Digital marketing agency suggests businesses rethink 2021

By Connor Dziawura

The business world is changing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cave Creek website design and digital marketing agency BPetersonDesign is recommending business owners adapt to the times with a new strategy for 2021.

Husband-and-wife team Ben and Janae Peterson, the company’s president and vice president, respectively, have observed the growing shift toward online marketing, purchasing and virtual meetings throughout 2020, with website usage increasing.

But while the rollout of several COVID-19 vaccines has begun for some demographics, Ben is quick to suggest that things aren’t about to return to business as usual.

“Honestly, whenever COVID blows over or whatever’s going to happen with all of this mess, the industry is not going to go back. It’s changed forever,” Ben explains. “There’s going to be a whole lot more online presence, there’s going to be a whole lot more working from home and remote work — I mean, that’s not going anywhere even once the ‘scare,’ if you will, goes away.”

People who weren’t previously shopping online are now relying more on the internet, and they’re now realizing the benefits that come with it, he says.

“Now there’s not going to be a negative side to jumping into the e-commerce world,” Ben adds, noting that the gap between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar, mom-and-pop shops is closing. “Whether it’s a pandemic or not, you’re always going to see a benefit from it and you’re always going to gain more traction because of it.”

That’s where BPetersonDesign comes in. The company was founded in 2008 in Montrose, Colorado, by the Petersons, who had a background in online costume retail. Services offered include website design, social ad management, pay-per-click management, digital marketing and graphic design.

While BPetersonDesign consults with businesses nationwide, Ben and Janae expanded to Cave Creek in November 2019, after success handling the marketing and website of an Anthem company operated by Janae’s sister attracted the interest of other local businesses.

Because it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, the company custom-tailors clients’ plans for them — based on things like short- and long-term goals as well as budget. But the clients have to be invested in the process.

“(In this industry) we can have all the hopes and dreams in the world for their company, but if they’re not wanting it themselves, whether wanting it at all or whether they’re wanting it strong enough to put in the work, it’s not going to happen,” Ben emphasizes. “So it has to originate from them and their excitement, and we help them build what they’re wanting as opposed to building what we think they should want.”

BPetersonDesign goes for transparency — and aims to build lifetime relationships. The idea, Ben says, is to keep clients in the know on results and monitor if strategy modifications are needed. A lack of attentiveness is a common downfall, he notes, citing small businesses that set up a website without ever changing or monitoring it.

“They just assume because they have a website that it’s helping them. They don’t go over analytics. They don’t know what it means. They don’t even know how to translate them,” he explains. “So that’s where we come in, that’s our forte, that’s our expertise, and that should be our job. We essentially become a team member for you, helping you with the digital world, explaining what it really means, what it’s doing, how we can change, how we can react, and essentially how it translates into dollars in your pocket.”

Noting that Cave Creek is big on supporting local business, Janae says BPetersonDesign is looking to consult with those that still need help.

“We want to make sure that they get into a package that they are 100% comfortable with, because not everybody works the same way; not everyone’s comfortable doing something. So, we want to make sure that whatever they get from us, they’re comfortable with, they’re happy with it, but we’re not going to throw them into something that’s really scary and intimidating,” Janae says, noting that BPetersonDesign specifically targets small businesses, so it isn’t the most expensive company of its kind.

“We don’t rope somebody into a marketing package for a year, even though it would behoove them to stay consistent,” Ben adds, saying packages are monthly. “Every business ebbs and flows. There’s always budget changes and marketing needs to change every single month.”

That way, businesses aren’t stuck if their business is suffering — especially at a time like a pandemic, Janae says. “We genuinely want to help these small businesses,” she emphasizes.

“We succeed when they succeed,” Ben chimes in, adding that the company doesn’t want to overstretch clients’ budgets and doesn’t profit off one-time sales. “Where we actually make money is building the relationship and growing with that client and then becoming a larger client as their business succeeds more. So that’s all we’ re interested in.” 

BPetersonDesign

7100 E. Cave Creek Road, Suite 109, Cave Creek

623-232-8056, bpetersondesign.com