What am I paying for?
Have you ever been asked this question? Whether you run a small business, work in management at a corporation, or work in leadership at a non-profit or association, you have probaby had a customer or a member ask: "what am I paying for?"
For a business, the key is to explain why your services are worth the fees you charge. For an association, it sometimes comes in the form of convincing your members that the fees they pay are well worth it when compared to the benefits they get.
SpinWeb is no exception. We sometimes get well-meaning requests that ask this very question. After we launch a new website, we charge monthly service fees that cover a number of services. Here is a more detailed explanation of what those things are.
1. CMS software licensing. Part of the monthly fees we charge go toward the ongoing licensing costs of the Content Management System (CMS) that we use. A good CMS should be easy-to-use, reliable, and support a wide range of website functions. It's not easy to find this combination of features in a CMS, which is why we use Accrisoft Freedom. It is supported by a full-time team of software developers who are dedicated to improving it every day. These developers must be (and deserve to be) paid and it's a worthy investment for an organization that requires reliable website management tools and professional support.
2. Support and training. If you ask 100 people what their primary complaint is with their technology partners, I would bet that 99 of them would say "lack of support." Not only is support important, but training is critical to helping our clients use their websites effectively. Part of the fees we charge go toward hiring great people and implementing great systems that ensure that our clients get fast, competent, and reliable support and training.
3. Website hosting. A common misconception about our services is that we are just "hosting" our clients' websites. As you can see from points #1 and #2 above, this is not the case. However, hosting is a small part of the fees. We run our websites on fast, reliable, secure servers from Verio, which ensures maximum uptime and security for our websites.
Hopefully this helps illustrate what our monthly fees cover and what the benefits are. Typically, both our corporate and non-profit clients find that the right combination of CMS, support, and hosting is critical to managing a website and running the organization smoothly, as well.
How do you communicate the value of your services to your constituents? Comments are welcome below!
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"We finally found someone who took our business as seriously as we do. Thank you, SpinWeb!"- June Kramer, Midwest Metal Fabrication and Custom Rolling
"Since we have launched our newly designed website, we have been receiving more feedback from clients, potential clients and community members. Thanks again Spinweb for all of your great ideas, hard work and wonderful partnership!"- Courtney Anderson, Fishers Pediatric Dentistry
"I cannot thank you enough for the quick turn around time in getting back to me when I have a question or concern. That service is invaluable to me - along with so many other services you provide."- Amy Kitchen, Johnson County Public Library
"Thank you for the great experience with the Silver Companies website development. Your team was efficient, helpful, and a pleasure to work with. I will definitely pass your company on to prospective businesses in need of website development/work."- Justin Steill, Silver Companies
""There is no company out there like SpinWeb. I'm loving the blueprint process with them and so excited about the new site. Great people.""- Sara Romanowski, Muncie Public Library (view original tweet)
"All of you have done a tremendous job on the design/layout of the site... I can't even imagine using any other team for this project... you guys knocked it out of the park!"- Chris Dellen, MBA, Communications Products, Inc.
"The SpinWeb Team has performed at an exceptional level and I continue to boast of our success is due to the creativity of SpinWeb."- Fred Nichols, Astbury Environmental Engineering
"I have worked on several web and digital projects in my career, and this one was one of the best."- Jeffrey W. Owen, Full-Fill Industries
"SpinWeb is the essence of talent and professionalism."- Megan Hoover, Hillcroft Services
"We had a customer come in today for an estimate. Her comment to me was… 'Wow, whoever designed your website did an outstanding job!' She then told me that was a deciding factor on where to get her car repaired."- Ted McClintic, Church Brothers Collision Repair
"FYI, Chris Antoine from SpinWeb is pretty awesome."- Allissa Haines, AMTA-Massachusetts Chapter (view original tweet)
"Thank you so much for our new website! Your team has been incredible and very impressive to work with. You answer questions quickly and your team of experts solves problems or issues in a way that I have never experienced before. I have been part of another company that launched a new website, and it was such a headache, but this process has been seamless with you!"- Rachel Kimmell, WestPoint Financial Group
"I'm glad I had the foresight to choose SpinWeb. I say that because I'm older and consider myself a dinosaur with this new technology. With the help of SpinWeb, I now have a better way to market myself. I'm more effective at attracting new patients and I'm able to educate people via our website."- Stephen J. Gant, DDS, Yorktown Family Dentistry
"On behalf of the AMTA-WI Chapter Board of Directors I would like to thank you for a most informative and entertaining presentation. I learned much more than I expected and your presentation far exceeded my expectations. It is my hope we can have you back another time once we get things rolling."- Kay Peterson, AMTA-WI Chapter
"Since we have launched our newly designed website, we have been receiving more feedback from clients, potential clients and community members. Thanks again Spinweb for all of your great ideas, hard work and wonderful partnership!"- Brittani Richards, Horizon Convention Center
"Nap Gladu contacted SpinWeb seeking help in updating our existing website. Our website was very stale and did not reflect the image that we wanted for our company. We met with SpinWeb, laid out a plan and SpinWeb took it from there. We now have a website that is the most impressive in our industry with the image that our company wants. We have the ability to update our site on demand and have the tools to track the visitors to our site. The team at SpinWeb was great to work with...very professional!"- Holly Mundy, Nap Gladu
"SpinWeb makes my job SO EASY! Love them!"- Teresa Russel, Church Brothers Collision Repair
"Superb design plus great processes give SpinWeb the ability to deliver websites on time and on budget. These guys are great, highly recommended!"- Mark Zeitler, Accrisoft Corporation
"SpinWeb simply makes managing your own website easy. Not only is the management software user-friendly, but it provides real time access to data which is vital to our sports business. We’ve been able to increase our sales, further strengthen the image of our brand, and grow other online resources through the website created by SpinWeb. SpinWeb provides a simple and affordable option to website development and management. With user-friendly software, real time access, archive libraries, and immediate execution, SpinWeb has provided us with a key component to our sport business that generates revenue."- Justin Hart, Indiana Ice
"SpinWeb support ninjas strike again! Ridiculously amazing customer and technical support. Seriously. Thanks!"- Amanda Cook, CHPA (view original tweet)
"Since redesigning our web presence with SpinWeb, we have noticed an increase in our online contributions."- Jean Crosby, The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County