In today’s economy, everyone is doing what they can to cut costs. Being fiscally responsible is a crucial trait in surviving a recession, however, it’s easy to sabotage yourself if you cut the meat and not the fat. What I mean is – some things make you money – like having a reputation for quality, having a well-trained staff to keep things running smoothly, and promoting yourself to the people that pay you the way they prefer and expect.

Any business owner knows that it takes money to make money – investing that money wisely is part of any successful enterprise. When it comes to marketing and promoting, saving money can actually cost you money. Here are a few examples:
Buying a ‘cheap website’. A custom website is to a fine dining experience as a ‘cheap website’ is to a frozen dinner. There isn’t a whole lot you can do to the latter – it’s done, who knows what they put in there, but it’s still a site. Other than the business you could lose from a poorly developed website, there’s the ‘later down the road’ aspect. Eventually, that design will be outdated – links can break – and if you’d like to add something new – good luck!
As an experienced web designer, I know how hard it is to break down the strange, often random code that comes with these types of sites. That’s why our sites are hand coded, and made for humans to read – not just computers. I know the ends and outs of every line of code in all of my sites. From start to finish, I’ve done enough web design to how long it should take to build the site you want. By not spending what you need to on the site now, you could end up nickel and diming yourself to death later (not to mention all the time added to your already exhaustive routine while trying to get the site just right).

Saving money by not promoting yourself. Most business owners I’ve talked to have the best intentions when it comes to marketing. Unfortunately, “I market my small business myself” usually translates to a lot of wasted revenue. Money that is supposed to make you money!

Because of this, a lot of business owners have a negative view when it comes to advertising and promotions. Everyone knows you need it – which also means there are many salespeople out there that are willing to take advantage of you if you don’t know what to look for. “I wish I had came to you first” is a line I hear all too often. Marketing and promotion doesn’t have to be difficult – in fact, it’s not hard – it’s just complicated. Choosing a professional outside source to handle this task is a great business move – as long as they produce results. If your marketing and promotion isn’t making you money, it’s probably time to reconsider how you’re doing it.