Is Refusal To Outsource Your Website Costing You Money?

“I can do it myself, why should I pay you to do it?”

Although not a question I’m asked all too often, it has crept up in conversations with a few people over the last few months. I was at a networking event last week where I met someone who had previously outsourced their digital marketing, and whilst they did see results initially, felt they could do just as good a job in house, and stopped their contract.

This happens in web design too – people who may have previously built their own website have seen this as a relatively low-cost way for getting a site, and would plan to do a new website themselves again.

It’s not just in my current line of work - I used to work in the recruitment and training sectors, and could have been a very rich person by now if I’d had £1 for every time someone told me they never outsourced these activities, because they could do just as good a job in house!

It’s a topic for another day to cover why outsourcing an activity to a business who specialises in an area should give you better results. We cover some of it here when talking about Digital Marketing. What I wanted to highlight today is how much time you’re spending doing such activities.

How hard can it be?

If you were to design and develop your own website from scratch, first you’ll need to research, select and learn how to build and administer on a specific platform. Careful consideration is required to make sure that your chosen platform has all the functionality you need now and provides potential to update and expand. Then, you’ll need to implement a design that is a good fit for your business and brand. Some updates may be required here to make it ‘fit’ properly. You will need to ensure the layout is engaging, eye catching and has potential to convert traffic into enquiries or sales. You’ll have to problem solve yourself the many, many issues that come up when adding in new elements, especially if you’re using plugins to do specific functionality. If you want to be successful in attracting regular, relevant traffic to the website, you’ll have to familiarise yourself with on-page SEO techniques. All of this before you’ve even written content, sourced photography or optimised your pages!

Web Design is not a ‘build it and they will come’ kind of deal. To ensure you make an impact with the new site, you’ll need an understanding of some of the more technical aspects of digital marketing - CSS styles, HTML, Google Analytics, and understand a plethora of acronyms! It takes years to become fluent in them all, and then to be executed well.

Whilst your initial outlay may be little, or nothing, it’s not a low-cost solution. It’s costing you the most precious commodity of all – time.

The benefit of the doubt

With any kind DIY project there is a tendency to go easy on ourselves. It may be subconscious, but it exists in all of us. How many times have you decorated a room and thought, ‘It’s not the best job in the world, but it’ll do.’ Roughly translated, what you’re is saying is, ‘I wouldn’t accept this level of standard if a professional was doing it, but since I did it myself, I’m willing to lower my expectations on what is acceptable’. With web design, you simply cannot do that. Just along the road, is a competitor who has wisely invested in doing things properly, rather than papering over the cracks. Your customers will see through it instantly and they won’t give you the benefit of the doubt.

What alternatives do you have?

Firstly, you could employ someone to work full time in your organisation. And if you’re a medium or large sized business, this is probably the most cost-effective solution for you when considering digital marketing. For those looking for an upgrade/brand new website, it’s almost never cost effective to bring this activity in house.

If you were to employ someone with the level of expertise in digital marketing we have in Big Red, you’re looking at a significant investment in terms of salary in Scotland, and even higher in England. For a designer/developer who can do all we can in house, we’d hate to put a figure on it!

For a fraction of that cost, you can outsource these activities, saving yourself significant overheads, recruitment fees, national insurance contributions, pension contributions… the list goes on. And let’s not forget, time!

What you’ll get will be a monthly marketing progress report telling you the facts you need to know– what was done last month, what it meant in terms of results, and what will be done this month. We can also be on hand to answer these questions, and plan strategy with you longer term.

What could you do with that time if you outsourced?

The most obvious answer to this question is spend time with your clients. Your time is the best commodity you have – spend it wisely. If we could give you an extra 5 hours in your business each week, what could you achieve? Start to put a figure on your hourly rate, and see how much you’re actually spending!

In my case however, I know if I had to do this as a business owner, I’d probably be doing a lot of the research out-with normal business hours. So, what would I do with the extra time? It would probably be being on hand to chauffeur my daughter to one of her dance classes, and actually watch her. For you it could be grabbing a coffee with a friend, playing a game of golf or spending more time at the gym. Whatever it is, don’t undervalue your time, contact me today and let’s discuss how Big Red can become your digital partner.

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