Deciding on the Particulars – Part 3 of 3 in Your Ultimate Hiring Guide
Now that you’ve decided on a website design or search engine optimization (SEO) firm, let’s talk about how to work with your project manager and designer. It can be difficult to manage something that does not lie in the scope of your own expertise, like the inner workings that will make your website functional or how to design a captivating theme that adequately reflects your product or service mix.
The areas where you may not understand how or what to ask for, but where you do have an opinion can best be handled through examples. When you don’t have an opinion, chat with the website developer to share what you’d like to accomplish and see what he or she comes up with for your approval. It’s also worth noting that dictating exactly what you want on your website is not overstepping bounds, it is helpful to designers and developers who want to execute your vision. It’s helpful to point out examples of what you like. After all, think of how many renditions you would receive if you asked one hundred designers to draw a tall man, thin man with brown hair and blue eyes… you’ll get close to one hundred different results. Specificity is good; examples are even better.
Your online presence is broken down into three main components, 1) image 2) functionality, and 3) optimization. The component that “faces” your customer base through the screen, is of course, your image.
Artists’ work varies, from Vincent Van Gogh’s Scream to Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, all of it vastly different; all of it considered valuable art in its own right. Each web designer will also have a signature style, which is why it’s important to view a company’s work as a whole, but ask to use the specific designer whose examples you gravitate toward.
By all means, bring in samples, examples, or a wish list. We’ve seen everything from a piece of fabric or photo to inspire the visual components of a website, to examples of other websites that aren’t remotely connected to the company’s industry, but really excite the business in terms of look and style.
You’re given a blank canvas—when designing the face of your business, consider what the experts tell you in terms of color play and design characteristics, but be true to your vision and your instinct when deciding upon what your image will become. Poise yourself to convey your thoughts and then, because you’ve already done your homework on them, sit back and let the company turn your ideas into magic.
Commencing Your Search – Part 2 of 3 in Your Ultimate Hiring Guide
Last time, we talked about defining what you’d like to accomplish with your website, from outlining your needs to deciding on budget. The next step is to find someone to clearly hear, understand, expand upon, and execute your ideas. There are generally four ways you can go about choosing a designer or website design company to build your website:
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- 1. Contact a referral from someone you know and trust
- 2. Snag a designer whose work you’ve seen on another site
- 3. Scour the Internet with key search words
- 4. Respond to an advertisement or solicitation
There’s no one “right” way to find a reputable website design firm or social media marketing agency. Once you’ve completed your initial worksheet (see our last blog post for a three-step worksheet) that outlines what you need to accomplish, we suggest that you interview a minimum of two website design agencies to see who can add value and zing! to your ideas.
Consider these questions when selecting companies or freelance web designers to interview:
Is personal interaction important for you during the development phases of your website?
You’ll be able to slash millions of choices from your search if your preference is to work with a local design company or freelance developer. Additionally, laying eyes on the development team does bring many people a certain peace of mind about their project. If the design team lives and works in the same geographic circles, there seems to be a stronger sense of accountability and access. There’s also a chance to develop a trust factor because it removes anonymity from the equation.
If you’ve scoured the web, you’ll also find that you can farm the work out overseas, generally at lower rates. If you choose this option, try to go with a freelancer or company who has done good work for someone you know, speaks and writes fluently in your desired language, and will deliver your product and passwords prior to your submitting a final substantial payment, as many U.S. business-centered laws will not protect you internationally if someone under-delivers or walks away with your money.
What is the condition or state of other websites this firm is responsible for developing and providing upkeep?
Of course a disproportionate number of people request references and then never actually follow up with a phone call or email. Why not? One of the best representations of a company is its past and present work. Check out a company’s portfolio and ask them whom you can contact directly to ask a few questions.
How quickly and thoroughly does the company respond to your requests for information during this hiring phase?
You can tell a lot about a company by how it handles potential customers. If they are too busy to answer your questions and help you feel comfortable and confident about your hiring decisions, what would cause you to believe their levels of availability and concern would increase once you’ve hired them? Companies tell you a lot without even trying. We would encourage you to pay attention to this vetting process and follow your instincts.
Next up, we take a look at how you can manage your website design process without hindering the company’s progress for you.
How to Find the Right Website Designer or Developer
Your Ultimate Hiring Guide—A Three-part Series
If you wound up here, chances are you have a lot of questions about how to hire the right person or team to design and execute your web presence. A simple Google search will turn up approximately 383 million results for “web designer,” ranging from a one-man-show to large website design firms.
Even as you fine-tune your search words to “Atlanta website design agency” to bring up localized results, you may find yourself inundated with choices and even more confused the deeper you wade into each company’s offerings.
We suggest that you start by taking charge of the process and outlining your objectives so you can vet the companies that surface on the top of your list (look for more about defining that list in our next blog). We’ve designed a worksheet for you to use to help you identify what’s important to your end goals.
| Three Steps to Defining Your Website Objectives
1. Briefly outline what you would like to see on your website. It’s okay to browse the competition and decide on features you do and don’t like about what others in your industry are doing. Features in your outline may include an About Us page, consumer education, work samples or portfolio, product ordering system, shipment tracker, user comment forms, video tutorials, blog section, integration of social media, or any features relative to the end functionality of your site. 2. When do you want to launch your site and how often does the site need to be “worked” or updated? Remember the swimming pool installation company we profiled a few months ago? That company used their site to primary serve as an educational platform for potential customers. It was moderately interactive, with frequent testimonial and photo updates and responses to consumer questions. Their needs differed greatly from another client, a BBQ sauce manufacturer, who needed a site that would house a complete ordering, confirmation, tracking, and customer loyalty rewards system. How do you envision your site serving your company? 3. What is your budget for both building the site and for its ongoing maintenance? Most businesses need to purchase their domain name (or website address) and find a website “host” or platform. Oftentimes web design companies will roll this into the cost of doing business with you. After that base building point, almost everything is a la carte and customizable. The more complex the features on your site, the more expensive it is likely to be. There are two choices you have after your site is built. You can have your designer teach you or people in your company how to manage the website, or you can have the website design firm do it for you. Management is usually billed on a monthly basis and can include feeding your website and related social media platforms fresh content, growing your online communities, and responding to your customer base when they post comments. |
Take this week to visit competitors’ websites, identify your own business objectives, and write down some descriptors about how you want your website to look and feel. Next week we’ll discuss how to commence your search to find the perfect company to create your company’s digital persona. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to your YDO team with any questions!
Yikes! So You’re Catching Some Bad Reviews Online: Here’s What to Do
We get a lot of questions about how to counteract negative online reviews so we thought we’d give a more detailed brief on the topic.
Of course the first you may hear about a serious complaint is through an online customer review board or service-rating site, and then your reaction is understandable: Yikes! There’s no telling how much damage that’s going to do to your business, and you can hardly take an eraser to the Internet. Why didn’t this person address it with you or one of your managers personally? Here are some suggestions to counter negative online reviews.
Fix It
The first and obvious suggestion is if you are hearing a common complaint, stop defending it and fix it. Perception is people’s reality so regardless of the excuse, if you are receiving multiple complaints about the same thing, it’s going to hurt your reputation. Listen to the repetition. Sure, you’ll get a few people who are snarky and just have to spout off their opinions to the world because they think they have something clever to say. But if you keep hearing the same complaints about being overpriced, delivering poor quality goods or services, or having a complacent or rude person on staff, make those online review boards your best friend. Start by a) heeding the repetitive feedback b) correcting the problem c) publishing a response to the review that acknowledges the feedback, letting the world know you care and have addressed the problem.
Apologize
Many reviews have an online user ID they must associate with their comments. Reach out to your complainers and ask them how you can make it right. That doesn’t mean you need to give them something free, but rather, listen to them, take note, thank them for their feedback, and tell them you are interested in fixing the problem. Ask them to give you another try, and tell them to ask for you or a manager by name during their next service or buying experience.
Monkey Pile on Top of the Bad Ratings
Few companies will admit to doing so, but some will have their trusted friends and employees hit the ratings charts and brag up their company. You can usually spot those reviews when you see many reviews in a short window of time and the reviews don’t have any suggestions or even a slight comment of negativity. Even glowing reviewers tend to leave a short comment about a needed area of improvement.
Instead of falsely inflating the buzz about your company, run an in-house campaign so that when customers mention they’ve reviewed you online, they receive, for instance, a free spot remover kit with an in-home carpet cleaning.
You can turn Internet rating sites into your friend. They can be very useful if you open your mind to what is being said about your company. Are you ready to give it a try? Start by Googling common terms associated with your company plus the word “review” and see what others are saying about you.
Work It…Own It! Fostering the Relationship with your Online Customers
Today we’d like to take a look at the psychology of online consumerism since so many of our Internet clients are in the business of selling a product or service. When you’re on the other side of the register as a consumer:
- When will you opt to purchase the more expensive of two similar items?
- When do you drive out of your way for a particular service?
- What prompts you to spread the word about an experience you’ve had with a company?
The answers to all three questions are similar. Something sets the company apart as extraordinary.
We’d like to share Scott and Linda’s story. They wanted to freshen up the look of their kitchen without incurring a lot of expense. We think their story will aptly demonstrate how a buyer approaches Internet purchasing:
After seeing a segment about countertop refinishing on a morning show, Linda researched countertop refinishing kits on the Internet. Of course she came up with many search results, but like most people, stuck to the first two pages of the 159,000 links that appeared.
Linda quickly discovered that there were an abundance of companies that offered these kits. Now she had to educate herself about color selection, durability, application techniques, and price-point expectations.
She was led to YouTube where she watched several videos about product application. She read through people’s feedback and opinions, viewed samples, and selected the look she liked and the application method Scott would prefer (considering this would move to the top of his honey-do list!).
Now that Linda knew what she wanted, she refined her search to select the company from which to purchase the materials. The one that continually caught her eye during her search to purchase was also a website she’d frequented during her research phase. The company was very professional, clear and concise in its demonstration videos, had pages of customer-submitted before and after pictures, and listed scores of glowing reviews from their customers.
The spokesperson on the website even showed customers how they could create their own color and pattern variations if they did not like the standard ones available in the kits. This was a feature both Scott and Linda loved because they wanted to achieve a look that was a cross between what two kits offered.
None of these benefits closed the deal, however, until Linda came across negative reviews on the website. Customers who had complaints about the company’s product or service ultimately led Scott and Linda to decide to purchase from this company. Understanding why is where businesses like yours can overcome a marketing flaw that so many people make—removing negative feedback in an effort to save face.
This company left customers’ negative comments in their feedback section and then tacked on all of their correspondence regarding the matter. What this demonstrated to Scott and Linda was integrity and ownership. It proved that the company didn’t scrub their site (remove any negative remarks) in the name of making themselves look better. They addressed everything from product complaints when they switched suppliers, to shipping snafus when they were overwhelmed with orders after appearing on the morning show. Any potential customer could clearly see that if they encountered a problem, the company would take care of them promptly and to their satisfaction.
To Scott and Linda, this peace of mind was worth the extra 30% they wound up paying by ordering the kit from this company versus a less expensive competitor with kits that looked the same. The alternate company appeared to have the same type of product line, but had a minimal online presence that indicated that it would back its products if their customers encountered a problem. This example illustrates that what a company doesn’t say can be detrimental to their sales.
The lesson you can apply to your business marketing is this: Embrace opportunities to show your potential customers how they will benefit from doing business with you. Prove that customers should go the extra mile or pay a premium price for your product or service. Set yourself apart as extraordinary. Work your site and publically own and correct your mistakes, proving that while your company may not be infallible, it will make things right with the customer every time. This has turned out to be marketing genius for the companies who do it right. Will yours be one of those companies?
If you want to take your website to the next level, integrate your social media platforms, or set up a customer feedback or photo submission page, please contact one of our web design consultants to learn more.