Jun 30 2008
Web Design Market In Malaysia
You know the web design market in Malaysia is NOT an attractive market to enter. Anyone who know a bit about web design software can offer web design service, including many freelancers and part-timers as well. The supply is overwhelmed but the demand is limited.
The competition is so intense. To win the price war, you have to do work for clients at dirt cheap rates. Profit margin is very thin, if there is any. How are you going to pay for designers, or even your own time?
Well, this is the general sentiment. As a web designer, do you not feel this way? But I choose to be a bit more optimistic. Here are my humble opinions.
Internet is here to stay in years to come. More and more businesses are going to use it as their business platform, or as a channel to reach out to their customers and stakeholders. There is a market need for web designers.
The business environment is also changing. So are web technologies. Businesses need to continually update and upgrade their Internet infrastructure to suit their current business needs with the latest suitable technologies. There is a continuous need for web designers.
The web design market is crowded with many web designers who know or care only design or programming. Unfortunately they miss out other aspects of having a web site, such as business strategy, Internet business model and Internet marketing. Now if you can provide these, will you not stand out?
Again, many web designers are just designers and do not know marketing. They think once they put up a web site on the Internet, traffic, enquiries, orders and money will pour in. But it does not work that way. No wonder many clients complain there is no use having a web site. Can you include Internet marketing to offer a more comprehensive service to clients?
The prices are so low that many web designers can’t really give focus and their hearts on any individual project. Why work so hard if all you can earn is RM500? So go for the volume! They just take instruction and do not think and strategize proactively for clients. They just finish the project and go on to the next project. But you can be different.
Many clients expect low prices for their web sites. Perhaps they have been pampered by low price offers from competing web designers. Perhaps they do not know the cost structure behind. You are competing in cut-throat price war in a typical red ocean. Now if you can educate, influence and change the market perception, will you not be a pioneer?
Many clients do not know the potential of the Internet. They do not know they can use their web site to achieve much more than they can imagine. Now if you can be their consultant to educate, influence and change their perception, will you not be a winner?
The heartening fact is that there are many companies who can afford to pay high prices (five-figure or even more) if they can see the value in your proposal. Instead of competing with others in price, why don’t you equip yourself with more skills so that you can offer more value to them? It may be a better strategy to charge high and command authority, rather than to charge low and be cheap.
The traditional business model of a web design firm may not work any more, at least it is not so profitable and sustainable. Can you think of a new business model for your web design business so that you can create a new blue ocean? In fact, I suggest you quit web design market and transform your business into something else that includes web design service.
I may not be right but these are my honest observations. I am not against web designers but I am pro-consumers. They are the ones who pay us money. I just hope web designers can do a much better job in serving them.
What do you think of the web design market? Your comments are welcome. To stay tuned with my other thoughts, do subscribe to my blog to be updated from time to time.
