So, with Smarketing being a digital marketing company in Knoxville, Tennessee, you could probably guess that we do a lot of websites. And you would be right! There is a white board in our office pretty much covered with a list of all the new websites being designed and developed for clients. And just so you know, Smarketing is not just a digital marketing company, the preferred engagement with clients is to act as their outsourced marketing department. That way we can get to know them, their target markets and work to develop their marketing “voice”. That allows just about anything into the clients marketing plans, including traditional and digital marketing.
So, what is the difference between a standard website design company and a full-service website design company like Smarketing? It really comes down to, do you want a turn-key website or are you willing and able to do some DIY. A standard website design company will almost exclusively concentrate on the design of the website and not fully optimize content or UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) website design. All those last items, optimized content, UI and UX website design, are critical to being able to attract qualified visitors to your new website. Now, if your company or organization has the capability to deliver all those items to your new website, then a standard website design company is probably a good way to go. What I have found is that most companies and organizations do not have the capability or, maybe more important, the time to deliver those items. Unfortunately, I also have found that websites produced by standard website design companies have not lived up to their client’s expectations. There is a cartoon that shows two barbershops across the street from each other. One barbershop has a sign in the window that reads “Haircuts Only $6” and the barbershop across the street from them has a sign in the window that reads “We Fix $6 Haircuts”. If Smarketing was a barbershop it would be the one that fixes $6 haircuts.
You are probably thinking “ok, but what makes a full-service website design company, like Smarketing, different from the one you just described above?”
It all starts with our proprietary website design and development process. This process begins with a discovery session, or what we like to call a Smarketing Analysis. After the Smarketing Analysis the team moves on to work on design, content, SEO and ADA Compliance. With final approval from the client, Smarketing takes care of all the tasks associated with taking the new website live.
But just because the website is live, the work is not complete. A website requires ongoing maintenance, SEO, and constant ADA compliance to allow it to perform properly and attract high quality visitors. And Smarketing will engage with its clients to perform all those tasks following “go live”.
Hopefully now you see the difference in the two companies. A standard website design company will concentrate almost exclusively on the design, where a full-service website design company, like Smarketing, takes a holistic approach to the design and development of clients’ new websites. From discovery session to UI and UX design to content development to SEO to ADA compliance and ongoing maintenance, full-service website design is a turn-key package.
So, I broke a few rules with this blog that we normally follow when writing blogs for our clients. But I thought this topic was something I could write about that really showcases the very core of the what and the why of Smarketing. We don’t do anything halfway or cookie cutter, and good enough just isn’t. Our first and last obligation is to our clients and their success. We do marketing for small businesses in East Tennessee…some of them are very small businesses. We know that if we don’t do our job right that there are mortgages, college educations and retirements on the line. What we do is all in, grassroots marketing and we have the privilege to work shoulder to shoulder with clients and their staff to achieve the success that they need. There is a saying that goes something like this “Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life”. Well, I haven’t worked a day since we started Smarketing in 2015. If your business or organization would like to have a marketing company with this level of passion and commitment, maybe you should give us a call.
Best Regards,
Fred