Why Hiring a Strategic Marketing Consultant Helps a New Website

Picture $10,000 in cash. Then imagine walking to the nearest river, throwing it in, and watching it float away.

That’s essentially what happened to a large construction company after hiring a New York agency to relaunch its website.

According to the CEO, the agency promised to “get them” and deliver a site unlike any other. Two months later, after putting down a good faith deposit of $10,000, there was no sitemap, no wireframes, and no homepage designs. But the agency did deliver a mocked-up version of a new logo—even if it wasn’t part of the scope.

The plug was pulled on the project. Wasted time, wasted money, and a very discouraged CEO.

Website relaunch failures happen far too often, and there are two main culprits:

1. Most companies don’t have any experience with modern day website design and development. This makes it difficult to choose and manage the right vendor.
2. Most firms don’t have a marketing strategy to inform the development of their new website, which will ultimately become their most important marketing asset.

If you’re looking to relaunch your website soon, think about hiring a strategic marketing consultant to be your company’s advocate and guide. While that requires an additional investment to the cost of the website, it can save you a lot of frustration later.

Here are 5 reasons why looping a marketing consultant into your website relaunch makes good business sense:

 

1. Your website needs to reflect your B2B marketing strategy.

The first phase of a web development project is “discovery,” during which your company will be asked strategic questions such as:

1. How do you differentiate your brand?
2. What’s the persona of your buyers?
3. Can you describe the journey buyers take to purchase your services or products?
4. What’s most important to them?

A B2B strategic marketing consultant will work with you to develop the right answers to those critical questions. The process helps your new website support your business goals, and also help it stand out from the rest of the pack.

 

2.  All B2B website vendors are not created equal.

You will have a wide range of options when it comes to hiring a website vendor, including: full-service creative agencies, web development companies, freelance designers, and freelance developers.

Many vendors outsource programming, which means they lose an element of control over time and quality. Some are committed to custom designs. Others work from pre-packaged templates. Because of the various models and approaches, it can be challenging for B2B companies to understand what they’re buying. It’s not always an apples-to-apples comparison. A B2B strategic marketing consultant can develop an RFP, draw from their network of qualified vendors, and be an active participant in the selection process to make sure you choose the right vendor for your goals.

 

3.  Hiring a strategic marketing consultant can streamline the process of launching your website.

Website relaunches can be messy, especially if there’s not an experienced professional acting as the primary liaison with the chosen website vendor. There are a lot of deadlines, back-and-forths, and sign-offs that need to happen on schedule if you want to hit your target launch date.

If you don’t have an owner for your website relaunch, you’ll need one. Marketing consultants understand the process, and they know it’s typically the client—and not the web development firm—that pushes back the schedule. For that reason, I’m proactive with my clients in getting the photography, videography, and copywriting started early on. That ensures those assets are available when needed and don’t hamstring the launch. 

4.  Modern websites are all about lead generation.

Modern digital marketing consultants know how to make websites into lead generating machines. Many website vendors resell lead generation software platforms, which may or may not be the right fit for your company. A strategic marketing consultant can help your company to make an informed decision. We know of various technologies, such as marketing automation and CRM software, that can be integrated with a B2B company’s website to pull strangers into the sales pipeline, convert them into leads, and then nurture them into prospects.

5.  You don’t want to buy “SEO” if you don’t know what you need.

SEO, otherwise known as “Search Engine Optimization,” is not a canned service. What one vendor calls SEO may be entirely different than another vendor. Unfortunately, many B2B companies get short-changed when it comes to ensuring their new website gets Google’s love. Marketri, and other strategic marketing firms, keep abreast of SEO best practices to bring clarity to this fast-moving and “vague” science.

Your website is your most important marketing asset, and it should reflect your dynamic brand. It should generate organic search traffic. It should generate leads for your business. If your B2B company isn’t experienced in website development and the relaunch process, don’t throw your money away. Consider hiring a marketing consultant to help you navigate the waters.

Interested in learning more?

Thanks for reading! If you want more information about how a B2B SEO agency approaches search engine optimization, then check out our free tip sheet. It offers a great summary of considerations for making your website Google-friendly.