If you're anything like me you find it much easier to look at someone else's marketing and see where it's lacking, or where they need to concentrate their efforts, than to take the same objective view of your own marketing.

While this is only human nature and not a major problem it is something that we, as small business owners need to be disciplined about. Why? Well imagine that your business as a house and you are the builder. There are certain tasks that must be complete before undertaking others. There are other tasks that are more effective if others are completed in advance. It is impossible to build the walls before the foundations are laid and set, and you certainly wouldn't want to plaster the walls before the windows and doors are fitted, though you could... Marketing your business is much the same, in that certain objectives must be achieved before others will have any positive effect.

What happens if you don't? Quite simply, there will be lots of activity and very little productivity. You'll end up bouncing from task to task, probably never completing any to the level that you want. Additionally, you can be absolutely certain that, as a result, you will have missed a number of potentially lucrative opportunities.

Who needs a marketing plan? Everyone needs a marketing plan! Whether you're a multi-national corporation, or a freelancer working from home, it is important (in fact vital) that you have a detailed, structured, and practical plan for marketing your business.

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One of the best web design blogs, A List Apart, posted an interesting article this week.

Although aimed at web designers, the information in both useful and interesting to anyone who is likely to be involved in a web project, either as a supplier or a customer.

The article, Taking the Guess Work Out of Design,  offers a variety of techniques that can help a project become more efficient and successful through documentation, goal setting and communication.

Everyone is keen to launch a new or redesigned web site. The design an development team are looking forward to unleashing thier latest creation on the world, the site owner wants to start reaping the benefits and whomever is promoting the site is despereate to have this great new material to work with.

However, if there was every an aspect of a web site project that lived up to the old cliche of 'more haste less speed' it's the final launch. Rushing this part of the porject can cause annoyance, embarrassment and increased work for all concerned. By following a simple (and relatively short) checklist the risks of publishing errors can be minimised.

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Let's face it, we have all seen them; sites that were built 5 or 6 years ago and actually do more harm than good to a business's image. But how often should a company redesign or rebuild their web site?

There's no single answer but there are a number of factors that affect the decision. The important ones are:

• What type of business are you?
• Are you changing your overall branding?
• Have you moved into a new market?
• Is there some new functionality that would enhance the site's performance?
• Is the site currently performing to its potential?
• What is the cost of the redesign and development?
• Is the budget available?
• Will you get a return on the investment made in a new website?

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One of the most important parts of building a new website (or redesigning an existing one) is planning. In fact it’s not unreasonable to expect that the planning stages of a website will take longer and, potentially, cost more than the actual production.

The missing link…

This a fact that is known and accepted in large companies for whom there are often large investments riding on the success of a website. So why is it that so little time is spent in the planning of small websites? Is the risk any less? Are results any less important to the site owner? I suspect that, in fact, for a small business, the success of a website is even more vital. In today’s world, the creation of their business website is possibly the largest single marketing investment that they will make. So surely it’s even more important to plan it properly…

So why does this situation occur? I suspect that there are a variety of reasons, each a factor to a lesser or greater extent for different people. So here are some of the major ones, in no particular order:

• Understanding
  Many people feel that, because a website lives in the world of technology that they cannot understand it. Therefore they try to avoid involvement in it beyond the request for a quote and expectation of results.
• Perceived Value
  People, particularly those earning their livelihood working long hours in their own business, respond far better to spending money on something tangible. Consultancy may only generate an idea… the value of which may not become apparent for some time, one of the hardest products to sell to a small business.
• Time
  Most people owning or running a small business are overworked, something we have all experienced at some stage in our career. Again, when you are overworked it can be difficult to appreciate the benfit of simply sitting down with someone and talking through a series of points or ideas.
• Habit
  Probably the one that people would least readily admit to, but a common occurrence, the ‘just do it’ syndrome is something that often filters through from people who are overworked. This quickly becomes a habit with the thought process of ‘That’s what I’m paying you for, I don’t have time to think about it’. (more...)

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