Lessons from newspapers still apply in the Digital Age

In 1997 we bought a newspaper in Maleny. Cameron is a professional journalist (so it was the perfect fit), and Tanya has a background in Behavioural Science. And Maleny seemed like a pretty great place to raise our young family. We spent 10 years immersing ourselves in the community, writing stories about businesses ... photographing people, designing pages, selling ads and raising our kids. Those years cultivated a love of, and deep respect for small business. We had a real sense that as small business people, we were “all in it together”, and the experience quickly honed our marketing skills. Telling small business stories was our speciality, and as our client’s businesses thrived, so did ours.

After being bought out by The Sunshine Coast Daily in 2006, our passion for marketing needed a new vehicle. And that is when we first dipped our toes into the world of digital marketing. Prior to leaving The Range News, we had engaged a developer to build our first ever business website. It was clunky, cost a fortune, and was quite possibly the most cringeworthy website you have ever seen. It was obvious that the world wide web was the brave new world for business people, and our interest in online marketing was sparked. We joined a New York-based marketing company selling top tier affiliate products in 2008, where we had the opportunity to learn digital strategies from some of the most successful online marketers in the world. 

Our business was 100% online, and in a company with a global membership of 40,000 people, we were in the top 15 for sales.

We learned how to build websites that can capture leads and build a list of people who are highly likely (at some stage in the buying cycle), to buy from you. It was very exciting. We were getting up to 60 qualified leads a day from our Google Adwords campaign. Central to this success, was customising our website (no ‘me too’ stuff), firmly incorporating our “story” into our marketing, and using case studies and social proof to demonstrate to our prospects how we could help them.

This experience triggered a recognition that we have since found to be common to small business people everywhere. And that is, that with the availability of new technology and opportunities to market your business on the internet, comes a great deal of insecurity and confusion about how to do it so that you get more sales.

So we started CustomerGetters. Initially we focussed on web design, but we quickly realised that nearly everyone needs help with their content as well ... messaging, copy writing and photography — something we knew how to do, since it was our livelihood at The Range News. Business owners either had no time, or were not sure what to say (or both!), when it came to sending us their words and pictures. It is extremely common, because most business owners don’t see the wood for the trees. Often, their assumptions about why people like to do business with them are way off base. They are frequently surprised when we interview their customers and feed back to them why they are considered to be special.

That led us to put copywriting, imagery & web design into a single skillset aimed at getting visitors on a site to become customers.

Let’s face it, it’s a jungle out there on the web. So much competition, all screaming for attention. Using our proven frameworks, we can help you clarify your brand story (just a head’s up, people don’t care about your logo, but they are genetically hardwired to engage with your story), get your message down in a way that is clear and simple (a caveman should be able to understand it in three seconds or less!), and then broadcast it in the places your ideal prospects are likely to be looking for you.

To cap it all off, we found a website creation platform that has simplified the design process. SquareSpace gives you everything you need and nothing you don't. It is drag-and-drop simple so there is no need for us, or our clients, to get bogged down in coding complexity. 

So that's how we got to be where we are today, and we've never looked back.
Your next step? If your business has a story to tell, it deserves a great website. Trust us to paint a picture of your business in the best possible light. Call Tanya on 0400 069 711 or send us an email.