Something we developed as one of our core principles of our business some time ago was the idea of "Affordable Quality" and we never really brought up what that means.
It finally occurred to me that this might mean to some that we do good work for cheap prices. Well - in my history in business, there isn't a lot of great stuff that comes out of cheap.
So I want to tell you how we do it - its not because we are cheap, we are affordable because:
No receptionists
When you call, we answer our phones ourselves. This might sound crazy (or not), but we strive to give out our direct phone lines so that you can get the answers you need as fast as possible and you aren't paying for our convenience when you sign a contract.
No account managers
Everyone produces. Everyone here knows how to make websites and has professional experience. We work on a single platform which allows everyone to get their hands dirty and produce. This also makes it easy for everyone to help you which makes access to support easier.
No fancy office
We moved out of spiffy office space downtown because we wanted to pay reasonable rent and have plenty of free parking for our customers when they visit. Steve and I used to have covered parking downtown for about $300/month for two spots - that costs rolled to our clients and we didn't like it. When you hire us, you are paying for expert labor, not perks.
No advertising
We just don't do it. Traditional advertising for small businesses is just too expensive and not track-able. We market heavily through our network and word of mouth. Instead of dropping thousands on one-time hits, we always try to think of innovative ways we can get our name in the community by doing good things - like building websites for charities or volunteering our consulting services in trade for sponsorship credit.
No accounts payable
We use software to track billing and accounts efficiently so we don't need extra staff to keep track of our money flow. Using affordable web technology saves us thousands on CPAs or in-house accounting staff. This efficiency also makes billing easy for our clients as everything for your account is tracked online and can be paid from your desk.
So that's how we stay affordable, but what about this whole idea of quality, well, stay tuned for Part 2.
