The old version of this business
SugarLoaf Digital used to sell what most small agencies sell: web design, development and marketing, to anybody who would buy it. The pitch was that we could help you create a remarkable presence online and take your business to the next level.
It was not dishonest, but it was useless. A pitch that applies to a dentist, a fencing contractor and a mortgage broker equally is a pitch that says nothing about any of them. And it produced the predictable result: some clients did very well, some did not, and we could not explain the difference.
What we noticed
The clients who did well were nearly all trades and local service businesses, and the thing that worked for them was always the same. Rank for the searches people make when they have a problem right now, answer the phone, quote quickly. That is it. The logo work, the brand guidelines and the social calendars had no detectable effect on whether the crew had work in March.
The clients who did badly were usually ones where we had sold a package. They were paying a retainer for a spread of activity, most of which was not moving anything, and neither side could point at what was earning its keep.
What changed
Three things. We stopped selling to anyone outside trades, service businesses and a small number of professional firms with similar search behaviour. We stopped selling retainers for undifferentiated marketing activity. And we started building and ranking our own local service websites rather than only ever building them for clients.
That last one is the significant change, because it moved the risk. Under the pay-per-lead model we spend the money to rank an asset and only get paid when it produces an enquiry someone actually wants. If it produces nothing, we absorb that, not the client. The reasoning is set out in full in why rank-and-rent works.
What it means if you are looking at us now
You get a narrower offer. Four services, described on the services page, in a defined set of trades listed on the industries page. If you want brand strategy or a social media manager, we are the wrong call and will say so in the first five minutes.
You also get a clearer commercial arrangement. Either you are renting enquiries from assets we own, or you are paying us to build assets in your name through local SEO. Which one you have is never ambiguous, and the difference is explained on the about page.
The honest caveat
Narrowing the offer did not make us right for everyone, and the lead model in particular fails for a recognisable set of businesses. We have written that list out on when pay-per-lead is the wrong model rather than waiting for people to discover it after three invoices.
If you want to talk it through, contact us or call 0468 062 773.
Frequently asked questions
Do you still build websites and do general marketing?
We still build websites, but only for trade and service businesses and only with lead conversion as the goal. We no longer sell logo design, brand strategy, print, social media management or general development work. If you need those, we will point you at someone who specialises rather than doing them adequately.
What happened to existing clients from the old model?
The ones whose work fitted the narrower offer stayed and most are better off, because the work got sharper. The ones who needed brand or social services were referred on. We did not cancel anyone's arrangement unilaterally or hold anyone to a contract they no longer wanted.
Why is this page still here?
Because this URL has been indexed for a long time and deleting indexed pages throws away whatever trust they have earned. Rather than redirect it somewhere irrelevant, we have written something true on it. That is also the advice we give clients about their own old pages.