The few, the lucky, the clients of Shout It Out Design.
Not only am I a super-friendly person, I work hard for my clients. If I get an email at 10pm from a client that needs a change – more times than not, I’ll make it before I get to bed. The first thing I do when I wake up is pull out my phone and look for new messages from clients. I read blogs, books and news articles trying to come up with new ways to help my clients succeed in their online ventures.
There are web designers, and then there’s me. I got my background of how businesses have success and how they struggle from my family’s business – Young’s Jersey Dairy of Yellow Springs. I’ve helped with the business for nearly 20 years. Sat in board meetings, helped develop marketing plans, worked in customer service and even was a manager at one of our restaurants. And the nature of our family business was such that we worked with other local businesses – so I got to see and help other businesses in their ventures.
So I understand how a business should and shouldn’t be run. And I run my business by putting the customer first. I bend over backwards to make a client happy. I am sure that every move I make is in their best interest.
Staying in Touch
I learned in the first few months of being in business was that customers/clients don’t always tell you when they need something done. I had a client that was unaware of exactly how hard I was working to improve her search engine traffic (by over 60% in just a few months). She felt that she wasn’t getting her money’s worth when in reality I was far exceeding both of our expectations.
I didn’t do a good job of communicating what I was doing and when with her website. I didn’t check in and show her the results we had already achieved and the things I was doing to ensure that they would continue to improve.
Now I’ve implemented a monthly (or sometimes twice monthly) email newsletter with my clients. In every newsletter I present one or two different opportunities that I think that would help them in their online marketing. I spend very little space talking about my services. The newsletters are very client-centric. I usually cultivate several links to blogs/articles of other things they should use.
Adding New Products & Services
I am constantly looking for new ways to help my clients. In the core of my business, I’m a web designer. But I’ve also helped develop logos/branding and business cards, get social media programs underway, maintain email marketing lists and e-birthday clubs. The landscape of internet marketing is always changing. And if I don’t take the time to update the things that I can offer to my clients, I’ll get left in the dust. Do I still think that web design is the most important part of an online marketing strategy? Of course! But a great website design is not the end-all-be-all of a successful campaign.
Keep Prices Low…
I know the a good part of my success so far has been due to my low prices. By my own estimates, I charge anywhere from 30-50% less than my competition. This allows my clients to stretch their online marketing budgets further than if they went with a more expensive web design company. My clients can take the 50% they were prepared to spend and put that money into starting an email marketing or mobile marketing program.
…But Keep Value High
Even though my clients spend less than they would with another company – that doesn’t mean that quality or service is any less. I work tirelessly to make sure my clients’ websites are working optimally, their social media campaigns are running smoothly and their online marketing budgets are being spent wisely. Every day I’m looking for ways to optimize my time working for my clients. I’m looking to bring on an intern in the near future to help me spend more time doing what I do best.
So with all these wonderful benefits of being a client of Shout It Out Design, why would you want to be anywhere else? Take some time to evaluate your current online marketing company and if they really have your best interests in mind.