Call us now on: (01908) 239971
Call us now on: (01908) 239971
As well as having a full-time day job, fitness instructor and make-up artist, Sarah Layton, also has a business running aerobics classes and make-up and manicure sessions in the evenings.
Her workload meant that Sarah had very little time to focus on future sales. She needed a way for potential customers to access pricing information with ease and to see examples of her work at the same time. She also wanted to project a professional and reliable image – to reflect the services she offers.
Time was critical and she needed a quick and easy way of marketing herself.
Conventional marketing could involve costly advertising in magazines and newspapers, and producing printed posters and flyers – all of which involve time and expense in production and distribution. But actually reaching the target market could still be hit-and-miss. For a small enterprise, that kind of marketing is often prohibitive.
Sarah wanted a website that would be up and running 24/7, easy to find, professional in design and easy to navigate. It needed to be an effective marketing tool to generate new business, without her having to actively go out and find the work.
“I had high expectations of Prominent Media, as I was already aware of their reputation,” says Sarah. “I wanted advice about website design and about the best way of using a website for my particular type of business. I was looking forward to Iain Row [managing director and senior web developer at Prominent Media] being able to provide me with that advice as a fellow small business owner.”
Marketing over the web was uncharted territory for Sarah, and she had some reservations. She was concerned about the potential cost and whether the new website might be difficult to maintain and update. She couldn’t afford to spend a lot of time on it. She was also concerned that it might be technical and complicated to manage, when all she ultimately wanted to do was to sell more.
Iain spent time with Sarah discussing what she wanted before even going onto the computer. That was reassuring. Then he sourced images and templates based on their discussions.
Everything was done while Sarah was in the office, so she could see all the design options and choose what she liked best. Iain offered his opinions too, which helped her feel confident that she was doing the right thing.
“I was very impressed with the finished website. It looked pretty much how I had envisaged it! I hadn’t realised how easy it would be to capture what I wanted – and for it to look so good. I always left my meetings with Prominent Media feeling motivated about my business. I now have a website that looks professional and reflects both my business and myself. It’s exactly what I was trying to achieve.”
As a result of the website, Sarah’s wedding make-up and manicure enquiries have increased. She believes this is because her site ranks first in Google searches and it looks professional when people get there.
“The majority of people getting married use the internet to source the services they need. I couldn’t have achieved the volume of wedding enquiries that I’ve had without the website.”
Sarah has also had some unexpected enquiries from companies asking for her manicure services as part of corporate wellbeing events. Plus, she now runs another regular aerobics class – as a direct result of the website.
“I could see clearly exactly what I was getting for my money. Once enquiries and business started to roll in, I knew the website was paying for itself – and more!”
As an aerobics instructor, Sarah expects her clients to be up and running and working hard, just like Daisiesmk.co.uk. The site now quietly runs the marketing side of Daisies – allowing Sarah to get on with running the rest.
“Until the website was finished, I hadn’t realised just how high my initial expectations had been – but I’m delighted to say they were all met!”
Sarah Layton, Daisies“I could see clearly exactly what I was getting for my money. Once enquiries and business started to roll in, I knew the website was paying for itself – and more!”