business Archives - Website Design Company Kelowna BC - Atomic 55

Free website solutions suck. Like, they’re really bad. Read why.

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:38:11 +0000

iring a Kelowna web design company is a good idea for any business looking to future-proof. If you’re looking to stand out and attract new leads, then a professional web design company can help you achieve that.

Sure, it can be tempting to buy into one of the many templates offered by businesses like Squarespace, Weebly, and Wix. However, these free website builders don’t stack up to what a professional web design company can do. Hiring a company that’s versed and tenured in web design can kickstart your 2023 goals like you never imagined.

We get it. Budgets are getting tight. Employees want more. Professional services are going through the roof! And, this is why we decided to make a list of the reasons why you should hire a Kelowna web design company, like Atomic 55 in 2023.

Follow along below to learn more about how hiring a web designer like us can help you reach your business’s new year’s resolutions!

“Beware of cheap. Beware of free. Both will cost you in the long run.”

Cheap. At twice the price.

If you aren’t a programmer or can’t find your way around Photoshop, it’s going to be very difficult for you to build a website. Simply achieving the basics of a website will take an excruciating amount of time because of the steep learning curve. And, if you had anything more complex in mind, like animations, you might end up spending months just trying to work out one detail. The point is, web design takes years of experience and knowledge in order to craft a site that is functional and completed within a timely manner. Save yourself some time and reinvest that time into the things you do well in your business. Let the developers, designers, and programmers handle the digital.

The cost of doing business

Another benefit to hiring a professional web design team is the professional look that you’ll get. Most people’s first impression of your company is going to be your website. So, it’s important you make it count! A bad first impression is not good for business and can seriously deter leads from contacting you. Hiring a web designer who is well-versed in your field or has worked with similar industries is a smart idea. You’ll get a professional-looking website that reflects your company.

“Did you know? You can inspect any website for free to see how many errors it has. Right-click now to see for yourself. It’s okay. We know we’re good ;)”

A website that works, is a good website. This means no broken links, no broken buttons, no missing pages, no broken widgets, and consistency across all devices/platforms/browsers. Making sure everything works together without faults is certain to cause your average DIY designer some headaches. In fact, if you have a developer who doesn’t know advanced math, well that’s not good either.

One of the biggest reasons to hire a professional website designer is simply to have a website that functions correctly. And, to have a team of experienced professionals to help you troubleshoot in the event that something breaks or goes wrong.

Hiring a professional web design company is certainly more expensive than building a website on your own. However, the benefits of hiring a professional web designer outweigh the cost in nearly every circumstance. A professional is able to discern between what’s a trend and what’s here to stay. Thus, ensuring your website looks fresh in both 2023 and 2028.

Moreover, a professionally built website is more likely to last longer, and not break, and in many cases, web design companies provide support for all of your questions and concerns.

When you invest in a custom website, you also gain access to the wonderful team behind the operation. That alone sounds like a worthwhile investment to us

Build your brand. Not someone else's.

When you invest in your own custom website you have something at the end of the day. When you build your website on a free platform, you have a credit card statement at the end of the day.

Separating yourself from your competition is a tricky feat. Especially in a saturated market or startup environment.

However, one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors is to build a website that is unique and efficient. Since most people begin their search for a business online, it’s crucial that your website is unique.

When your website is not built from a template, it will be more memorable to potential customers. This kind of attention can help you translate website traffic into leads. In addition, you will begin to build your company’s brand awareness.

Free websites can't be organically marketed. That's a period.

Another perk of a professionally built website is lead generation. It’s one thing to have a website, but it’s another to have a website and get found. There are many proven strategies to get your website ranking higher in search results. However, the tried and tested method of SEO marketing should be considered a must-do service.

This is yet another area where the average DIY website builder will need to study up. SEO (search engine optimization) isn’t something that can be learned overnight, but it is integral to the marketing function of your website. After all, what’s the point of a website if nobody can find it?

Wix, Weebly, and whatever the flavour of the month is, will only see you spending like a sieve on paid ads. This is not where you want to focus in the current economy. Focus on your organic presence and watch it grow!

Not free. Not cheap. And really good.

If you need help building a website, contact us today. We’d be happy to help you design the right website for your business.

For more information about what we do, feel free to reach out to one of our team members.

You can find the latest updates on our Google Business page or check related content on our site.

We look forward to working with you in the near future!

The post Free website solutions suck. Like, they’re really bad. Read why. appeared first on Website Design Company Kelowna BC - Atomic 55.

What is Brand Awareness and Why is it Important?

Tatum G — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 15:00:00 +0000

rand awareness is an important part of any company. Understanding what brand awareness is and its role in your business is essential.

Creating a brand is one thing, but having consumers understand the values attached to that brand is another. Developing a strong sense of brand awareness is necessary in order to help you build sales, loyalty, and popularity. In this article, we will be going over everything you need to know about brand awareness. Everything from what it is to how it can help your company will be listed below.

Continue reading the following article to learn more about brand awareness.

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you leave the room.” – Bezos

What is Brand Awareness?

Brand awareness is a term that is used to describe the way in which consumers recognize a product or service by its name. Generally, as a business, you’ll also want your consumers to associate your brand with positive values, or distinctive qualities. In other words, your brand awareness = how well your customers know your brand.

There are three different layers to brand awareness:

Brand Recall

How likely consumers are to remember your brand, products, and services?

Brand Recognition

The visual and audio cues people use to identify a brand

Brand Dominance

When consumers associate brands with the entire product category (ie: Band Aid)

Why is it Valuable?

Brand awareness is incredibly valuable to your company. Building brand awareness is integral to your company’s success. In order for your brand to generate sales, consumers must be aware of your brand prior to making a purchase. Most consumers will already have a brand in mind when they are considering making a purchase. So, you can understand why having your customers be aware of your brand can give you a leg up. Moreover, the most successful brands are often referred to by their brand name instead of the actual product. For instance, Kleenex vs tissues, Band-Aid vs plaster, and Advil vs ibuprofen.

However, brand awareness is more than just recognizing your brand. In fact, businesses with good brand awareness are more likely to have positive brand perceptions. People’s perceptions of a brand have been shown to be linked to increased brand loyalty. Thus, meaning that customers are more likely to make repeated purchases.

Furthermore, the more brand aware your customers are, the more searches you’ll get on Google. Brand awareness has been directly linked to increasing your traffic on Internet platforms. For instance, social media like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. In addition, more Internet users searching for your products and services can improve the amount of organic traffic your website receives.

Lastly, having good brand awareness helps eliminate risk for consumers. Most buyers are not willing to take risks when it comes to buying a product they purchase on a regular basis. In order to change consumers’ buying habits, your business must have good a brand awareness strategy that focuses on familiarizing customers with you and your products.

“The way a company brands itself is everything – it will ultimately decide if a business survives.” – Branson

How can you Improve Brand Awareness?

Improving brand awareness is important for staying on top of the competition. Strong brand awareness can help your company reach its goals and improve its reputation. But, how does one go about improving brand awareness? There are several different ways that a business can increase brand awareness. Although, it should be noted that brand awareness isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. By slowly implementing the right strategies, your business will start to improve its brand awareness.

Below are some strategies that we recommend for improving your brand awareness.

Maximize Online Interactions

More and more consumers are making purchases online. Because of this, it is crucial that your business has a strong digital presence. Using social media and having a great website are two of the best ways to start building brand awareness. Social media is perfect for attracting consumers where they’re already spending their time. And, a strong website will help extend your brand and serve as a beacon for the rest of your company. At Atomic 55, we have several decades of experience doing both website design and social media marketing.

SEO

Search Engine Optimized marketing is another great strategy to enhance your brand awareness. However, SEO needs to be done right in order to see the best results. Check out our blog post about SEO to see why it is one of the most powerful marketing strategies you can invest in.

Contact Us Today!

If you need help building brand awareness, contact us today. We’d be happy to help you create a strategy to increase brand awareness for your products and services. For more information about what we do, feel free to reach out to one of our team members. You can find the latest updates on social media or check out our blog for related content. We look forward to working with you in the near future!

The post What is Brand Awareness and Why is it Important? appeared first on Website Design Company Kelowna BC - Atomic 55.

Cuts like a … marketing budget?

Tatum G — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 18:46:31 +0000

arketing is often one of the first things to be cut out from spending when the economy starts to shrink.

However, there are a few major faults in this thought process. While it may seem smart to end your marketing endeavors in an effort to cut back on cost, the reality is that it will only cost your business more in the long run. Marketing is seldom successful when done inconsistently. In this article, we are going to go over the top reasons why marketing should be the last thing that you cut from your budget.

Follow along below to learn more about the importance of maintaining your marketing efforts during an economic downturn.

“We’ll succeed in the end if we just stay the course.”

Steady she goes.

A great marketing strategy begins and ends with consistency. Without constant work on your marketing, it is unlikely you will see the results that you want. In order to gain new business during economic downturn, it is crucial that you put everything you can into marketing. As the old adage goes “When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise”. The best time to ramp up your marketing efforts is right before the economy starts to shrink. The effort that you put into marketing will help you to maintain steady business growth throughout economic hardships. However, if you choose to cut costs and forgo your marketing strategy, your business can experience serious financial loss. If you’ve been working closely with a marketing team to get your business to the forefront of your industry now is not the time to throw in the towel! Consistency is a huge determinant of successful marketing.

Loyalty to the test.

Successful businesses always have one thing in common: customer loyalty. When the economy takes a turn for the worse, it is your client base that you will need to rely on.

“Stalemate in the economy means that your customers’ spending budget will decrease—just the same as yours.“

In order to prevent them from cutting out your services, you need to remind them of why they need your products.

This is where marketing comes in. Without successful marketing to maintain the interest and priorities of your customer base, you will lose business. In order to prevent this, it is important that you continue to fund your marketing strategy and make changes where necessary. Focusing on client retention and what your customer base needs is a non-negotiable step in your plan of action.

More bang from the same buck

During an economic downturn, the vast majority of businesses lose focus of their marketing goals. For companies that retain their marketing strategies, this provides a platform for them to do even better. Businesses who don’t put in the effort will lose clients. And, those clients will go on to find other businesses that are better suited to their needs. Thus, creating more visibility and demand for the companies who are following through with their marketing. Most businesses will be able to get a lot more out of their advertising budget during a shrunken economy because of the above factors. In brief, by keeping marketing at the forefront of your budget you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck. Sounds like a win-win to us!

Marketing companies cost less than a full time employee

Lastly, you shouldn’t cut out your marketing budget, because a great advertising team can help you in so many ways. For instance, while you focus your efforts on superb customer service and great product quality to help your business stand out, you may not have time to worry about marketing. This is why a marketing team can be so valuable. Most marketing teams have industry-specific skills and knowledge that the average business owner might overlook. This unique skill set can help your business grow and gain visibility in ways you never thought possible. For example, a cool animation for your social media, a chat tool that increases your accessibility, and/or content that is refreshing and keeps your customers informed. These are just a few of the ways that a marketing team can help you stay on top of your game when there is a drought in the economy.

Times are tough, just keep going

Marketing during tough economic times is an essential part of maintaining your business’s health. If you are looking for marketing help or are interested in one of our services, contact us today. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns you have about marketing. For more information, stay tuned to our blog each month for more articles like this!

Be sure to check out our social media for the latest news, updates, and more. We look forward to working with you in the near future.

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