by Mike Foster, JMF Productions

We all love to save money – but we are all guilty of being penny wise and pound foolish. Spending more to make more is better than spending less to make less. Hiring a pro for 1000/hr who can do your project in one hour or a “cheap” inexperienced person for 5/hr who will take 200 hours to finish is the same thing. It’s not the per hour rate – it’s what it will cost overall to make it work and make you more profit.

This is why so many people get confused and frustrated when starting an interactive marketing strategy. So many ways to do it with so many price points. Everyone making promises of eternal wealth with massive investment or no effort at all. It seems everyone has that magic bullet – Trust us, we have figured it all out. Just use our Xplus Awesome service and you will be a success!

The truth? There is no one size fits all solution. What works for a major brand will not work for a small to medium size company. Every product or service is unique and should be approached and handled in a specific targeted way to ensure maximum ROI.

We are far beyond the old lie of “build it and they will come”. The internet has become just as crowded as print and television with millions of people screaming to be heard above the masses. All attempting to steal customers from the competition.

Here are the questions to ask when choosing your partner in online marketing.

1. Do you approach my company as a unique brand? One that needs a concept and strategy both short term and long term in order to succeed?

2. If there is a proven concept and/or strategy in place, can you interpret that in all online projects to keep the message and brand promise consistent?

3. What is the long term plan to market my site, making sure we build awareness that can be turned into profit? Will this include print, email, social marketing or other traditional media support? What about mobile?

4. What are the overall project costs? What are the deliverables I can expect for that cost? What are you policies on major changes from the original scope of the project?

5. Do I own my domain name? From the beginning or once the project has been completed? (This is critical. YOU are the business owner – you should ALWAYS have complete ownership of your domain name!)

Those should give you a clear understanding of the capabilities a developer brings to the table. You don’t need someone who can “do a website”, you need someone who will go the extra mile to understand your business, your customers and goals. Success is more than just getting something up on the web. You need the right thing, with the right strategy, targeting the right people to win online.

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