I am becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of new business I am gaining and i am wondering if I should have a website.
I have seen lots of you have really well designed sites and I wondered if you found that they have increased your business.
Valerie
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Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I think a good website is very important as a marketing tool but should not be thought of as the only way to attract new business. It won't work if you just create it and leave it. The website should be updated regularly.
It will need to be part of your marketing not all of it, so include your url in all your correspondence, on business cards, even your signature on here. If possible get to networking events and hand out your cards with your website address on.
Mine has generated more enquiries and I am now starting to achieve new business from it and my site went live in February 2010.
It's good to hear you have found it positive, did you create your site yourself and is it costly.
Valerie
__________________
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Mine has generated more enquiries and I am now starting to achieve new business from it and my site went live in February 2010.
Of this new business - how much of it has been local that saw your website on advertising/business cards etc and how much has it been someone searching the internet?
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It's good to hear you have found it positive, did you create your site yourself and is it costly.
Valerie
Hi Valerie
I had mine created for me. It was a bit more than I was looking to pay but I am happy with the results.
I think Kris McCulloch of KM Bookkeeping Services www.kmbookkeeping.co.uk who is a regular contributor to the forum offers a very cost effective website design service. Though there may be others who offer a similar service.
If you have the time you can create your own, I have seen some good examples of Mr Site www.mrsite.com and Microsoft Office Live smallbusiness.officelive.com
Mine has generated more enquiries and I am now starting to achieve new business from it and my site went live in February 2010.
Of this new business - how much of it has been local that saw your website on advertising/business cards etc and how much has it been someone searching the internet?
Hi Peasie
I would say about 75% of the new business has come directly from internet searches as most of this has not been from my local area.
Do you take on work from outside your area?. I primarily like to keep it local, hence why I have never bothered with a website.
How do you make this work, do you get clients to post/email documentation to you?
Forgive me for so many questions but I am keen to find ways to generate new business.
Regards
Valerie
__________________
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
As far as a website is concerned I think it is very important. Done right, your website can help you secure new clients and keep in touch with existing clients. However, do it wrong, and it can be the death knell for your business.
Now I've terrified you, I'll explain a bit about what I mean. Your website is your 24/7 storefront. It's open when you're not, putting your business message across. If a new client is looking for a bookkeeper in your area and you don't have a website but your competitors do, where will that client go?
I find that a large percentage of potential new clients phoning me have already trawled round my website. People want as much information as possible about who they would be dealing with before they even think about getting in touch.
Thats if you have a good website. A poorly designed, ill thought out website will suggest that the services you provide are the same. I'm not saying it needs bells and whistles, but it does need to be clean and easy to navigate. It needs to provide relevant information about you and your services.
In terms of getting a website there are a number of ways you can go about it. You can get a free website from a number of places on the internet, my advice is don't touch them with a barge pole. The majority of people can tell free sites a mile off and they create the wrong impression.
Your second option is doing it yourself, which can work well. As has been suggested a good package is Mr Site. It is fairly easy to navigate and most people can create a passable website. The standard package is £35 plus £35 per year. After 5 years thats £175 and you'll never own the domain name, meaning you can't move away from Mr Site without paying them a lot of cash.
The Third option is a site from the likes of VistaPrint. They design your site based on a template, but again you pay a fortune over time and are tied to them.
Another option is to buy a template and either update it yourself, or pay to have it customised to you. This can prove a value for money option over time, and if you choose your template well, it can benefit your business. The worry here is that these same templates will be used by many businesses and if it is used by others targeting the same market as you it may be a struggle to stand out.
The final option is a custom designed and built site. This puts you in control of everything, and you will end up with a truly unique site, designed to your specifications. This can seem expensive, but over time it will work out cheaper than many other options. Beware, however, as there are many 'designers' who are happy to take your money and promise the earth, then disappear.
I know this is a lot to take in, but I hope it helps.
The views expressed in this post are my own personal (HRA protected) views, and are not representative of any organisation I have any involvement with.
Do you take on work from outside your area?. I primarily like to keep it local, hence why I have never bothered with a website.
How do you make this work, do you get clients to post/email documentation to you?
Forgive me for so many questions but I am keen to find ways to generate new business.
Regards
Valerie
Hi Valerie
Don't apologise for asking any questions
It depends on what work they want doing
If it is just payroll then they email me the information and i email back the payslips etc.
For most of my bookkeeping clients, they just mail me the paperwork etc, I process it and mail it back, and I have one client that is about an hours drive away who I go to on a monthly basis and they pay travel time and mileage.
Thanks for the info with regard to the website Kris it has given me a lot to think about. I do believe like you say that people now do much of their research online when looking for any kind of service.
Mark, I was interested to hear that you make your postal clients work so well. I seem to spend a lot of my time chasing round clients houses or waiting in for them to drop off documents. I will definately be trying to attract this type of client now that you have spoken positively for how it can work.
It appears that I have a lot of hours spent marketing ahead of me!
Thanks Valerie
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Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I think a website is good if you want to be found by people looking on google and reading your website should convince them that you are a good business to deal with.
I done mine with 123 reg, who I would recommend as I am no web designer and found it easy to complete.
