If your web design firm is only interested in cranking out websites, you need to diversify your revenue streams immediately.
That was the same challenge that Suited’s creator, Drew Moore, encountered when he launched his web design business.
Drew, frustrated by the ongoing need to seek out new clients, turned his attention inward, to his present clientele. He saw that his company could provide much more to its clients in the way of advertising services than just website design.
Methods for Forming a Part-Time Web Design Firm
“Today’s default options, which include hiring internal talent, the high cost of true ‘agencies,’ or the chaos of finding freelancers, no longer work for the vast majority of healthy, growing businesses,” the author writes.
Finding the Best Ways to Expand Your Web Design Business’s Income
After completing a website for a customer, the next major challenge is figuring out how to maximise that client’s lifetime value.
You need to put in the time and effort to build steady traffic and name recognition for your company, not just “have a website,” if you want your business to succeed online.
He started offering extra, ongoing marketing services based on two primary disciplines since he realised his clients lacked the time and expertise to keep up with the upkeep of a current website.
One, it makes life easier for customers.
Clients were receptive to hearing about Suited’s other offerings once Drew and his team established credibility through the website redesign.
Customers love one-stop shopping because it saves them time and effort. One of the biggest benefits of having everything you need in one place is the convenience it provides.
Drew discovered that by having someone else “own the website,” his customers appreciated having one less thing to worry about.
It Meets an Obvious, Related Want
It’s simple to become a yes man, but Drew’s team has found success by sticking to web design and related fields.
What It Takes to Grow a Web Design Company REMOTELY
Recruit Competent Individuals
Suited’s ability to create this model while operating entirely remotely is undoubtedly one of their greatest accomplishments.
We have no physical locations outside of the United States, which reduces our operating costs significantly.
Drew says, “It was a challenge to strike the right balance between providing more services and remaining fully remote, and it’s a challenge we continue to face even now.”
Suited has been successful despite employing only a limited number of full-time staff and by relying heavily on a network of independent contractors.
“As we continue to add on more premium levels, we are expanding our network of reliable photographers, videographers, printers, and other specialised contractors who work with us on our current subscriptions.”
Define Your Goals With Your Customers
This might be a challenge, but it’s essential if you want to build a lasting relationship with your customers.
Make sure the customer knows what services you will be providing and why.
Just as crucial is making it plain what you won’t do.
Clients, unsurprisingly, start to blur the lines between the design we make and their sales, and we caught on to this fact immediately.
To avoid any potential conflicts of interest, we make it clear that we are not intended to serve as the client’s in-house sales, product fulfilment, or customer care department.
Drew proposes reminding clients of the primary aim their web design team will achieve for their organisation as a means of keeping everyone on the same page.
The return on investment (ROI) from Suited is “to get them looking great so that they can sell better.” A polished appearance and high-caliber promotional materials to equip your in-house sales and marketing staff.
Set up tiers of customer service
Suited is able to meet the demands of each of its customers by creating tiers of service that range from basic to comprehensive.
Less costly plans inevitably provide inferior customer service.
The “support ticket model” is something Suited tries to stay away from at all costs in favour of a system that makes the web design business feel like an integral member of the client’s team.
“Using a dedicated ‘channel’ in Slack or email, clients reach out and get a same-day response and that is poured into a task in our task mgmt app, and assigned to a Suited team member accordingly.”
Drew plans to grow his digital marketing business primarily through the premium market, where he sees the biggest opportunity in the job of brand manager.
Your Web Design Firm’s Potential
Any company looking to diversify its income stream must first identify an unmet demand and work out how to efficiently grow the answer.
Drew Moore’s company, formerly a web design firm but now a digital agency, has increased its recurring income by 40%.
“We understand that the business landscape has changed dramatically, and as ‘those that serve businesses,’ we had to change as well.”
Drew’s description of Suited has changed now that it includes all of their marketing offerings.
We are a digital creative agency that helps businesses with everything from website design and development to connecting their platforms with revenue-generating applications and services.
Drew’s concept is flexible enough to meet any unanticipated need in the marketplace.
Even though there will always be innovations in the digital marketing field that produce new requirements, Drew claims that this template may be implemented regardless of how the industry evolves.
At the end of the day, it’s the people and the imagination that they’re paying for. Whatever the customer requires, we can adapt.