In my last blog I had a stab at answering the question “What is SEO? What do you actually do?”
Another question I hear a lot, whether I’m talking about websites or digital marketing campaigns, is “how much will it cost?”
I’ll level with you: I hate that question.
Why do I hate it? Because of the word “cost”. If something has a cost attached, it sounds negative. You’re throwing your money into a big, black hole and it’ll never come back. Now, don’t get me wrong, if someone asks me “how much does it cost?” I don’t shout “I HATE THAT QUESTION!” at them. But I will tell them it’s not a cost.
Marketing is an investment. It’s not a cost. If anyone tries to tell you different, they’re doing it wrong. If someone tries to sell you something without justifying the price label they’ve put on it, they’re doing it wrong. And, believe me, lots of people are doing it wrong.
If someone walked up to you in the street and said “give me £500” would you do it? Of course not. That’s what someone is doing if they can’t justify their cost. If someone walked up to you in the street and said “give me £500 and I’ll come back in an hour with £10,000” then what would you say? Well, you still probably wouldn’t do it but you get the picture.
“How much will I need to invest?”
Now, that’s a question I like.
Investing in something is aiming to get your money back and increase what you originally put in. That is the best kind of marketing. When you think of a project as an investment you’re more likely to consider the end goal rather than the nitty gritty details. Don’t get me wrong, the nitty gritty details are important but not nearly as important as the result.
All we can sell is a chunk of our time and, therefore, a chunk of our expertise. Our product is us. Our job is to use our expertise and our time to help improve things. Yes, we create things – things like websites and digital marketing campaigns – but they’re a product of our time. When you work with us you’re investing in our people and their expertise.
So, what’s the answer to the question?
It depends.
Every single estimate should be considered on a case-by-case basis and tie back to the goal of the project. What about package deals? If you hear the words “bronze, silver and gold” then back away. Quickly.
Ask yourself why you need to invest in something and we’ll tell you the best way to meet those goals.
“My website isn’t generating enough leads.”
How much is a lead worth? If your website currently generates 10 leads per month, how many turn into business? What’s the average worth of a lead? If you know 2 or 3 of those leads will turn into business and they’re worth £5,000 per lead then you can do the maths. Now, if we can get your website to generate 20 leads per month, you’ll get an extra £10,000-£15,000 worth of business. If we asked you to invest £1,000 per month for us to improve your online marketing and achieve those goals, it doesn’t sound so daunting, does it?
There’s no “cost” in that scenario.
If you want to invest in well-planned, targeted online marketing then give Miro the opportunity to work with you to figure out the right amount.
