Dinosaurs and Bandwagons
Kind of a strange title, but there are two types of business models in the website design and marketing industry that just get under my skin. They are the dinosaurs and the bandwagons.
Dinosaurs ... These website service companies stricly exist to survive. Most of the products and services they offer are aged and typically do not make their customers competitive in their online marketplace. More than likely their customer base is dwindling instead of growing. Typically, they do not have a doable progressive plan in place, but they may have 'a pie in the sky' type of 'someday' plan. Their pricing structure is typically very low and more than likely the lowest of all their competitors. The saddest part is that their customers businesses are suffering and the customer doesn't even realize it. Heck, the Dinosaur probably doesn't even know it. Prepare for extinction.
Bandwagons ... These website marketing companies jump on whatever 'hype' will get them more money by providing services to their customers without really having the skills to get lasting results. For instance, the search engine optimization services market is growing larger every day. Many companies now offer these services to their clients, however they have very little skill to get expected and lasting results.
While at the RVIA show a couple of weeks ago I spoke with RV America, a website services company for RV Dealers. Of course I was 'disguised' and wanted to understand their service offerings. They have a very basic product that does what it is meant to do. In addition, they have these add-on services, which of course they nickel and dime you on. One of them being called EStrategy which is defined as a search engine solution. To make a long story short, they are disguising Pay-Per-Click ads as search engine optimization and the dealer has no idea what they are missing. PPC has it's place and it can work, however, can be very expensive and is only a short term solution. Much better off spending your money on your own website's architecture and relevant link building practices which will give you longer term success.
So what can you do about it and how can you tell if you've got a dinosaur or bandwagon dragging your profits down? Start by asking yourself these questions...
Are they cheap?
Do they nickel and dime you to death?
Can they name the last three changes they made to their website software that directly relates to getting you more qualified leads?
Do they present your website as complete or do they re-direct or use frames to display any new or used unit information?
Do you have a good gut feeling and the results speak for themselves?
Another option is to find a good website consultant you can trust to do a website analysis and review. Having a second set of eyes can rarely hurt and usually helps tremendously.
Until next time ... Speaking of Bandwagons ... 'All ships rise when the tide comes in' ... will your ship stay on top after the 'hype' wears down?
Dinosaurs ... These website service companies stricly exist to survive. Most of the products and services they offer are aged and typically do not make their customers competitive in their online marketplace. More than likely their customer base is dwindling instead of growing. Typically, they do not have a doable progressive plan in place, but they may have 'a pie in the sky' type of 'someday' plan. Their pricing structure is typically very low and more than likely the lowest of all their competitors. The saddest part is that their customers businesses are suffering and the customer doesn't even realize it. Heck, the Dinosaur probably doesn't even know it. Prepare for extinction.
Bandwagons ... These website marketing companies jump on whatever 'hype' will get them more money by providing services to their customers without really having the skills to get lasting results. For instance, the search engine optimization services market is growing larger every day. Many companies now offer these services to their clients, however they have very little skill to get expected and lasting results.
While at the RVIA show a couple of weeks ago I spoke with RV America, a website services company for RV Dealers. Of course I was 'disguised' and wanted to understand their service offerings. They have a very basic product that does what it is meant to do. In addition, they have these add-on services, which of course they nickel and dime you on. One of them being called EStrategy which is defined as a search engine solution. To make a long story short, they are disguising Pay-Per-Click ads as search engine optimization and the dealer has no idea what they are missing. PPC has it's place and it can work, however, can be very expensive and is only a short term solution. Much better off spending your money on your own website's architecture and relevant link building practices which will give you longer term success.
So what can you do about it and how can you tell if you've got a dinosaur or bandwagon dragging your profits down? Start by asking yourself these questions...
Are they cheap?
Do they nickel and dime you to death?
Can they name the last three changes they made to their website software that directly relates to getting you more qualified leads?
Do they present your website as complete or do they re-direct or use frames to display any new or used unit information?
Do you have a good gut feeling and the results speak for themselves?
Another option is to find a good website consultant you can trust to do a website analysis and review. Having a second set of eyes can rarely hurt and usually helps tremendously.
Until next time ... Speaking of Bandwagons ... 'All ships rise when the tide comes in' ... will your ship stay on top after the 'hype' wears down?
posted by Kevin | 12:23 PM
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