Every business exists for some reason beyond “just making money”. At least the ones that survive.
Boiled down into a single phrase, Lockedown Design & SEO exists to empower business owners by giving them the structure and knowledge to do business more effectively on the web.
Every business is a little different, but the overall goal is the same: give you all the necessary tools to make your business prosperous, today — and long into the future.
Who I Help
The clients I get the biggest wins for are well-established bricks and mortar businesses whose sales are flat, and who are unsure of how to use the web to boost their revenue. Most of the business owners are well-respected in their local communities, and their business currently relies heavily on referrals and word-of-mouth for repeat sales.
Most of these businesses need to expand their current awareness beyond their current referral base of current customers, but are unsure of how to leverage their website for marketing to the customers they would like to reach.
They may have a website in place already, but it may be what is known as a “brochure website”. This means it lists what they offer and contact information, but there is little or no functionality built into the site. If they have a contact form, it is rudimentary. If they have products for sale, there is usually no way for the business to sell them online.
These businesses make few (if any) changes to their current site, because the publishing system is too complicated. These sites may not have changed at all in many years.
These prospective clients know that they need to do something with their website and other marketing efforts, but lack the infrastructure, knowledge and confidence to take the necessary steps forward.
What I Do For These Businesses
Businesses looking to make improvements to their web presence are aware we are now living in an attention-based economy. Every business, large and small, must realize they are in competition with similar businesses for the awareness that precedes a buying decision.
Businesses that build awareness by continually publishing content on the web have a decided advantage over those that do not.
I help businesses who invest in their growth by providing custom web design and development, so they have the infrastructure they need to compete. Though every case is unique, I often add website functionality that allows them to increase sales, save time and market more efficiently. Though I’m not a marketing specialist, I share with them the strategies that have worked for others.
I give them the tools they need to grow, and show them how to use them.
I can offer advice on what to do next, but the content marketing has to come from within their organization. It’s difficult to be an expert on subjects you don’t live and breathe every single day, so I defer the job of content marketing to the people who know it best — the businesses themselves.
I don’t disappear after their web project is launched, though. I continue to be an ally and adviser concerning their web properties. I keep my clients websites properly maintained and operating at peak performance.
Why I Do It
It’s simple. I want people to be empowered in their lives and business. I want them to have power over their situation, and have control over their own destiny. The tools I use just happen to be digitally based.
But why?
It sucks to feel like you are helpless to affect the things happening to you. When you are running a business, this can be catastrophic. My biggest goal (in life, not just in business) is to help people find their own path to a better tomorrow.
Why This Target Market?
I have a unique perspective. I spent over twenty years working in the blue collar world before finally making the full-time transition to the digital world in 2012.
Most people I know who are web professionals grew up in that world. 8 times out of 10, their parents had a connection to computers, or programming or design. They’ve never known anything else, or their experience with bricks and mortar business was a couple of years waiting tables or running a cash register. This isn’t meant as a knock, but it’s hard to relate to people when you’ve never walked a mile in their shoes.
I was lucky enough to learn what it takes to run teams day after day in different businesses, to work those long hours when there was no one to cover the shift, and learn about the hidden costs of running a bricks and mortar business. I say I am lucky, because I also spent a few years learning about the web, learning about design and development before moving into that space. I was able to bring empowerment to my own life and my own business by focusing on a goal and not quitting.
I believe that people and organizations alike are continually changing and evolving. It’s inevitable, because the world changes right alongside us. When we stop growing, we stop transforming ourselves. When we refuse to try new things because we’re scared of failure, we become frozen with indecision.
But that’s not what I want for you. When I talk with CEOs and Marketing Directors of traditional businesses, I see a piece of my own story there. I want you to succeed on the web, because I know it’s possible. My role is to be a mentor and coach to you, not just a vendor who disappears into the mist once your website launches.
By helping business owners adapt to doing business in a digital world, I help my community thrive.
When it comes down to it, I’m not in the web development business, I’m in the client services business. More specifically, I’m in the empowerment business.
My business exists to help my clients achieve the goals they set out to achieve.
