Pricing Questions & Answers

When I get the question, "How much do you charge for website design?", or "What is your typical rate for website management and marketing?", I cringe. No one wants to hear an answer like "Well, it depends".

It's the wrong conversation to have at first. I can't determine what to charge you without knowing what problem I am trying to solve. Sure, I can give you ballpark figures, or a price range, but it still is irrelevant to your situation and project scope.

Think of it another way -- you wouldn't ask a doctor to prescribe a medication or medical procedure for you before having her do a full physical or diagnosis, right? That would be malpractice and irresponsible for everyone involved.

Here's another scenario -- let's say you find out the hourly rate of a plumber you're considering to work on your house. He's the expert, not you (otherwise you'd do the work yourself, right?). But neither of you knows how much the final bill will be until you both discuss the scope of work before the work begins.

So what questions should you be asking?

The better question you should be asking yourself is,

"How much do I need to spend to reach my online goals?"

And of course, the right answer to your question is "I don’t know". Not yet, anyway.

Until I figure out your business situation and goals, I don't know what digital marketing solutions to prescribe. It could be simple website tweaks, a complete redesign, or enhancements to your inbound or outbound marketing.

The right investment to match your goals is figured by factoring things like the market, competition, your current position, and your online goals. That is why I prefer and recommend all projects start with a strategy road mapping session.

Rather than asking yourself how much do you need to spend on digital marketing, you should be asking

"How much can I afford to invest?"

If you're an experienced business owner, you know you need to spend money to make money. You also expect a reasonable return on investment (ROI). You've heard of the eight percent rate? According to the Small Business Administration, a business should spend roughly 8% of its total annual revenue on marketing and advertising.

You don't want to spend your entire marketing and advertising budget on digital outreach. That would be foolish to ignore offline outlets like print or other campaigns. So what is a good range? Here are some numbers as an example: