As a website design company, we review websites for existing and potential customers as well as competitors over the hundreds in any given year. The “look and feel” of sites is one of the most underestimated characteristics of website development and performance. If your site does not accurately reflect your brand, service, and business you are going to get penalized.
Organic and paid search results are the life and blood of website searches. If your brand is not accurately represented and captured in your website presentation you are risking a loss in revenue and a poor ROI.
Website development and design require an “all-in” approach by your website design firm. You cannot simply describe what you want and expect your website to shake the world. There is a lot of heavy lifting involved in intentional website development and design. Great digital marketing design firms will require a meeting with your decision-makers and their entire team which includes sales, writers, developers, and designers. This ensures that everyone on the design end is on the same page from the very beginning.
Great digital design firms whether small or large work closely within disciplines. This means writers are in communication with sales, design, and developers. Graphic artists are not a second thought, but they are in the loop on the first pass of design and development. Every member is communicating with the other so design, content, and art are consistent. If they are not, it means delays, dysfunction, and confusion for the client. Regular team meetings help remove potential errors and roadblocks. So ask your digital design firm how they conduct meetings and updates regarding the design of new client sites and social media.
Proven firms are going to provide you with a scope of the work description, a StoryBrand, or an overall game plan for your brand identity, strategy, and name. They will ask about your competitors, websites from competitors you like, those you don’t, and things they are unhappy about regarding their current website. This requires total transparency and honesty with the firm bidding for your business. There is a professional confidential trust involved in this process and firms with a strong reputation are not going to divulge any of this even if you decide to go with another firm. Beware of firms that talk behind your back and do not honor professional ethics!
Digital Design firms worth their salt will not hold back in assessing and analyzing your current digital marketing efforts. If you need a “yes” firm on everything you are currently doing, you need to stay with your current firm. Great firms are going to offer their expertise as subject matter experts in digital media marketing. They aren’t afraid, to be honest in their critique of your current applications. They are looking out for your brand, positioning, and marketing or brand strategy.
Digital marketing guru David Meerman Scott captures it well when he said, “…It’s not a coincidence when a site feels like it was created especially for you. It means a marketer somewhere did his or her job well! Creating this kind of experience is exactly the point of understanding buyer personas and tailoring a site based on knowledge rather than a simple product pitch.”
Is your digital marketing firm capturing your brand and customer interaction? Reputable agencies will make sure your brand story, design, development, social media, and paid ads are working in sync to tell and uniform story that results in traffic and a strong ROI.
Ask yourself a hard question. Is my digital design firm in for the long haul and a long-term relationship or are they only interested in a quick profit? This question is important and one you need to wrestle with in terms of your brand, customers, and future customers. Be honest in your assessment of digital marketing performance and realize this is a long play, a marathon, not a sprint.
At WebSpeak Media we desire to build intentional relationships with our clients that build and increase over time. We are not seeking a quick buck, but want to engage our clients in long-term relationships and investment. We specialize in listening and hearing our client’s stories while seeking creative solutions to telling their stories to increase brand awareness and site traffic.
Charles Carter, Partner
WebSpeak Media
Greer, SC 29651
864-363-8910
Charles@WebSpeakMedia.com
