Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

How Do I Market My Small Web Development Company?

Posted by Anonymous on 6/24/2004 at 5:32 AM ET 125 Points
Good morning,

I have a small web development company in the United Kingdom. My current plan is to target small business in my local area but I am not sure what is the best course of action to increase enquiries.

As I mentioned my target clients are to be small business, so I guess the development is likely to be 5 page websites and up.


Although there are other development companies in the area none (including myself) seem to have any local profile.

I wondered if someone could possibly suggest the best way of raising my profile. Do I network, place adverts in the local papers?

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks
Karl

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 6/24/2004 at 9:15 AM Member
    Hi Karl,

    Here is a link to my recipe for "a shot at Internet enterprising for under $1000". I hope it helps. If not, send me an email (click on my name) and we can talk.

    OK..Well I was going to post it but i can't find the question where I posted it a few weeks ago! LOL..I'll look for it and get back to you!
  • Posted by telemoxie on 6/24/2004 at 9:44 AM Accepted
    In addition to small business -

    Don't forget about marketing departments at large businesses in your local area. The sales cycles can be longer, and the projects can be more complex, but the dollar amounts can be much larger...

    ... my experience has been that web development companies have traditionally focused so much on internet related advertising, word of mouth, networking, and working on immediate projects that there are few companies with a long term, persistent plan to identify, penetrate, and sell key accounts. Therefore, such a program can uniquely position you in the minds of your target market.

    Also, don't forget about vertical markets. Another approach would be to identify some projects you did a great job on, for which you have technology on-the-shelf, build a list of similar companies, and contact those companies. Most of them are interested in hearing about what their competitors are up to, and will welcome the call.

    Regarding networking - I've always wondered how much that costs. It's easy to calculate the costs of membership fees, dues, etc. - but if you are a small business and fully booked, time you spend at networking events takes away from billable time. If you were to spend that time serving your clients, would you build your referral base faster, and have extra money to spend on other lead generation activities? I'm not an active networker (other that this forum) but everyone I have met who attends those meetings is looking to SELL something rather than to BUY something - and so it may be that you can find excellent teaming partners / birddogs / complementarty companies through these organizations.

    Regarding complementary companies - in the States, many companies look to their lawyers and accountants for business advice. Could it help to prepare a small fact sheet describing your capabilities to these companies, so that they can reccomend you to their clients?

    Another potential source of business for a web development firm (especially a program or integration related firm) is advertising agencies. In the States, these agencies have a culture of outsourcing many activities - they will want to hande the graphics / etc. themselves, but may want someone to handle back end programming or overflow.

    Cheers -

    (p.s. - I'd love to make some calls to the UK...)
  • Posted by SRyan ;] on 6/24/2004 at 12:19 PM Accepted
    Karl, you can find other ideas by using the Search Questions link on the right side of this page. For example, I searched there on "web design" and got results like these:


    Web design service marketing


    Advertising for a web design company


    What more can I say about this?


    What Are the Steps I Have To Follow To Be Successful Marketing Executive For the Product Of Web Development and Web Design

    Thank you for adding sufficient detail to your question, by the way. Your time and thought paid off -- you've already gotten some top-quality responses!

    - Shelley
  • Posted by telemoxie on 6/24/2004 at 1:38 PM Member
    Great idea mjklanac - of course you will also want to take with you business cards and flyers or other "leave behinds" in case the business owner is not there.

    Two of your greatest competitive advantages (e.g. vs offshore development companies and larger organizations) are your location and your personal involvement (as President) in their project - and nothing demonstrates this better than your personal presence.

    Don't forget to capture data on the business, and key it into ACT! or some form of contact managment software.
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