How would you like a brand spanking new website for your construction business?
Perhaps your existing website is out-of-date, badly designed, or just not generating the leads you need – but you simply make do because as everyone knows, new websites don’t come cheap.
Just imagine how much more you could achieve if you had a website that showed all the right information to the right visitors at the right time! (Which is what inbound marketing is all about, by the way.)
If only the price didn’t make that possibility seem so out of reach…
But wait – what if I told you there was a way you COULD afford it?
I’ve helped advise many constrcution companies in exactly the same boat, which is why I want to tell you about an opportunity that’s just too good to miss.
Below, I’m going to tell you about the Digital Scotland Voucher Scheme, and how it could help you get up to 75% off a brand new website.
The Digital Scotland Voucher Scheme
You can thank the hard-working people at Digital Scotland for this scheme, which involves offering those who need it a digital marketing grant of up to £5,000 towards your new website project. Isn’t that lovely?
The best bit is that you could potentially get up to 75% off the cost of a lovely new website, meaning you could potentially develop the website of your dreams with a budget of up to £6,666.
Now, all you have to do is check you’re eligible, and you could be onto a winner!
Are you eligible?
In order to be eligible for the scheme, you must:
- Own a small to medium-sized business currently developing ecommerce activity, online and digital services to help businesses grow,improve productivity, reduce your operating costs and support “an increased presence within international markets.”
- Currently be trading in Scotland
- Be in the high growth sector and be able to demonstrate you can grow your business by £100,000 in revenue over the next three years
- Have been referred by your Business Gateway adviser
According to Digital Scotland:
“The voucher can be used for consultancy advice and implementation support which may include training of staff, or software development and customisation – other costs will be considered on a case-by-case basis.”
If all of the above applies to you, then congratulations! You probably stand a good chance of being successful in your application.
However, it’s also worth bearing in mind that you cannot use this voucher for the following:
- Hardware
- ‘Pay per click’ activity
- In-house staff costs
- Software-as-a-service
- Ongoing business (annual hosting, service, maintenance etc.)
- Brochure websites
- Standard off-the-shelf software
- Any VAT element of the project costs.
How to apply
Below, I’m going to take you through all the steps you need to go through when applying to the Digital Scotland Voucher Scheme.
Step 1. Contact Business Gateway
If you already have an established relationship with a Business Gateway advisor, your first step is to contact them directly and ask for advice.
If you are unfamiliar with Business Gateway, you can easily call their Edinburgh office on: 0131 529 6644 or email bglothian@bgateway.com for further assistance.
Step 2. Demonstrate your potential business growth
Upon contacting a Business Gateway advisor, you may be asked to demonstrate that you can grow your business by £100,000 in revenue over the next three years.
You will need to put together a business plan that includes your predicted growth and how you plan to achieve it, before requesting an expression of interest (EOI) form for the Digital Scotland Voucher.
Step 3. Fill out the form to apply for your digital voucher
Your next step is to carefully fill out your Expression of Interest form. You will be asked to provide information such as your business registration number and company address, as well as brief outlines of your business and your planned project.
Step 4. Be patient
Done all of the above? Now it’s just a case of waiting to find out if your application is approved.
According to Digital Scotland, your voucher (if approved) can be redeemed upon submission of the required information, but only when the project has been completed.
Payment (of up to £5,000) can then be made in just one installment into your business’s bank account.
Conclusion
If your Scottish construction company website is under-performing for whatever reason, it could be time for a change – if only it wasn’t so expensive! However, with the new Digital Scotland Voucher Scheme, you might be able to achieve more than you think, with up to an incredible 75% off a brand new website.
Above, I’ve shared with you the eligibility criteria and the steps you need to complete in order to be in with a chance of having your application approved. Just think; you could be generating more leads and sales in no time!
We wish you the best of luck!