How much does it cost to hire a good marketing agency and how much does it really cost to build your website and online store.
Don’t think about which is the cheapest way to do it or which is the fastest… Think about which is the most awesome way to do it. – Richard Branson
A few days ago, quite unexpectedly, I sparked one of the most heated discussions I’ve attended in the industry recently, raising the issue of pricing and ethics. The conversation revolved around whether it is ethical for software agencies to sell their products cheaply, for example, the development of a website and online store, but to charge exorbitant prices for maintenance and additional services, putting the client in a “welded” position and facing the choice of whether to be a “hostage” of their agency or to risk their business and choose the long, difficult and no less expensive process to change them.
I personally believe that morality, ethics and transparency in client-contractor relationships are above business, but it turns out that competition in the industry is ruthlessly fierce and this leads to a number of unfair practices.
I believe that it is only a matter of time before someone refers the Commission for Protection of Competition for unfair competition and prohibited commercial practices. Until then, I hope you find this article useful and that it serves as a starting point for you to recognise them and as a guide the next time you are looking at or comparing the offers of agencies you are considering working with.
What is included in the definition of unfair competition and prohibited commercial practices … or what to beware of?
- When advertising, selling or supplying products, businesses must provide you with sufficient and accurate information to enable you to make a well-informed decision before you make a purchase. They must provide all mandatory information in a “clear and understandable manner” and in “clear and understandable language”, as defined by the European Union. If they do not provide you with this information, their actions may be considered unfair and you may be entitled to compensation if they have treated you unfairly. More on this below.
- Unfair competition within the meaning of the Competition Protection Act (CPA) may be any act or omission in the conduct of business which is contrary to good commercial practice and harms or is likely to harm the interests of competitors (Article 29 of the CPA), incl. any act or omission contrary to good commercial practice which violates written (statutory acts) or unwritten (customary commercial relations between business entities or accepted good morals) norms of conduct relating to the relevant business activity. For example, ‘you are misled into buying a seemingly inexpensive product but then it costs 2-3-5 times more to maintain’.
- Misleading advertising (Art. 33, in conjunction with Art. 32 of the CPA) – any advertising which in any way, including the way in which it is presented, misleads or is likely to mislead the persons to whom it is addressed. Such misleading must be capable of influencing the economic behaviour of the purchaser (e.g. to create motivation to buy or to refrain from buying).
The deception that arises may be as to the characteristics of the goods or services; the price or the manner of formation ѝ; the conditions of delivery or performance; and the particulars of the advertiser or advertiser.
So, the first element you should pay attention to is the communication with the agency before you even meet and its advertising messages, the language it uses, the ads.
Through the prism of my 25 years of experience, I can share that quick success in business is rarely sustainable. I know many companies that have literally made millions overnight and then collapsed the second they did – if someone claims to know the “secret” and can achieve it for you, that would be insane. If it were that easy, why wouldn’t he just run an investment fund and invest and develop startups that make him billions without lifting a finger, and work as a consultant or trainer for hundreds of times less money!
Step Two: What software and platform to choose for your website or online store?
Let me start by saying that I’m a die-hard fan of open source platforms – WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify or Squarespace – all of which enable you to launch your website or store and start selling in no time.
Gone are the days when these platforms were avoided because they were “easy to hack” or “only suitable for blogging”. Modern website builders and paid security plugins, combined with a quality hosting provider, make your site almost as secure and safe as the so-called custom platforms.
What is the advantage of open source platforms when choosing a website and online store?
Maybe it’s time to explain the two terms I’m using in this post if the tech world isn’t quite your thing.
Open source software such as WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify or Squarespace allow anyone who is interested to modify the code to make the application more useful and to remove some of the bugs that may occur when using it.No software company that has created its own software and software product is able to compete with communities that bring together hundreds of thousands of followers and fans of a piece of software who volunteer their time and energy to improve and extend the features of the software that your site uses. Unfortunately, this is also lack of warranty and technical support. It for what have we a guarantee in this world? Still, lest things seem extreme, you can hire the tech person or agency who helped you with the build to maintain your site and keep an eye out for any irregularities – they’ll be fine, trust me.
WordPress builder (page builder, website builder) is a plugin that installs on your site like any other WordPress plugin and helps you build pages easily and make specific changes to their design without having to write any code.Custom website and online store solutions
If your business is established and expanding. You know the team and you are 1000% convinced of the effectiveness of your technical team and that you want to work with them and only them for the next 20 years, or the company is your wife’s – OK, make a custom decision. Otherwise, not something I would recommend if you were my client.
There is an exception and that is – if you develop your own product and you have hired your team in-house for the company, you don’t rely on a subcontractor.
Otherwise it is madness!
People are changing. Teams change. Prices and conditions change. And if that’s not enough to put you off – the intellectual property of the product, website or software you develop with a subcontractor REMAINS WITH THE SUBCONTRACTOR. It doesn’t matter what the contract says regarding the rights – they are yours.
There is always a risk that you will get an extremely advantageous offer for your new online store, which will be worth 2000lv. – compared to the competing offer for 30 000lv, for example, and it turns out that only a year later you pay 500, 1000, 5000lv for each change on the site that you want to be made.
And no, there’s nowhere to go – you either pay them or you have to move your store to a new platform. An effort that will cost you at least 6 months of time and those 30 000lv you saved.
Here are a few tips when choosing a developer for your website or online store?
And no, don’t be fooled by customer logos on the site. If you are making an investment of over 20,000lv, I advise you to ask for references, check if the companies quoted on the site really work with the software or site that the company you are checking the name built. I am currently working on the marketing strategy for a new aesthetic clinic in Sofia. My clients have long and heartily insisted that we use specific software for online bookings, “because everyone in the industry uses it”. Fact, all the well-known clinics in Sofia were put on the software company’s website and this created an “ethos” and seemed like the only right solution. However, my check revealed that none of these clinics are currently using the software – I don’t believe it is a coincidence. We chose not to work with it and I have no regrets. If you want to learn more about ethos, pathos and logos and why Aristotle believes they are the three ingredients of any message that sells, learn in my book – “The BRAVO Method – Marketing Masterclass“. Any self-respecting tech company creates and maintains technical documentation that covers not only the features, but how the store/website/software or product you’re paying for actually works. Inside are descriptions of the platform, the plugins, the features of the software. Even if you don’t understand anything about technology products, this is important for the team that is servicing the project. As well as for your future team – when the business starts to grow or you decide to choose another company to work with. Make sure that you ensure continuity. When you sign a contract with your service agency or software company, the technical documentation gives the scope of the work you are having done. When handing over the project, it’s a good idea to check that everything is working as you agreed – with one proviso, websites and online stores usually have a 3-6 month warranty in which the team should fix any bugs on the system that you didn’t identify at the start. And again – the scope of the technical documentation will give you an indication whether it is a bug (something that does not work well) or a new functionality – something that was not agreed at the beginning, respectively not part of the offer and subject to additional payment. Don’t be fooled by low offers to build a website/online store, which then turn into an endless list of “it’s not in the offer” and invoices for additional services and extra charges. When sending enquiries to different software or marketing agencies to compare their offers – compare the technical and functional specifications per offer. Take a look at how many language versions the site would have, does it have integrated online payments, how many pages do you suggest each agency has, is the design unique or a template, is it a modified template or a template. Това са само част от на пръв поглед „дребни“ неща, които правят огроооооомна разлика във времето за изработка и ценообразуването. It would be a good idea to have references and, in addition to the brief you send to agencies, show them what you envision as the final site and product. Not because I’m recommending you copy your competitors’ site, but because it can be the foundation upon which you can begin to communicate the technical features of what you’d like to have on your site or store. And one more important thing. If you have a store that supports 2,000 or 20,000 products with variations, the approach to building it and the platform would be completely different if you compare it to a store that has 500 products. Remember this. Software services require more time and work and currently the hourly rate on the market is between 60 and 150 BGN/hour, excluding VAT. Even if your team doesn’t work on an hourly rate, use it to negotiate how much and what work goes into your monthly service. So you have a ‘rough’ idea of the scope of the tasks you are assigning. Something important from practice – if you think something is going to take 20 minutes to be done, then know that the adequate time is probably 2 hours. Plan to be done in 2 to 5 days. The reason is that if the team you’re working with isn’t in-house and only working for you, they have a whole series of similar small things to run for other clients and you just have to wait for your time to come. If you feel uncomfortable and insecure negotiating deadlines and money with your team, then you have a problem and it’s not your team. If there is a lack of trust – neither. Hourly rates for marketing consultants start from 150lv/hour, excluding VAT and go up to 800lv/hour, excluding VAT – for business consultants and senior experts. The caveat here is the market is changing and these figures are very general, but.. will give you a good base to step on and get your bearings. The minimum time I recommend working with a consultant to see results is 15-20 hours. If you still can’t afford it due to financial constraints, it would be more effective to pay for some training or complete a topic-based course. The caveat here is the same as with software companies and marketing agencies – never bet on the lowest bid, ask for references, tie your work to KPIs and be clear and specific about what goals you want to achieve. Even negotiate extra pay for efficiency, but respect the work, experience, expertise and training of the consultant you choose to work with and don’t haggle. Focus on the value it brings you and all it will do for your business. To get an idea of the numbers and what sets a consultant’s rate at 400-500-1000, even 2000 Euros per hour – theExecutive Business and Leadership (eMBA) program at Central European University in Vienna that I graduated from costs 40,000 Euros. And that’s just part of the training and qualifications that complement nearly 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business consultant, trainer and coach. If you find this topic interesting, I would be happy if you could share on my Facebook page what are the most common difficulties you face and what would be interesting for you to read. The next topic I have prepared is “How to choose an agency/subcontractor and work together effectively”.Compare expertise, not prices
Require technical documentation, already at offer level
Money. That was the reason for this material.
Step Three: How much is reasonable to pay?
Prices for marketing services and website
