Why Local Businesses Say No to Web Design

TL;DR

When local businesses say no to web design and marketing, it’s almost always one of two problems. Either the offer feels too small to be worth the hassle, or it feels too big and too scary to say yes to.

The too small problem. Business owners don’t believe a new website will change much, so even a free one isn’t worth their time.
The too big problem. Paid ads mean ad spend, ad creative, and campaign management, which adds up to $1,500 to $3,000 a month.
Start with organic marketing. Begin around $500 a month on their Google Business Profile, Facebook page, website, and email marketing.
Work them up. Move to $875, $1,250, and $2,000 a month as results come in, and add paid ads once they can afford them.
It works. One client at $875 a month went from nearly out of business to $70,000 in revenue in about three months, without a single paid ad.

If you’re reaching out to local businesses, offering web design and marketing, and they keep telling you no, I bet it’s one of two problems. These are by far the most common. I’ve run my own agency since 2002, so I’ve been selling websites and marketing to local businesses for over 20 years. Here’s what gets in the way, and how to solve both.

Problem One: Your Web Design Offer Is Too Small

The most common problem today, by far, is that the business owner doesn’t see enough value in your offer. You and I look at it and see tons of value. They don’t.

Part of the reason is that most local business owners don’t think their website is what’s holding them back. So when you offer them a new website, they don’t feel like it’s going to give their business a big boost.

Why Business Owners Turn Down a Free Website

You could drop the price to zero and they’d still say no. That sounds crazy. Why would anyone turn down a free website? Because it isn’t really free. The business owner still has to do stuff:

Take time out of their day to talk with you
Read and approve the copy, even if you write it for them
Track down where their domain name and DNS are
Figure out where their current site is hosted

They don’t know all that stuff, and it’s a hassle. So they just tell you no.

It’s frustrating, because it doesn’t feel like a logical decision. It can seem like they’re being stupid. They’re not. It’s just too much effort for not enough value. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze. The fix usually isn’t changing what you offer. It’s changing the lens business owners look through, so they see you in a different light.

Problem Two: Paid Ad Offers Are Too Big

On the other side, you’ve got the too big problem. I just talked to three web designers back to back, and all three had this exact problem. They were offering paid marketing, like running ads on Google or Meta, and clients kept saying no.

From the web designer’s side, that doesn’t make sense. The business has to do some marketing or it’ll go out of business, and the offer is a great deal. But it is expensive for a local business, because when they buy ads, they’re really buying three things.

What Paid Ads Really Cost a Local Business

Showing the ads. You have to pay Google or Meta to put the ads in front of people. A local business needs to spend at least $15 to $20 a day so the campaign gets enough conversions for the algorithms to figure out who to show the ads to. That’s a bare minimum of about $500 a month. In industries like HVAC, health and wellness, or legal, it gets way more expensive.
Creating the ads. Someone has to decide what to say and what the offer is, make the imagery, write the copy, and build a landing page. That’s at least $1,000 just to create it all.
Managing the campaign. Someone has to set up the ad manager, install the pixel tracking code, handle the targeting, and watch which ads perform. You boost the ones doing well and turn off the ones that aren’t. That’s probably another $1,000 a month.

Add it up and you’re looking at a minimum of $1,500 a month, maybe $2,000 to $3,000 depending on the ad spend. Local business owners hear that and think, “Holy smokes, that’s more than a mortgage.” Even if they think it’s a good idea, they’re too afraid to say yes.

Don’t Lead With Paid Ads

The solution is to not go that big. Break your offer into smaller increments. Leave paid ads out of the initial offer and start with organic marketing.

Here’s why I hold onto this so strongly. Say a local business only has $500 a month to spend on marketing. Who should get it? I don’t want them giving it to Google or Meta yet. If they try running their own Facebook ads, they’ll run out of money. They probably don’t know what they’re doing with the targeting or the offer.

And there’s more to it than running ads. You can’t just send ads to a homepage and get clients. You need landing pages, nurturing, and funnels. Business owners don’t know how to build those, and they shouldn’t have to. That’s work for people like you and me.

Why the First $500 Should Go to You

I don’t want a business owner giving that $500 to an ad platform. I want them giving it to you.

If a client pays you $500 a month, you can work on organic marketing that doesn’t need an ad spend. You get the ball rolling and bring some extra revenue through the door. They see it working and think, “This is great. I trust you. Let’s do more.” Then you work them up:

$500 per month
$875 per month
$1,250 per month
$2,000 per month

Once they’re making enough money that a little extra ad spend doesn’t scare them, then you run ads. Not as the first step. A couple of months down the road.

Organic Marketing for Local Businesses Makes a Real Difference

A lot of web designers get stuck here. How could $500 a month possibly make a difference for anybody? It seems too small. The good news is that this is a solved problem.

The overall concept is simple. Start helping the business with non-paid traffic sources:

Their Google Business Profile
Their Facebook page
Their website
Email marketing, including building an email list

You can do all of that without buying ads, and it makes a huge difference.

How One Remodeler Made $70,000 Without Paid Ads

I’ve got a client paying me $875 a month. That’s our second step, after the $500 first step. When she came to us, she thought she was going out of business. She had saved for three years to get her business off the ground and was at the end of her rope. She was already working with a web design guy and a social media person, and getting no results.

Then she started working through our local business marketing program. I like to set an expectation of three months to give myself some wiggle room, even though I can usually get people results in about six weeks. It’s now been about three months, and she has $70,000 of revenue in her account from kitchen and bathroom remodels.

From a Demand Problem to a Supply Problem

I was just on the phone with her. She said, “Hey, Lee, the biggest problem I’ve got right now is I don’t have enough contractors to build out all these kitchens. Do you know any contractors?”

That’s a great problem. She went from a demand side problem to a supply side problem. Demand side problems are the scariest ones, because you’re afraid you’re going out of business. A supply side problem is still a problem. She still worries about building kitchens fast enough. But it’s a much better problem, because revenue is coming in, she knows how to get clients, and the ball is moving in the right direction.

Paid Ads Come Later

We did all of that without running a single paid ad. Now we’re planning ads for January. The idea is something like this: over Thanksgiving and Christmas, were you stuck in the kitchen by yourself while everybody else was having fun? Wouldn’t it be great to open up your kitchen so everybody could be together?

She has the revenue to do it now. If I had pitched those ads when we first met, when she had basically $0 in the bank, she would have said no. It would have been too scary. I would have lost the client, and she would have lost her business. Instead, we made a significant impact in about six weeks. Clients say yes, they get results, and you get results. That’s what makes this work so much fun.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do local businesses say no to web design and marketing?

It’s usually one of two problems. Either the offer is too small, so the business owner doesn’t see enough value to bother, or it’s too big, like a paid ads package that costs thousands a month. Help them see the value, and start with smaller organic marketing offers instead of leading with paid ads.

Why don’t small business owners want a new website, even for free?

A free website still isn’t free for the business owner. They have to make time to talk with you, approve the copy, and track down their domain, DNS, and hosting. Most don’t think their website is what’s holding them back, so all that hassle doesn’t feel worth it. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

How much does it cost a local business to run Google or Facebook ads?

There are three costs. Ad spend needs at least $15 to $20 a day, about $500 a month, so the algorithms can optimize. Creating the ads, copy, and landing page is at least $1,000. Managing the campaign is probably another $1,000 a month. That’s a minimum of $1,500 a month, often $2,000 to $3,000.

Should web designers offer paid ads to local business clients?

Not as the first offer. Paid ads cost too much for most local businesses to say yes up front. Start with organic marketing that needs no ad spend, get them results, and work them up to bigger monthly packages. Once they’re making enough money that ad spend doesn’t scare them, add paid ads.

What marketing can you do for a local business without paid ads?

Focus on non-paid traffic sources: their Google Business Profile, their Facebook page, their website, and email marketing, including building an email list. All of it works without an ad budget. One of my clients went from nearly out of business to $70,000 in revenue in about three months this way.

How much should you charge a local business for monthly marketing?

I start at $500 per month for organic marketing. As results come in and the business owner trusts you, work them up to $875, then $1,250, then $2,000 per month. Paid ads come later, once they’re making enough that a little extra ad spend doesn’t feel scary.