It is essential for web designers to keep their pipeline of work full – as a business, it is all about billable hours, and idle time means no income. A well-conceived and consistent marketing plan will keep your business engaged with customers and will maximise your revenue. The key with marketing is to constantly promote, and to do so across many different channels.

Increasing your visibility

Web design businesses often neglect their own websites. It is crucial that your business has an online shopfront with a professional template, which is reasonably extensive, including a thoughtfully presented portfolio of work that your business has previously completed. By showing what you have achieved for other businesses, prospective customers can see what you can potentially achieve for them.

Being active on social media is vital in every internet field, including web design. From giving away free tips to sharing important news stories and writing your own blogs, making your presence known will lead to interest from clients – and will help you win over clients who research your social media presence before they decide to hire your business for projects.

How to successfully market your web design business

Reputation

Reputation building is very important so every job needs to be completed to an extremely high standard. If you feel that you do not have the best team for a particular job, then identify areas of weakness and implement a training programme. If you find that you are struggling to meet certain requirements, then hire a contractor to fill the gap.

Many businesses are put off by the paperwork involved in hiring a contractor, so it’s advisable to find contractors who are part of an umbrella company.An umbrella company will act as the contractor’s employer by managing their contracts and invoices, so you’ll have more time to focus on getting the job done.

Another strategy than can pay off over the long term is to build partnerships with businesses thatare not competitors, but work in the same field. For example, a design and print store, or a company thatprograms web applications. You can also run regular seminars for businesses that want to know more about setting up their websites.

Make sure you win business

There is little point to widely marketing your business if you can’t win contracts when you are in front of the client. It is important to be very client focused, and to thoroughly research your client’s field and their business before you attend a meeting. Try to present your business as client-centred, rather than being there just to make a quick bit of money. Websites are long-term affairs – if you treat a client well from the start and continue to do so, they can become one of the many pillars that carries your business forward.

Persistence is an important quality for any sales person to possess – after you’ve pitched your services, get in touch with the prospective client regularly to see whether they have come up with any questions in the meantime. Often circumstances around a project change, and a phone call to check in gives you further opportunity to push your solution forward. Even if your business is not picked for a particular project, check back in at regular intervals – often the chosen contractor is removed from the job, and new opportunitieswill come along.