I have asked this question hundreds of times to potential clients (and probably also the man next to me on the train, my brother in law, neighbour etc!) and I am nearly always surprised by the answer. In many cases a lot of people are simply unable to answer this question. I get answers like “anyone who wants a hair cut” or “anyone who goes to the website”. This makes my job really difficult.
Let’s just take the hairdresser.
- Do they do mostly blue rinses?
- Are most of their customers under 30?
- Are they mostly of the over 30?
- Are they located in the middle of the town center and get a lot of passing custom?
- Do they have a no booking policy and cheap prices?
- Are they children friendly?
- How are they priced?
- Are they located close to local businesses and get a lot of lunch time custom?
- Are they very modern in their approach to hairdressing?
- Do they provide any extra services- de stressing for hair (it’s been a while since I went!)
And that is just a very quick list that I have put together in a few minutes. If I was, in actual fact, a hair dresser I would know my target market and understand the type of customer my brand is currently appealing to.
So what is our target market? Well, erm, anyone who wants a website! No, that would be cheating. My answer would have to be any small to medium sized business wanting a professional website with good performance and needing that little bit extra. We target ourselves at start up businesses because we believe that we are competitively priced and well equipped to help when your business really starts to grow. We don’t just do websites, we build complex web applications when you start to need them.
Without understanding your target, your business is kind of just happening. It would be difficult to undertake any useful marketing campaigns (including building a website), without understanding your audience. At the end of the day, we are not designing a website for you, it is for your potential customers.
So who is your target market?
running a business | 2.08.2008 19:37 | No Comments
One of the most frustrating elements of a web designer’s job is the issue of naughty (non-compliant) browsers. Different browsers respond in different ways to the same code that defines your web page design and layout (CSS file). This is due to the browser’s broken implementation or misinterpretation of the W3C (the organisation that standardises the various web technologies) specifications.
Internet Explorer is the biggest culprit here, whereas other the browsers are pretty much getting it right. If a page doesn’t look right in Firefox or Opera, but looks perfect in Internet Explorer, we can be confident that your CSS is incorrect and that Internet Explorer is misbehaving. It can be tempting to believe that most of your website viewers are using Internet Explorer and only a small percentage are viewing a broken page and go and make yourself a cuppa!
Well, think again!
Amazingly, Firefox represents a whopping 41% of the browser share.
According to w3schools.org, IE7 represents 27% of all browsers and IE6 26%. Interestingly it was only in June this year when IE7 finally overtook IE6. This surprised me, as I really did not expect IE6 to still be so prevalent (IE6 was released in 2001, with the last major revision in 2004.)
And the situation is going to get even more complicated for us poor designers. With the recent release of Firefox 3, the upcoming IE8 and the gradual introduction of CSS3 features, cross-browser compatibility will be more important than ever.
So if you need a website designed and built, do remember to test, test, TEST!
website design | 1.08.2008 22:17 | No Comments
Call me naive but I only heard about this term last week. I was talking to a client who mentioned that they wanted to add an element of FUD to their website copy. The idea of FUD is to try to convert your leads by making the option of not choosing to work with you look like a bad choice.
Wikipedia says
“Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) is a “tactic” of rhetoric used in sales, marketing, public relations[1][2], and illiberal democracies. FUD is generally a strategic attempt to influence public perception by disseminating negative (and vague) information. An individual firm, for example, might use FUD to invite unfavorable opinions and speculation about a competitor’s product; to increase the general estimation of switching costs among current customers; or to maintain leverage over a current business partner who could potentially become a rival.”
At first glance I felt that this practice sounded unpleasant and not a tactic that I would want my own business to employ. I feel that we should trade on our strengths and that promoting the positives is always going to be a more professional and personable approach to selling.
And then I started to think if I had ever unwittingly used FUD during a previous sale. And the answer was yes, I probably had. Sometimes when I am talking to a potential client they might ask me why they should use our services instead of going down the DIY route. My standard reply usually highlights the risks of the DIY approach (not looking professional, not performing well in google, not compliant, not well coded, the amount of time it will take…I could go on!) which does almost sound like FUD, doesn’t it? But the difference of course is that the customer had asked me for the pros and cons. We don’t have a page on our website saying “Build your own website at your peril” !
So what do you think of FUD?
marketing | 1.08.2008 11:22 | No Comments
I don’t mean to boast, but we have just had a record month. We have closed more sales this month than any other month ever. I had braced myself for a quiet period, I thought that the summer holidays would mean less decision makers available to sign off contracts. Also with the current climate I know businesses are trying to cut back.
We spent June working hard with our existing clients, making sure they were happy, promoted a number of special offers and ensured that we contacted every new lead by phone as soon as it was received. Nobody enjoys cold calling and not only is it not very effective, I don’t think it does much for your business reputation either. Instead, we called our existing clients and asked them what more we could do for them.
Cutting back at this moment in time is probably the worst thing that you can do. When budgets are tight you have to be smart to remain ahead of your competitors. Cutting money on spending by swapping services providers and reducing unsteady overheads is smart. Reducing your marketing budget and time spent on promotion/networking is not.
If we imagine that each business still has the same number of competitors as it did 6 months ago then you still have to make your company stand out. If other companies are cutting back on their spending then you stand a real chance of standing out on the same budget as before. In fact relatively speaking your money would be working harder for you.
So how are you promoting your business? Drop me a line - I would love to hear from you.
marketing, running a business | 31.07.2008 14:21 | No Comments
Just to confirm, I’ve not lost my marbles. But after reading a great book by Seth Godin, called permission marketing, you can’t help but agree with him.
Working with fewer customers, and increasing your ‘share of wallet’ is much better, for both parties, than fighting to attract hordes of new customers.
Don’t Interrupt.
Traditional marketing tells you to fight for as much market share as possible. You want everyone to buy from you. To make this happen, you need to shout your message to the masses. ‘Traditional marketing’ works by interruption, interrupting as many people as possible.
TV ads, newspaper ads, website banners, all try and interrupt you and persuade you to take action.
For decades, traditional marketing worked because we all had lots of time, and only a few places to go for information. As you know, today we are overwhelmed with information and severely short on time.
Did you know every day you are subjected to about three thousand marketing messages. And it’s getting worse. To combat the competition for your attention, traditional marketers are trying to interrupt you even more (people selling advertising space on their foreheads springs to mind).
And that’s why you should take permission marketing very seriously.
Anticipated. Personal. Relevant.
As Seth describes, permission marketing turns strangers into friends, friends into customers, and customers into loyal customers; loyal customers who are willing to give you a larger share of their attention, and their wallets.
Through anticipated, personal and relevant marketing, over time you sell more to your existing customers. You are marketing to fewer people but they are more profitable.
Permission marketing works because it cuts through the clutter.
7 Simple Steps To Turn Prospects Into Customers.
With permission marketing, you’re not selling a product or service. You are building a permission asset. An asset you can leverage to sell to people who want and expect to hear from you. Here’s how a typical permission marketing plan would work.
Picture the scene. You own an exclusive health spa, and you’re in need of some new members…
- Use a targeted and relevant direct mailer to offer local business owners a free DVD showing off your spa and its facilities. All you ask for is in return is an email address submitted via your website. (Yes, this is interruption – but not to sell. You’re offering free information and a much higher response rate will follow).
- An automated email thanks the prospect for their interest. The email directs the prospect to a webpage asking for a preferred mailing address and permission to send the DVD.
- The next day, the prospect receives your DVD, a DVD filled with wonderful footage of your spa, and lots of testimonials from other well known local business owners. The DVD offers a five day free pass. All your prospect has to do is call you.
- You speak with the prospect and arrange a suitable time for their first visit.
- An automated email reminds your prospect two days before their visit. The email includes a voucher for a complimentary drink/coffee at the bar on their first visit.
- While the prospect is enjoying their drink, your sales/membership team sell the benefits of a full membership.
- Once your prospect becomes a customer, regular emails containing work-out tips and nutritional advice turn them into a loyal customer.
Each stage is anticipated, personal and relevant. More importantly, each stage is only ever asking for permission to move onto the next stage.
Now, when you have an additional service or a new product to sell, your message will be much, much more effective. Why? Because your customer has given you permission to tell them about it.
Why Hasn’t Permission Marketing Already Taken The World By Storm?
The main reason is cost. Until now, sending a prospect a series of letters with glossy brochures and incentives was expensive. Today’s email and web-based technology allows you to do the same with virtually no cost. The internet is the greatest direct marketing tool every invented.
Timing is another important factor. Technology can now react instantly to every one of your customers’ specific actions. Trying to do the same, the good old fashioned way would be impossible.
Another reason is companies are scared to do it. After all, buying that ad in the Yellow pages works, right? And all your new product needs to succeed is a 10 second TV advert during Coronation Street. If only.
If a traditional direct marketing letter gets a 2% response rate, it’s considered a success. Is being ignored by 98 of every 100 people a success?
Concentrating on share of attention or share of wallet goes against the traditional thinking of most companies, even though traditional methods are becoming less effective.
A more effective way to increase your profits is to sell more to your existing customers. And you can only do this with their permission.
Do you want to start using permission marketing? Ask me questions, I’ll help you get started. Are you already using permission marketing?
running a business | 27.07.2008 22:16 | No Comments
I know, I know, we do seem to think of search engines as “google” but there are others out there and your website should be optimised to be found on all of them - giving higher focus to those used the most. Sadly they don’t all read websites in the same way. They don’t rank websites in the same way. They don’t list websites in the same way. And they make our lives (the web designer) generally - just that bit more difficult!
Here they are
Google www.google.com
Yahoo www.yahoo.co.uk
MSN www.msn.co.uk
Ask www.ask.co.uk
AOL www.aol.co.uk
Lycos www.lycos.co.uk
Netscape www.netscape.co.uk
Alexa www.alexa.co.uk
All the Web www.alltheweb.com
Altavista uk.altavista.com
And I am going to sneak one last one in too www.everyclick.com . Every Click donates money to charity when you use it!
Take a look and see how your website ranks. If you think you need help to get higher - then please do contact us.
SEO, website development | 23.07.2008 20:58 | No Comments
So you have a nice shiny new website, it has just gone live and now you can sit back and relax and just wait for that phone to ring. Right?
Wrong. That would be a bit like building a shop in the middle of nowhere, no sign posts, no directions and worst of all no road. People simply would not find your shop and you could not rely on passing custom either.
To get people to find your website you need to make sure that the website has been built correctly. The code needs to be valid, semantic and ideally updated frequently. Your web developer might have done these things for you – but if you are not sure then get in contact with us and we can give you a free review.
Even the most perfectly built and designed website needs some work to get people visiting.
10 Free Ways To Promote Your Website
- Add a blog to your website. We are offering free blog setups for all our existing and new customers. This is for basic installation and setup only.
- Add Google Analytics to your website. It will help you work out how people are finding your website and how they use your website.
- If you have a content management system that allows you to update your keywords and text, then invest some time in updating your copy and check that the keywords you are using are in the copy somewhere.
- Make sure that you are in all the local listings, yellow pages, yell.com etc. You can usually get free listings but if you wanted a link to the website would probably have to pay a bit more.
- Make sure the website address is on all your printed information.
- Add the website link to the bottom of your email signature.
- Online networking, join some online networks like www.linkedin.com or www.ecademy.com
- Get networking – the old fashioned way. Face to face. Look out for local networking clubs
- Business Link – offer a free service to small/medium sized businesses. Part of the service includes a service recommendation scheme. For example if you went to them to start a business they might decide that you need help with your website and might recommend www.bwebsites.co.uk
- Get your website linked from other websites. Think about other business where your business might add value to their website. A wedding organiser might like to offer a page of links to companies providing other wedding related services for example. All you need to do is ring and ask if they would add your website link on the website and if you could do vice versa.
I would expect for any business that marketing would be a continuous and on going effort. But actively promoting your website does not need to cost the earth. If you would like some more tips or are interested in our help to promote your website then just give us a call. 0845 625 5075
SEO, running a business | 19.07.2008 14:14 | 1 Comment
“In one day Samson killed one thousand Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass. Each day ten thousand sales are killed with the very same weapon.”
I’m sure you agree that’s a pretty clever quote. Here’s another quote…
“We have a vertically integrated solution. We’re able to reach a large number of potential key decision-makers in your target markets”.
Not so clever.
But the amazing thing here is the second is an actual transcript of a young, eager, cold-caller trying to persuade me to buy a mailing list. Speaking like that is never going to persuade me to do anything.
How Can This Improve Your Web Content?
If your website is speaking to your customers using the same language as a bad cold-caller, it’s going to get the same bad result.
Here are three tips to improve your web content (and if you have a call centre, your sales calls).
Speak to people like people.
Do you know what a ‘vertically integrated solution’ is? I’m not really sure I do. Your website should use simple language. Make it easy to read. Use short sentences. Long unbroken paragraphs filled with confusing corporate jargon are scary.
Talk about benefits not features.
Using the mailing list example; instead of saying, “reach a large number of potential key-decision makers”. Try, “I can help you sell more products by giving you the contact details of 500 people who buy your product on a regular basis”.
Keep it relevant.
The cold caller knew my name and what business I’m in. So why say, “Your target markets”. You know your customers and what they are interested in. Your website should talk about this specifically. If you sell flowers and your customers buy flowers, your website should be talking about flowers!
Using the tips above, here’s what the call should have sounded like…
“I can help you find more small business owners looking to build a website in the next couple of months. We’ve got a list of 500 names. And because we personally keep our lists up to date, you won’t be wasting your time on people who don’t want to hear from you.”
So What Does Your Website Sound like?
Are you talking to your customers in the right way? Is your website helping you to find more customers? Or is it a good looking but bad cold-caller?
We can help you find out. Contact us and ask for a free content critique.
We’ll show you how to improve your website’s content for better online results. And of course, there is no cost for the initial critique. You can book your website content critique by clicking here.
Or call me on 0845 625 0175
copywriting, marketing | 11.07.2008 17:33 | No Comments
You might be surprised to hear, most business make three glaring mistakes when creating web content.
If over-looked, these errors will do your business serious harm.
Ignoring your customers.
Does your website talk about features or benefits? Your customers don’t care about the number of buttons on your product. Your customers care how pushing those buttons makes them happier.
Make your content impossible to read.
Huge paragraphs, bloated text and poor grammar: You might have the best story in the world, but if it’s hard to read, no-one will bother.
Leave your customers confused.
You never want your customers to think, “What am I meant to do now?” Your website should give clear, concise and compelling directions at all times.
Put Things Right With A Free Copywriting Evaluation.
No tricks. No obligations. Send us your content and we’ll tell you how to improve your website’s content. Just send us a link to your website or your content in a word document for a free review.
website design, website development | 8.07.2008 21:08 | Comments Off
One of the most important tools for business is the telephone. For me, personally, I always prefer to communicate via email. However my customers might not share this preference.
As you already probably know, we do not operate from an office, the team is spread over the south of the country and we work remotely from home around our family commitments. This, along with the usual attendance of meetings etc, means that it is not always possible to contact me directly via my personal phone
The Answer - Use a Telephone Answering Service
We use the Ultimate Office to answer all our calls. They will ensure that our clients never have to face a answer message. The ultimate office will answer the calls and if possible connect them directly to us, if we are unavailable then a message is taken and the emailed to me to respond to when I am available
How Efficient is That?
If you are interested in using the Ultimate Office, then give them a call and don’t forget to tell them where you heard of them
running a business | 3.07.2008 16:59 | No Comments
