Internet Magic

I just got an email from someone for whom I’d given a bid. He chose another company who could do the same work for 50 percent of what I bid.

I’m sure if he did some more investigating he could have found someone who would have done it for 25 percent of my bid. Or he could have gone to Craig’s List and got one for $299. But will this site end up costing him more in lost opportunities than the $1750 he saved on the front end?

I can only assume the other company doesn’t have the skill or experience we have. And I’m pretty sure they won’t take the time to develop a whole plan of action, taking into consideration effective calls to actions and being search engine friendly.

This gentleman sells a product that ranges from $25,000-250,000. What if just one potential buyer chose not to even contact him because his site looked amateurish? It cost him the possibility of at least $25,000 in sales. And if you multiple that over several months or years, that’s a lot of money lost to save less than $2,000.

This past summer I had a choice between two driving schools for my daughter. One of them had a site with poor design and misspellings. The other one had a nice design and looked more reputable. I chose the second one even though it was a couple miles farther away and $100 more. I wanted my daughter to have a good learning experience and felt the second company projected a better image.

Buyers are getting more picky, whether they are consumers or businesses. We need to communicate through our web sites a level of professionalism. They have to function well and communicate well. If we don’t, then we will lose opportunities for making sales.

Do you have an experience where you chose a higher priced item because you felt like you were going to get a greater return on your investment than going with a lower cost item? I’d love to hear your story.