Two business owners are having coffee. They have successful businesses that they are ready to expand on to the internet.

“Have you chosen a web developer yet?”

“Web developer? Are you serious? I am having my son build the website. He is on the internet all the time and knows everything about websites and stuff like that.”

“Your son, really? Does he build websites for a living?”

“No. He is still in school. He will build it for free though!”

All too often, I come across this scenario. It is one of the obstacles of being in the web development industry. The internet is unlike any other business medium. It is open to all, information is abundant and there is a SIGNIFICANT learning curve between generations. Toss around some terminology like web development, social media, cascading style sheets and search engine optimization and chances are the average web user will think you are working for the NSA. But don’t call Washington just yet. The casual web user may use the same language as a professional web developer. That doesn’t necessarily mean they can speak it.

Whether it is your son, daughter or nephew’s cousins uncle twice removed, you must gaze a skeptical eye on the services they claim to be able to provide. Let me modify the scenario a bit to explain my point:

• Would you let your son fix your company’s toilet because he watches the DIY Network?
• Would you let your daughter operate on an injured employee because she watches “Grey’s Anatomy”?
• Would you let your neighbor replace your company delivery truck’s engine because they have a subscription to “Car and Driver”?

You may think these scenarios are completely different from building a website but when broken down to the most basic form, they are identical. Each scenario above describes using a person with a casual interest in something performing a job that requires a professional. Web development is no different. In fact, using a professional web developer may be even MORE important (except the doctor example…that would be pretty dangerous).

Take the toilet example. Even if you own a storefront, chances are you might get 10-15 customers that need to “evacuate” daily. If your toilet is broken, you most likely will not lose their business. Your website on the other hand may receive 100-50,000+ visitors a day. If it is broken, or not functioning properly, your customer’s have no access to your business. We have all navigated to a website that was down or slow to load. I am sure you, just like me, closed the website in less than 10 seconds.

The fact is, web development may look easy on paper. There are hundreds of programs that claim to make it simple for anyone to use. My hope is that you will be wary when you evaluate this option. If your business is on the internet, it is part of a huge online marketplace that reaches millions of potential customers. Facing those customers with a virtual storefront that is templated, slow and functions poorly is your COMPETITOR’S best sales tool.

Use a professional! There are numerous professional web development agencies. Most focus on specific customer bases (i.e. small businesses, personal websites, e-Commerce websites etc.) so finding one that meets your needs should not be hard. You can even find a web developer near your business, and often meet with them face to face.

It may not be free, but it will be well worth the investment. A professionally developed website should pay for itself before that leaky toilet breaks down again.

As the recession continues to loom like a dark cloud that continuously ruins your family vacations, what can you do to improve your business forecast? Most companies, like my former, decided to cut costs. Cutting costs unfortunately almost always means cutting people, and cutting very good people. While this solution may help a short term goal of reduced expenses (or to the terminated employee, their income/mortgage payments), in the long term this will only bury the organization under more work for a diminished workforce to handle. It is like quicksand, the harder you try to fight tough economic times, the farther you get pulled into them. In my mind, the best approach is to take action. Face the bull head on. Instead of cutting costs because of reduced business, go out there and find more business. The key to new business is marketing.

Ken Fisher, a Forbes columnist for over 25 years, is famously quoted saying, “It’s not the hot gadget that puts small companies over the top but hot marketing…if a troubled company is strong on marketing it is a good bet to solve its problems…So I like companies run by a top-notch marketing person or companies with one close to the boss’ elbow and ear.”
A creative and innovative marketing strategy can not only break your economic downtime, it can help you to leap ahead of your competitors. While the masses add lick their wounds and pull back, an aggressive marketing approach can actually lead to significant business growth. Stop reacting like the rest of your industry and start acting!
The benefits of this approach are numerous, but three truly stick out:
1)    Cost effective: Most basic marketing strategies cost less than the coffee you offer in your business’ break room each month. In fact, some marketing strategies (like Search Engine Optimization) can be purchased on a bounty system meaning you only pay if they hit agreed upon targets (a specific page rank on Google for example).
2)    Long Term Success: Winning new clients during a tough time puts your organization on a path towards long term success. Any customer you can win today, during the recession, can translate into a long term customer who will increase spend as the economy rebounds. With an established relationship during tough times, these customers will be more loyal and less likely to seek out your competitors.
3)    Morale: A strong marketing plan will boost morale around your office. It will present a united and public front from management that says “we are confident in the success of our business.” Employees will be motivated by this approach and work hard to be a part of it. Instead of layoff fears employees will be talking about the businesses next strategic initiative around the water-cooler.
Regardless of your businesses current financial state, a strong marketing plan is still a feasible strategy. If you are concerned, start small, but remember that this economy will eventually turn around. When that happens, you want to be the bull.