It’s Time To Do The Math
Business owners are prone to “Do It Yourself” (DIY) when it comes to pinching pennies and watching out for costs. But many business owners don’t take time to do the math of how much it actually costs to build their own website with cheap DIY website builders.
Despite business coaches reminding owners, “Do what only you can do,” owners are prone to thinking the DIY approach is their only option. This approach is costing more than you think.
A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE
One business owner was making weekly trips to Costco to stock food and supplies for his business. He did this to save money. Each trip took about 3-4 hours and “saved” a $50 delivery charge. After an analysis, here’s what the DIY approach was actually costing him in real dollars:
- $15 in fuel for each trip
- 3 hours at an average pay rate of $80 per hour = $240
- Estimated $20 in items he wouldn’t have otherwise purchased but bought spontaneously
- 4 hours weekly away from the business when he was needed
By spending the equivalent amount of $275 at his pay rate, he was “saving” a $50 delivery charge. Do the math: This “cost-saving” approach was costing him a net $700 monthly. By taking a few minutes to create an online shopping list and having the supplies drop-shipped, he could’ve reinvested that time increasing revenue. If you add in the lost revenue, who knows how much this simple weekly ritual was costing the company?
WHAT’S YOUR DIY APPROACH COSTING YOU?
DIY website platforms like Squarespace, Wix, or Godaddy can be purchased for a very low monthly cost. But have you ever considered what your website is actually costing you in time, inconvenience, and frustration? We hear it all the time from business owners, “We can’t hire an agency to design, build, and update our website because it costs too much.” Take a quick minute to count the costs:
- IT’S COSTING YOU MORE THAN MONEY
How many hours are you spending late at night or early in the morning to update your site and what is the cost? Don’t just consider your pay rate, but take into account the lost time with your family, the expended energy you won’t have for other tasks that, “…only you can do,” and lost moments of innovative thinking vital for any company to flourish.
One feature bizmktg.com builds into our hosting costs is 30 minutes of monthly updates and coding for your site. Simple updates that can take you an hour, can be done in minutes by our team by sending an email to our ticketing service. The site is updated almost immediately while you return to the unique work of a business owner or upper-level manager. - IT’S COSTING QUALITY AND CUSTOMERS
How much quality are you losing because you lack the professional skills needed? Let’s face it, most of us aren’t professional designers and coders. Business owners often complain that their DIY website will either function on desktops, phones, or tablets, but not all three at once. Or, they look fine on Apple iOS but not on Android.
A cited study by Northern Arizona University noted the following:- 52% of users said that a bad mobile experience made them less likely to engage with a company.
- 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.
Your DIY efforts could be costing you customers and clientele by more than 50%! And, after they get frustrated, almost 90% of them will not come back.
- IT’S COSTING YOUR COMPANY’S REPUTATION
The reason your company exists is because of expertise and quality of work. After all, few people can do what you do on their own. If they try, you can usually show them where they came up short.
The same is true with digital marketing. Many DIY owners believe they’re saving money while it’s actually costing them because of one simple truth we all know: “You get what you pay for.” This translates to a belief that your company is less than professional and certainly not a premium service provider.
Here’s a stat all business owners should consider:
“75% of consumers admit to making judgments on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design.” (SWEOR, Management Company)
Many companies who try to design their website on their own, with platforms like Wix or Squarespace, will take up to 12-18 months to complete. With a professional agency, message development, professional design, and launch can be complete within two months with better quality and effectiveness. Paying a company for hosting, security, and day-to-day updates minimizes the time you have to spend haggling with ever-changing codes. It should also prevent substantial loss from hacking, lack of quality backups, or downtime if your web company has a problem.
You’re good at what you do. Keep doing what only you can do, and let the professionals keep your online presence at the quality you deserve.
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