In this day and age, we tend to get involved with lots of different things. For instance, to manage a website these days, you need to be part web designer, part web developer, part SEO specialist, part social media specialist, part email marketing specialist, advertising specialist, marketing specialist, etc, etc. If you are a small business trying to take care of all these tasks, you probably aren’t doing what you do best, taking care of what differentiates you from your competition. This is a fatal flaw, which is part the fault of these do it yourself websites, promising and rarely delivering results. While it sounds like a good, inexpensive solution, the web is far too complex to throw up a quickie website against the wall and think you will find a pot of gold. Ok, not the best mixed metaphor, but you get the point. As we all have been taught or learned the hard way, quick and cheap rarely ends up profitable.
So what I advise to people today seeking my guidance is to find your niche, and be the best in the world at that. For me, that is website maintenance. We are the best in the world at website maintenance. We turn around most support requests the very same day. People are amazed at our turnaround time. So all these things I mentioned, they are all part of my daily life, in my role as a webmaster. Now while it’s true, I do wear many different hats, what has gotten me this far is being the very best at one particular aspect, and that is website maintenance. I offer my clients a one-stop for all their needs, so they don’t need to hire different agencies for design, development, marketing, advertising, SEO, Social Media, etc. They just hire us.
One mistake companies make is they end up becoming a carbon copy of all their competitors, just cookie-cutter offerings. This is an error, and you should try and be unique and offer something which makes you distinctive in the marketplace. As an example, we at RooSites tailor our support plans for our clients based on needs. Whereas larger companies may need unlimited support, a small non-profit may only need a couple of hours. We will design a plan to achieve all your web & social media goals. Once size fits all may work with a certain article of clothing, but so much for web maintenance.
You have gotten where you are by doing what you do best. You have hired the best people around you, lawyers, accountants and vendors. So when it comes to designing, developing and managing your website, do the same. Hire the best. In the long run you will be happy you did. (And save oodles of headaches). Contact us if you have any questions.
Many times companies end a relationship with you, and many times there is no-fault on your part. For instance, sometimes a company will bring work in-house that they’ve previously had a vendor doing. Sometimes companies go in a different direction. And sadly sometimes companies close down. Read on as we delve into reasons why the end of a business relationship is so important.
I recently did work for a marketing company, whose client needed to convert their website from a very technical CMS to WordPress. The reason was simple, they wanted to do a lot of work themselves and their old CMS was a bit too complicated for non-technical staffers to add blog posts. We converted this site, and they had no trouble whatsoever. They were very happy with our service, and then one day they informed me they would not be continuing with us as they were switching to a proprietary CMS platform and a new marketing company would be doing all the web work for them.
Unfortunately, they didn’t realize that this would be 10 times more expensive, and they would not own the final product. One of my pet peeves with proprietary CMS website platforms is that I want to own my website. It is as simple as that. Some people don’t care, but I am not one of those people. If it is my website, I want to own all the code, design and content.
But, the company was very nice to me, paid me everything they owed me, and always on time. So, I helped them through the transition, even keeping the site online beyond our contract, as the company doing the new website was behind schedule (Not a surprise ;-)). I will then package up all the files and send them to the company, as they own their website when working with my company, RooSites. This of course will not be the case when they end their next relationship, as they won’t own their website. Perhaps if they read the article below, they would not have made this mistake, which they will pay dearly for years to come and ultimately be dissatisfied.
Check out: What is a “Proprietary CMS” and Why Should You Avoid Them? They do an excellent job explaining the pitfalls of using a Proprietary CMS.
Now, I’ve run into website design and management companies that at the end of a relationship get very nasty and won’t help anyone who is ending a business relationship. This of course is very shortsighted, as the company and any of the employees will never come back to you. Always take the high road if at all possible!
If you are a professional at the end of the relationship, you stand a chance to someday get business once again. I have also had companies leave and come back as they find out the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence, in fact the grass gets burnt out very quickly!
Also, I have had people that I worked with on a website that have left for new jobs, and then hired us for their new company. This happens quite often as most of the time people are thrilled with our service, which not to brag but is unmatched in our industry. (Okay, maybe a little bragging 🙂 )
In a word, yes! Sometimes business ends in such a way that it is next to impossible to remain professional and friendly.
Here are a couple of examples:
Fortunately, these two examples were anomalies, and after over 20 years in business I can honestly say I have been very fortunate to do business with very good people and have had rarely had bad breakups. Still, it outlines the need for good legal representation and to have a solid service contract. This will protect you against the rare bad breakup scenario. And, truthfully, it protects your clients as well.
Listen, losing businesses is something none of us enjoy. But when that happens, take the high road, be a professional, and it may lead to business down the road. If not, at least that company, or its employees, may someday recommend you to their colleagues and friends.
