There is always an ongoing conversation in all kinds of circles, including among our members at the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, about the different kinds of Web site platforms available for our business sites… traditional Website, blog site and so on.
One common denominator in these conversations is that the emphasis always seems to be on the do-it-yourself mentality.
Here’s a thought that seems to be left out of the equasion… Are you the best person to be building your business Web presence?
We Virtual Assistants preach this business principle all the time to clients: Are you the best person to be doing that work? Is it the best use of your business time and energy as the business owner? Do you have the knowledge and skills to do a good job of it? If you are spending your time there, what more important business activities are being neglected, and how is that impacting your forward business growth?
And yet many Virtual Assistants don’t practice what they preach. A Virtual Assistant business is no different than any other small business; Virtual Assistants can be more successful if they create and grow their businesses in the same ways that we advise our clients to grow…
The mantra in marketing circles is: "When the product is invisable, the package IS the product."
What that means is when you offer an intangible product such as professional services, how you package that product is absolutely vital to how your business is portrayed and perceived by your market.
So the question becomes: Are you the best person to be designing the product packaging for your business?
First, most people are not designers. Just because you can do a thing, doesn’t mean you are any good at it. People often get so caught up in playing with their new site software toys and tools (because it is fun), they lose sight of the fact that they might not have the marketing understanding and knowledge of design principles to give their business the best possible "packaging."
Another thing to consider is the idea that when it comes to our own work and our own businesses, we can be too close to it to see clearly and through the same eyes as our audience. Your Web site, after all, is not for you, it’s for your customers, and it should be built with them in mind–their needs, their viewing habits, their tastes…
And, through all this, when you are "playing" with your Web site, what is that distracting you from in your business? Where could your time be better and more smartly spent?
Not that you shouldn’t be involved in the design of your website–of course, you should! And I also understand that lots of people start their businesses without being well and properly funded so they have to make do with what is available to them at the moment.
But when it becomes possible for you, I really urge you to consider having your Web presence professionally designed. Your business will look better, allowing you to attract a better clientele, it will help differentiate your business from the sea of generic, templated and unprofessional/amateur looking sites, and you can focus your time and energy on the more important work in your business.
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