The Diablog - it’s Diabloglical™

The first two decisions needed to start a website. (part 1 of 3)

20 April 2010

Choose your web development software and choose an agency.

When it’s time to build a new website, there are a lot of questions to be answered. You begin to question everything, from your logo to your understanding of your audience. This can be a great thing. Re-evaluation can uncover new potential in your business. But where do you start?

The first two questions to be answered are, “Who will create my new web site?” and “What system will it be build on?” You can answer either question first, depending on your technical capabilities, but answer these two questions before you start asking the rest.

Choose your agency before setting out on a journey of introspection. Success is tied to experience. I can’t say how many times I have heard, “This is my company. No one can know more about this company than me.” Of course that’s true for all company owners and leaders. But how many times have you analyzed a company with the goal of creating a clear, concise, and targeted message that will cut through the clutter on the internet and convert passers-by into paying customers? For most business owners, the answer is once or twice. Sometimes the answer is never.

Hire a professional to guide you. An experienced creative agency will have been through the process of converting company knowledge into compelling web content many times. That is the experience many business owners lack but fail to recognize its importance.

The other question you need to answer is: what tool will provide the foundation for your website? Choosing the right tool requires an awareness of current internet trends like social network marketing, an understanding of internet technology like search engine optimization (SEO) and content management systems (CMS), plus a forward-thinking plan for how you want to manage your web presence. If you have in-house technical people, get their opinion. If you don’t, consult with your newfound team of internet experts.

Here is the important point: choosing a creative agency and choosing your web development software are two separate decisions. The software needs to be chosen for what it can do and how it matches your goals. It shouldn’t get in the way of what your agency will do for you, but it should first serve your needs, not theirs.

Some agencies will only work in their own, private development software or content management system. If they wrote it themselves, they will be the only people who will be able to maintain your website in the future. If your relationship with the agency doesn’t work out, you will be forced into one of two bad options: keep working with an agency you aren’t satisfied with or build your website again, from the ground up, with a new agency.

The internet has become the single most important pipeline for business. Any business. Every business. Everywhere. Consumers form an opinion about a company based (at least in part) on their opinion of the company’s website. Build a website that taps into that resource, not one that shuts it out.

Our web development software, Dialogs, is commonly recommended by agencies to their website customers, but Dialogs is also chosen by site owners based on our features and reliability, and they request that their creative agencies use Dialogs. Let us show you how Dialogs can improve your business. Or let us show your agency. Either way, we’re confident that Dialogs is the best choice for business.

Agencies: explain the web using real-world comparisons (part 3 of 3).

15 April 2010

Why does Google hate me?

Most prospects are looking for an agency that can provide a full range of services. Some agencies have responded to this demand by claiming that they provide a full range of services, even though they don't. Claiming to do things you can't won't win you work - it more likely will lose the project and the opportunity to develop the project into an account.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a hot buzzword these days. Every prospect wants it. It's also the topic of the some of the most egregious exaggeration of agency capabilities. What those few bad apples haven't thought through (perhaps because they don't understand SEO) is that this false claim is easily outed. Ask Google to find them. If Google can't even find their name, they are lying about their SEO capabilities.

A better strategy is to learn about SEO and to partner with a knowledgeable SEO expert. Having real SEO answers will help you land interactive work.

Some prospects know the whys and hows of SEO. They want to learn what you can do to make their job easier. If you find yourself in this conversation, you are open to have a detailed and technical conversation. However, other prospects want SEO, but have no idea what it means. If you get asked a generic SEO question, try this explanation.

• Imagine that you want to advertise your business by buying a sign. You could pay a farmer $100 to paint your name in the side of his barn (this was done, not so long ago). Every driver that passes down the desolate road past that barn will see your name. You could choose to spend thousands of dollars for a billboard on a busy urban freeway where hundreds of thousands of people will see your name every day. More money gets you more exposure. What if your business is an authentic Mexican food restaurant and you choose to place your sign near a travel agency that specializes in cruises to Mexico? Fewer people see your sign than if you put in on the freeway, but the sign brings more people into your restaurant.

SEO is about relevancy, not just massive exposure. It's easy for an ad on the internet to be seen by a million people. The trick is: get seen by people who are likely to buy something from you.

An important part of the Dialogs Professional Services we provide to creative agencies is sales assistance. We help our agency partners explain the importance and the possibilities of today's internet to their customers and prospects.

Agencies: landing web projects using real-world comparisons (part 2 of 3).

14 April 2010

Trust the process. Don't give away Discovery.

To land a website project, you must first secure the prospect's confidence. This is a complex process that must occur in a short period of time. The prospect must go from, "I know I need a new website." to "I understand what my next website should do." and finally to "This is the agency who can get me where I need to be." Moving from step one to step two is huge. If YOU are the one who helped the prospect reach step two, it's logical that they will choose you as their business expert for all things web.

The challenge for you is that you must prove to the prospect that you are capable of providing answers without providing actual answers - at least not until you land the project.

You are an experienced, professional business consultant. What you know has value. Helping a prospect work through their online business goals is not part of the sales process; it is part of the project. You can't make knowledgeable recommendations without spending time learning their company, and time is your product.

Here is an analogy to help your prospects understand what information is fair to expect prior to awarding the project to you and what information will be part of the billable project.

• Imagine you are going to build a custom home. You can't start construction without a complete set of plans. You could buy a book of stock plans, or you could hire an architect. Either way, you are going to pay someone for the plans. There is a process to follow. First, you hire an architect and give them a rough budget for the project. The architect develops a floor plan that gives you the space and features you need. Then they create color renderings of what the house will look like. After that, contractors give you quotes for what it will cost to build the house. Your rough budget at the start of the project becomes a tight estimate to take construction of your dream home to completion.

When you talk to prospects about your agency and the services you provide, the point you want to make is that you have the knowledge and experience to solve their problems. Once they choose to partner with you, the projects will follow.

An important part of the Dialogs Professional Services we provide to creative agencies is sales assistance. We help our agency partners explain the importance and the possibilities of today's internet to their customers and prospects.