Two Public Service Announcements
Posted On: 2012-03-16
I've had two things buzzing around in the back of my brain for a few days and it's time they saw the light of day.
If you're looking for something earth-shattering ... something that can take you from near ruin to instant success then you won't find anything like that here. These 'public service announcements' are all just common sense but it seems that many people either lack common sense or need to be reminded of some fundamentals over and over again.
So if you're on top of your game and you have all the common sense in the world then I apologise for taking up your time but ... if you're like so many people out there who act first and think later ... perhaps the couple of things I mention here just might save you money or even make you some.
If it sounds too good to be true ...
... then it usually is. Just a few minutes ago I was skipping through Facebook checking out some of the latest news from our kids and there in the right-hand column was an ad that caught my eye.
It offered web design and graphic design for just $24.00 an hour. Now to anyone in any business who happens to be doing it tough right now an offer like that must seem like an offer they simply can't refuse.
If money is tight and you needed a new website or some graphic design done wouldn't you rather pay $24.00 an hour rather than whatever the going rate is? Here in this town that's almost $60.00 an hour less than what you would pay if you went to the cheapest designer in town.
Of course if you go to the cheapest designer in town you're going to get a cheap job ... I know I've had to fix enough of them for people who got burnt ... but would you stop and think of that when you saw an offer that sounded so good? Wouldn't you jump right in and grab an offer like that with both hands?
I sure hope you wouldn't because an offer like that is obviously too good to be true and even if you did get a website designed for that amount you're probably going to have to spend more time and money getting it fixed than if you had simply gone to a designer who charged a reasonable rate for his or her work.
Fit your business to your customers ...
... don't expect your customers to change to suit you. Of course here in adult I have to suggest that you don't go too far with that one ... there are limits (but then those who only want to see free stuff are never going to be your customers are they?) ... but if you're a content or service provider it's definitely worth thinking about.
A couple of years ago a person walked into my office and sat down in front of me. They had been to six other web designers in town and not one of them was prepared to help this person. They had an idea for a website that didn't fit the mould that all the other designers in town worked to but I was prepared to give this person some of my time.
Now a couple of years later we've built a number of websites for that person and are gearing up to build a major tourism related website for a new business this person is starting.
A few months ago another person walked into the office and sat down in front of me. That person had been trying to build a website in Publisher ... yes Publisher ... and they couldn't get it to look the way they wanted it to look.
Like the previous person I mentioned this one had been to several other designers and had basically been kicked out of their offices. However I sat with them and now we've built five complete sites for that client and have a major marketing site in the pipeline.
Both those people looked like they were clueless ... and were going to be pains in the butt to work with so they didn't fit the mould that other web designers had for the perfect customer. Instead of being pains both of them have been easy to work with ... sure they both throw up challenges from time to time but they're prepared to pay for our time to solve them.
How easy would it have been for me to turn them away too? Instead I worked with them and those two clients have added a lot to my bottom line.
While other design businesses in town have been struggling we've gone from strength to strength simply because we're flexible in our approach ... we try to fit in with what the customer/client wants and we don't expect them to change to suit us.
So I hope I've given you something to think about ... don't get conned by offers that are too good to be true and don't expect potential customers to fit in with you and your expectations. If you want to sell to them you've got to work fit in with them.