What do you do?

12th October 2015

We restructured our business at the start of the year after working with a corporate consultant. It has been nearly 9 months and we are still coming to terms with what we actually do now. I think the best way to explain it is to define what we don't do and then try to label what is left.

Please read on, this article should take less than 5 minutes and you could discover partnering with us a valuable decision for your business.

How web design is priced

Project Based Pricing – this is where there is a fixed price and timeframe. This is the way we worked for the first 6 years of Waterfall Way Designs and still the way 98% of web designers charge for their work (1). In our experience getting your business to work online is more than just having a website. Business owners do not have the time or skills to run a website for profit. They get excited the first few months and do some updates but other business priorities take over and the website, social media, newsletters are neglected and their online returns fall. We were making good money charging this way, but this model was failing our customers in the long run.
Paid By The Hour – This is where we charge a fixed rate to complete tasks for you. This is similar to project based pricing. These are stop gap updates and are not part of a coherent online strategy. We are not in a position to do the best work we can, we are restrained keeping the hours within your budget.
Commission Only – this is where you pay nothing upfront and only give the website developer a percentage of website revenue. This is difficult to monitor. Website sales are obvious and easy to attribute to the web designer. But frequently people will use the website and become convinced to purchase a business' goods or services and then complete that transaction in-store or over the phone. Allocating sales to the correct channel is time consuming, an impost on customers to ask where they came from, and it is in the business owners interests to keep reported website revenue down to reduce commission charges.

The way we work

We now charge an ongoing monthly retainer. We work on your online presence on an ongoing basis. We become an online partner in your business.

New website
Social media management
Newsletter management
Content Writing
Photography & Video
Search Engine Optimisation
Customer Relationship Management
Business Process Software
Domain Registration & Hosting
Data Analysis & Report Generation

One week we might be upgrading your website to the last technology, the next we might be composing a newsletter or Facebook post, the next developing backend custom software to assist your staff. What we do week to week changes as your business changes and grows.

Now some weeks we might do 20 hours or more on your business. The next week we might do one Facebook update for you. If we looked at this from an hourly rate standpoint your monthly payment does not adequately compensate us for our time and expertise. However to demonstrate the concept of online to you we are willing to take on this risk. We spread the cost for you into monthly payments, and we provide regular reports on what our efforts have brought to your business.

Performance Metrics

We use performance metrics to track how our efforts are effecting your bottom line. Hits on your website, Facebook likes, newsletter opens, customer retention, sales and bookings from the website. This sometimes suffers like the commission based model where tracking and attributing sales to the website can be difficult because of the pervasive role a business website can play.

Beyond Metrics

Business owners are rightly concerned with the bottom line, however just looking at performance metrics neglects other benefits our work is bringing a business. We are assisting in transforming your business from traditional bricks and mortar to one taking advantage of all online has to offer. These new business processes can supplement and eventually eclipse revenue from other sources. Making your business more valuable and able to endure more.

Shared Risk

By taking this journey with you we are building and protecting our business. If we have a client list of modern businesses with decent local and online revenue, we survive. You are in a better position to compensate us for those early years where we did way more than you could have afforded under a Project Based model. We take on some of the risk in these early years to demonstrate the concept and build a strong online part of your business.

Contact us today about how we can start helping your business online for an affordable monthly fee.

1. http://web.servicecrowd.com.au/blog/web-design-pricing-2015/