14 Jun Do it Yourself: do it Wrong!
WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID A DO IT YOURSELF MENTALITY. IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE BRANDING, WEB DESIGN AND MAKE MORE PROFIT JUST BY DOING THINGS RIGHT.
Last week we got a referral from our business group. This referral was a lawyer who was starting her practice and had no branding whatsoever, nor a website. Ideally, you would think that when you plan to go solo on your business venture the first thing you need is an identity. In 2017, this means an online presence. This how the conversation went:
“Hi, we are calling you from Design106 because Jane told me us you needed branding and web design services’’
‘‘Oh! Yes, but not anymore. I have decided not to have a logo and regarding the website, well, my neighbor’s kid does websites and he is taking a class on it. So, I think I am going to go with him but thanks for calling. I have your contact just in case’’.
Sadly, this is the case of many entrepreneurs. Even worse, it is the case of many established business owners who think that the Do it yourself attitude will help them and cost them less than hiring a professional from the creative field. Here are some reasons why NOT to Do it yourself.
YOU ARE LOSING MONEY
If you think you are saving money by not having a professionally developed brand or website, well, guess what? You’re wrong. From small businesses to major corporations, a common error when creating strategies to short expenses and keep revenue is to cut off on marketing and advertising expenses. We can’t tell you what a big mistake this is. Every marketing expense is not an expense, it is an investment. In the same way, you ensure you have the best computer, accounting software, or the best product quality, you should ensure investing in professional help at the time of developing your brand and your website.
Even though it might seem like an expense, once your marketing/branding/website plan is implemented, rest assured knowing that it will have a proportional revenue return. When you go down the generic road, you might be spending less, but for sure you will not be getting the profit that you could. It is not about how much money you are spending, but the potential of how much money you can make.
TIME IS MONEY
If you decide to Do it Yourself there are plenty of options online. Platforms like WIX or SQUARE can allow business owners to create their website based on pre-designed templates that are supposed to be very user-friendly. Usually, things that look too easy are. Have you ever bought furniture from IKEA? Even when these types of furniture looks easy to build, they demand plenty of time and effort to put it all together. You must always consider the amount of time and effort that is implicated in creating your website or branding. Unless you are a creative professional in the field, I promise you – it is not as easy as it looks. Think about this, are you wasting precious and valuable time that you could be used in developing other strategies to grow your business? Are you spending more time watching photoshop tutorials than making money? If so, then is time to give us a call.
NO CAPABILITIES FOR UPDATES
In some cases, for basic companies or very small businesses creating their websites by themselves might be OK. However, if you are serious about making money and you plan to grow your business, then it might not be the greatest idea. A good entrepreneur thinks about the future. It is important to take into account all the aspects of your branding and your website need to have.
Have you thought about what is going to happen when you need to add more products to your e-commerce site? What if that template you bought only allows a certain amount of them? What about when you are ready to start putting some money on SEO, and your website template is simply not designed to support online marketing efforts?
If you are going to create more marketing pieces and your amazing multicolor logo created in PowerPoint just does not blend correctly for what you need, what are you going to do? These are just some of the things that will put you in a rush when your business becomes a success. Knowing this, hiring the right professionals from the beginning will allow you to avoid these and more serious issues when your business takes off.
BAD PERCEPTION FROM CUSTOMERS
So, you have tackled your website by doing it yourself, maybe the son of a friend of your neighbor did it for a couple hundred, or you used PowerPoint to create the logo you love. Now what? Customers are not buying, your revenue has not increased, your site visitors have not risen… so, what is the problem? The answer is perception. Your identity and your website are the first impressions of your business, and you can tell a lot about people with a first impression. If your branding or your website looks like they just woke up with a bad hangover, then it is guaranteed your potential customers will go right to the next business.
Do not spend time, energy and money trying to do things the ‘‘cheaper way’’.Instead, do them the right way even if this costs you a bit more. Take your business seriously, leave behind the Do it Yourself mentality, and put your money where your mouth is.