Touching base

Hi,Haven't posted on here for ages. So I thought it about time I touched base with you all again.Work has been steady considering, and the best sales tool for me is just being out there creating gardens. I think we all know that the best marketing tool is recommendation and our shop window is the work that we've done.I've just done some design work for a group in Downham Market, Norfolk for a project called "The World Garden" it will be a new public garden with an educational message. Hopefully the build will be under way soon as I am really happy to be involved in a garden that is free to everyone and not just for those that can afford it.My website got 1,000 unique visitors in March which is a great improvement on the 20 or so it was getting before I re-built it last year (if you want something done right....).It still needs a bit of a polish and there are a few more projects I will be adding soon.I've just agreed a marketing tie in with the builders merchant that supplies most of my materials, I'm not sure it will bring in much work but it will be beneficial in building on an already good relationship with my supplier.Finally I had a four page article published in Gardens Monthly in January, which is great for showing to potential clients that have not come through recommendation and who need a little something extra to give them the confidence that I am trust worthy and capable.Good luck to you all, fingers crossed for a good summer.

It's certainly a big improvement on the site created for me by a so called "professional". However a close look at the stats shows that the vast majority of visits are from 'Google Images' which suggests these are just looking for ideas to inspire there own projects.

I do find the site helps as a back up to word of mouth and other leads as clients have usually had a look at the site before contacting me.

In terms of actual new business developed purely from the website, the results are very poor maybe four good enquiries a year but, overall it is well worth the effort and adds to client confidence, therefore it is a important tool on the way to turning leads into sales.

Philip Voice said:

Hi James

1000 unique visitors is very impressive...as Richard said this morning, with between 1-3% potentially converting into enquires from the internet, you should be able to equate to good monthly business from the following sales.

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Phil Voice April 1, 2010 at 1:04pm

Hi James

1000 unique visitors is very impressive...as Richard said this morning, with between 1-3% potentially converting into enquires from the internet, you should be able to equate to good monthly business from the following sales.
James Gardner April 1, 2010 at 1:13pm

It's certainly a big improvement on the site created for me by a so called "professional". However a close look at the stats shows that the vast majority of visits are from 'Google Images' which suggests these are just looking for ideas to inspire there own projects.

I do find the site helps as a back up to word of mouth and other leads as clients have usually had a look at the site before contacting me.

In terms of actual new business developed purely from the website, the results are very poor maybe four good enquiries a year but, overall it is well worth the effort and adds to client confidence, therefore it is a important tool on the way to turning leads into sales.

Philip Voice said:
Hi James

1000 unique visitors is very impressive...as Richard said this morning, with between 1-3% potentially converting into enquires from the internet, you should be able to equate to good monthly business from the following sales.