movie? Does your brother-in-law, who is a designer, think that the site is not feng-shui? Is it hopelessly outdated and begging for love and attention?

Or, is the real problem that you're losing leads, not attracting potential visitors and / or polluting the Internet with 1990s-era design? In other words, maybe you know you need a new website, or better marketing, but what is the reason that brought you to thinking this?

Compelling Reasons

Let's go through a short exercise on finding out the real reasons you may be seeking out online services. We'll start out with number 1, which is the first reason that we hear from a prospect:

  1. I need to start up an e-mail campaign. Why?
  2. I need to start up an e-mail campaign, so I can reach more customers. Why?
  3. I need to start up an e-mail campaign, so I can reach more customers, because not enough customers are currently coming to my site. Why?
  4. I need to start up an e-mail campaign, so I can reach more customers, because not enough customers are currently coming to my site. My site is up and live, but no one is finding it, so want to reach out to them. Stop!

What we've just found out was that an e-mail campaign was needed, because customers weren't finding this prospect's site. Now we can explore the real problem - why aren't customers finding the site? It could possibly turn out that the site is not optimized, it's outdated, or it doesn't have proper calls-to-action. Perhaps it has inefficient navigation, or lacks solid content, or a slew of other reasons. An e-mail campaign may help, but what good is attracting prospects to a site through e-mail if the site doesn't perform or lacks other marketing and content essentials? This may end up being by-and-large a wasted effort, and frankly, we're not in the business of wasting resources - we want your experience online to be perfect for you and your customers.

Next Steps?

Hopefully this helps you understand a little more about the process that we here at LyntonWeb go through when talking to a prospective client. We want to understand your choices and make sure that we're on the right track to helping you and your company  become successful online, whether it be through solid web design, web development, or online marketing.

Questions? We have answers. Contact us and let us know if you'd like to talk about your company or organization. Even if you have an idea of what you'd like to do, we're in the business of learning everything we can about your business, so we can turn your projects into more leads and more revenue.

By: Lynton

Lynton is a HubSpot Elite Partner that provides certified knowledge and tools to grow your business through integrated inbound marketing, including lead generation strategies, website designs and development, and CRM integrations.

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