Over the years it has become apparent and unfortunate that rather than being involved at the start of a project, most of the time we tend to be called in to firefight problems that have arisen due to poor planning and research in terms of website or e-commerce platform choice, compliance, structure, navigation, analytics, marketing, campaigns, IT, software, support systems, applications training etc...
If you don't know the right questions to ask or you have been fortunate in finding an honourable and ethical supplier who makes time to understand your business needs, it is down to luck to get what you expected.
Often, it is wrongly taken for granted that a developer or supplier will "know what you mean" when you are talking about your project. Sometimes you will 'get lucky' because the person you are talking to, does in fact 'get what you mean'. What happens though when you are going to several suppliers for a quote? Are you going to try and tell them all the same thing verbally? This can be OK if you are buying a proprietary product that is only price dependent - but when you need to have a website or piece of software developed, you must have a clear idea of the outcomes so there is no doubt as to what you mean, want and expect - then you can consider the price against the return.
After engagement, companies have said to us "we didn't know you existed!" "we wish you were here at the start!"
We were there but unfortunately, ours is a service that is often seen to be surplus to requirements - and we're happy with that when things work out - but!... a little knowledge can be a dangerous (and expensive) thing and where services such as ours are seen and understood as a benefit rather than a cost, many businesses would not now be needing our input and support.
Typical scenarios have been - no strategy, no requirement specification, no project plan or control, poor choice of developer or supplier, poor follow up - poor results - relying on promises rather than focusing on proven results and often, going for an inexpensive solution that cuts corners.
Over 100 years age a wise author (John Stanley Ruskin) wrote:
“It is unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. If you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all.
If you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because what you bought was incapable of doing what it was bought to do.”
To this day, his wisdom still is as true as ever it was.
It is hard to pidgeonhole us. We are versatile, dynamic professionals who will help you to achieve the business growth you are looking for without overspending.
By empowering you to understand your own requirements and limitations, we will help you to see how a 'spend' can be transformed into an 'investment' using a philosophy that is tried and tested:
What you hear - you may forget
What you see - you may remember
What you do - you will understand
For more information on how we can assist you, please contact us to discuss your requirements. It will be worth it.
If you want to be put into the monthly draw for a FREE Intermediate Website Audit, go to the contact page, choose the Web Audit enquiry from the Subject drop down list and put your website address in the Subject Box.