This Week's Question: I have a limited marketing budget. What is the one thing I should do?
Transcription:
As a small business owner, we know you don't have an unlimited marketing budget. There are so many marketing choices out there. What do you choose?
Well, there's one thing that you absolutely have to have, so keep watching!
Hi, I'm Tom Malesic, founder and President, of EZMarketing, a marketing agency in nearby Lancaster, PA.
Welcome to Ask EZ, where we make marketing easier by giving you actionable answers to the questions we've all struggled with about our small business marketing.
So what's the one thing that you absolutely have to have as part of your marketing?
Why of course, it's have a really great website design. It is absolutely the number one thing that you have to have ironed out.
Why do you need a website?
So why do you need a website?
- That's where everybody looks for your business. Statistically, ninety-seven percent of all consumers will go online to find your business. If you're not there they can't find you.
- Reason number two, if you don't have a website people don't even think that you're in business. A lot of people they just go to your website just to validate. Like are you a real business? Do you look credible?
Just think of your own buying behaviors, you know, somebody doesn't have a website or if they have a really crummy website design, how do you feel about their business? Are they really credible?
Are they going to do a good job for you? Thirty percent of people they won't even buy from you if you don't have a website. - Reason number three, your website design is the best salesperson you're ever going to have. That website works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It always shows up on time, it always dresses right, it says the right things all the time. It is absolutely the best salesperson you're ever going to have, and probably the cheapest.
- Reason number four, it's the hub, the central point of all your marketing. All of the other marketing that you're going to do is going to have your web address on it, and people are going to go to your website.
So it's the central spoke, the center of everything you do, is your website design. It's going to be really important that you make a great first impression.
Why DON't Small businesses have websites?
If having a website is so important, then why is it that a third of all small businesses still don't have a website? And the ones that do often really neglect the website design or they just don't think it's that important.
The biggest reason that we hear that small business owners don't get a website is they think it's too expensive.
So look, your website it's the number one priority that you need to have. If you're going to spend money on marketing, spend it on your website design, even you just need to scrape a little more money.
But if you really can't afford it, think about your low-cost, do-it-yourself kind of options. I would go to a community college, or a local university, or even a high school and you're going to get somebody that's going to do this for like next to nothing.
So make sure you get something that's going to start working for you.
Another common thing we hear is, listen - why do I need a website, I have a really good social media presence or I have a really good Facebook page. Social media, although it's super important, and I think you know it's part of your marketing strategy, it can't be the center point that you really need.
If you only rely on Facebook, or Instagram, or Pinterest, or whatever social media platform you're using you don't own those platforms. So if at some point those businesses go away, or you get penalized, or account gets pulled down, your whole business is getting pulled down because you didn't rely on the website being the center point.
You have a website Design, but you don't like it
Many of you have a website, the problem that you have is that you just don't like your website design. The most common thing that I hear is I'll say, "well tell me about your website," and they'll go "Oh, Tom, don't look at my website design because it's horrible!"
So, if you're embarrassed by your web design, that is the perfect opportunity that lets get you a website design that you're proud of. That really is that best salesperson that you can put forward.
I would say the most important thing you can do is get a website design that you love. That accurately represents who your business is to the people that you're trying to speak to so that it can really become a nice selling machine for you.
your homework
Here's your homework:
Whether you have a website or you don't have a website, I want you to download our free website planning guide. That's going to give you all the steps that you need to build a really great website design.
Right below this video, we have the download link. So please go there, download it, and start building a great website.
If you've enjoyed this video, give us a thumbs up, like us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Even leave a comment or ask a question below and we're happy to get back to you and maybe even answer your question on our next video. And if you're looking for web designers nearby, don't do anything without talking to our website design company first!
