Interview on Web Marketing for Local Business
Hi,
It has been a while. We’ve been working on some projects that have been keeping us busy.
Recently a very nice student asked us to do an interview and I wanted to post it here -it is fairly long…
Prelude: We focus on small to medium sized local businesses. That is our niche and expertise. Not necessarily the major/global corporations, so our answers will reflect/focus on the smaller localized businesses. Also, if you have more specific questions regarding the design side of the business, let me know.
Can you give a brief description of your services?
We are an online marketing and design firm that caters to local businesses who want to either develop an online presence or get more out of their existing website. We also offer consulting on the side of graphics, design, and branding. We have taken the global approach of big online marketing firms and target the local areas.
Which businesses typically use online marketing? (Is online marketing for everyone?) Who benefits from it the most?
All businesses and even professionals in areas such as sales, doctors, etc. can benefit from online marketing. The statistics continue to show that more and more people are researching and locating local businesses online versus other avenues such as the yellow pages. Therefore the key is to place your business in front of them in many different avenues – online being one of them. Plus, it can be much less expensive.
How is B2B web marketing different from business to consumer web marketing?
In marketing you need to know your target market.
Consumers shop for things they want and need that will help them in some way either avoid pain or gain pleasure. They look for deals and want to make wise decisions, so the pricing portion comes into play quite a bit. B2B I have found is looking more for a return on investment. If you can show them that they are saving money, saving time, making more money, and improving value, the money part of the equation doesn’t matter as much. So as with any marketing you have to know the hot buttons to push on either side and this can easily be done through proper research.
Does web marketing target all Internet users or is there a way to implement target or niche marketing strategies?
The Internet is wonderful for niche marketing and targeting. Google and other search engines are making that easier with the applications of local search and other great tools to target your market from local painters to hobbyists and more. It’s actually much easier to do research on the web and target a specific niche than to try and make it in a more general area such as real estate (in general) for example.
What is your opinion on exit surveys and pop- up windows? Can they add a negative aspect to the website?
They can be annoying but many experts still use them to this day so the stats must prove effective. All successful direct marketers and Internet marketers will tell you that the money is in the list. Building a solid, quality list of customers to communicate with (in terms of mailings, offerings, feedback, etc.) is where you’ll strike gold. Your site only has a few seconds to impress people and rarely do people buy on the first visit, so it’s important to capture their information somehow in order to build a relationship. If done correctly (through testing and experience), these forms can provide invaluable. Bottom line is the visitor was leaving your site anyway, so why not give it one more shot with a pop up or survey form?
If a business serves several functions, how is that communicated through the website without being overwhelming or unbalanced?
For a larger business this does get challenging and mapping out your strategy/design ahead of time is critical. For smaller businesses this is a bit easier. You do this through proper planning in terms of if you should do one site or multiple sites that interlink perhaps. Your navigation becomes a key factor whether you design a large or small site. You want your home page to be simple and you want to guide the visitor to the destination they’re searching for. Your navigation links will be the hubs for your subtopics and you don’t want to go too deep on a site unless it calls for it. Linking throughout your site is also something of key importance not only for visitors but for search engine optimization. Every site/page has a most wanted response that you’re trying to accomplish and in order to get that you have to be the tour guide for that visitor. So, to sum this up, it will vary based on the goals of the business and website.
How are landing pages designed? What should be included on the landing page and to what depth?
Landing pages are something I’m newer to. They are designed for specific purposes which usually involve obtaining information/leads, offering incentives, or selling something directly either from that page or through the sales funnel. They vary quite extensively, but let’s say I was doing some lead generation for a local limo service. I may set up a simple page with a great headline, some bullet points on finding the right limo service, a graphic or two, and perhaps give away a free report or other type product to capture the person’s information. Once they submit this, they get a quality written report on finding the right limo services and I forward the lead to the limo company who pays me a fee for the lead. This of course is a very high level overview, but it makes the point. They are also great for pay per click advertising and can save a lot of money on that form of advertising as search engines rate your ads on various criteria – your landing page being one of them.
Is there a general limit to how much information is posted in order to keep the prospect’s attention?
No this varies per niche and article. The one thing I advise clients is to post articles and topics on their site. You want to give enough information, but also make it clear that further help may be necessary. For example as a tax accountant you may provide simple advice on topics, however when one reads that they’ll start to understand just how complex the tax code is and may end up contacting the advisor because of their tips and knowledge which shows through the article. The key is not to be boring like an encyclopedia or just put up a brochure type site like so many companies do that provides no value.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of links to related sites?
Links are a huge factor as of right now in search engine optimization among other things. This could always change of course, but the more links you have that are relevant both internally and externally can make a huge difference. Our key is to put together a solid link building program for clients that doesn’t involve black hat techniques that could get you banned from the search engines. There are many factors that go into link building including internal links throughout your site, external links to other sites, and then links from other sites to your site. Keywords are important. Topic is important. The more general your niche/topic, the more links you’ll need to compete with seasoned websites. The end key is to make sure you are providing value for your visitor or all the links in the world won’t matter.
When is adding an e- commerce component beneficial and which businesses tend to do so? Does this feature discourage prospects from going to the physical store location?
I assume you’re relating to things like shopping carts, store features, etc. in order for visitors to shop online. In my opinion, it’s another great way to add value to your customers and you may pick up customers that do not like to go out to shop (i.e. men). You add it when it’s necessary. If you’re retail store sells widgets, then why not put up an e-store immediately? All depends on how your sales process goes and if it makes sense. Adding these features doesn’t have to cost a lot either. Plus, the people who go out to the store, can also research online before doing so making the personal sale even easier b/c now instead of someone just walking into the store they are already warmed up & educated to what you offer. Look around and notice all the store closings. If you can add value by offering consumers another way to shop, it makes a lot of sense. Many stores are moving now from retail brick and mortar to completely online. I like to have both.
Are there varying e- commerce designs for specific products? Is the layout affected by the type of product being sold?
Yes to answer this one shortly. There are many options so to speak. For example, if you are selling an information product a long sales letter style site would make more sense. If you are selling a physical product, a shorter description including both, features and benefits as well as pictures may make more sense. Plus, the tools necessary for each site will be based on the type of products/services you offer. The key is in testing the different layouts and/or researching what works for others. The web is very transparent which makes it both good and bad for developing a process/business model.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to adding a business to an existing web mall such as eBay? Should this be done while also developing a unique website?
Yes. Ebay can nickel and dime you to death which a client of mine is finding out. We started there b/c of lack of capital to build a website, but the goal was to begin building a website quickly. Ebay is a great testing ground and source of traffic for your own website, but the margins can be very thin unless you have a hot selling product with plenty of room to make money. So, utilize places like Ebay, but don’t make it your focus b/c Ebay is in control when you are on there and you want to have control of your site/business model.
What do you feel are the advantages or disadvantages between the older model of selling access to an audience in terms of CPM and affiliate programs and pay- for- performance deals?
If I understand the question correctly, these models have really been around a long time. They’re just updated for technology and so forth. There are so many types of programs out there today for a website business to offer say affiliates to make money that it provides a win-win situation for both parties. The beauty of the web is this can all be done for much less of a cost (if done correctly). The advantages for the company offering these deals is that they can recruit an army of affiliates and offer them the best deal (pay per lead, pay per click, pay per sale) depending on the industry and they don’t pay unless something happens. The disadvantages to an online approach vs. old model, is the lack of relationship building. You’re sales process online has to be really fine tuned and crisp to keep good affiliates around. I hope that answers the question. Maybe I’m misreading it?
How does pay- for- performance help businesses build a closer relationship with prospects?
Depending on the process of doing this (i.e. utilizing landing pages), if a prospect sees your ad and clicks through to your landing page., this allows you to perhaps capture their name and email address which now allows your autoresponder/emails to go to work. You can do so many things when you have them in your sales funnel to build a relationship that can eventually turn into a long term deal for you and them. The challenge to an online business is to build that relationship through your content. With the advent of video and audio that has now become easier. Plus it doesn’t cost much to produce free products to build trust as well.
When should a business pick pay- for- performance over affiliate programs?
In my opinion they should use both. Testing is a big part of marketing so running a parallel campaign would be ideal to see which one outperforms the other. I’m a big fan of affiliate programs but the company has to actively promote it and recruit affiliates which may take some time. Running a pay for performance/pay per click campaign will allow you to quickly test your ads and track what pulls and what doesn’t. Understanding how this game works is ideal before just throwing up an ad (it can get expensive with little results) and split testing should always be used. Writing ads is both an art and a science. With that said, most experts will state that this is the quickest way to generate traffic and should be used when starting online before a lot of other methods.
Is there any way for websites to take advantage of the noon period when purchasing tends to peak?
I must admit I’m not keen to the noon period. I assume you mean lunch hour. However, I do notice with one of my sites weekdays are better than weekends and vice versa for another site. It sort of depends. Take advantage? Hmmm – I’d say with marketing such as pay per click I believe you have the ability to control your campaigns a bit. You can also ensure that for example your Ebay listings start/end around this time.
In your opinion, what are the advantages of web marketing over radio and television marketing?
Cost is probably the big one. Targeting may be another one. You can do a lot with radio/tv marketing, but you want to make sure you’re hitting the right target market/demographics. I have never done radio/ad marketing but have clients who do. It can be very effective. Our goal with the web is to help businesses take advantage of this one medium of advertising to reach an entirely new set of prospects. If you look at many businesses financials you’ll see a large dollar amount in the marketing section. This could be cut by perhaps moving non-performing offline marketing to online. Either way you have to have a plan and follow it for a set period of time. Running one ad on a radio station for one week isn’t going to cut it.
Are there certain strategies or tools used to ensure that prospects do not ignore the messages that are being communicated?
Good copywriting, testing, tracking, and common sense. It doesn’t have to be tricky or like some of the banners you see. Your ads, emails, or other won’t pull 100% of the time.
Which businesses tend to use search engine optimization?
All of them or they should if they are not. If they don’t, then they’re always going to have to spend money on advertising. SEO is a long term strategy to gain free traffic and it’s been shown that people trust a site they click through from free search engine listings than paid ones. Problem is it’s been communicated as being very complex which it can be, but for a simple local business, it really isn’t rocket science. If you’re competing in very competitive niches, then it’s more important to understand some of the ins and outs, but overall it isn’t as fancy as SEO firms will make it out to be.
Is it worth the while for businesses to invest in the search engine positioning? When is it not?
Yes. There may be times when you’re site may never make it high in the ranks, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do link building and pay attention to keyword selection and so forth. It’s almost inevitable that if a web business is marketing properly that search engine positioning is going to be thrown into the mix. At least the companies we work with, it is always a topic of consideration. As stated previously, if you can get ranked well in the search engines and with some planning, this isn’t that difficult, it’s free traffic.
How are online newsletters useful and which businesses use them? Can newsletters ever be an unfavorable part of a website?
Newsletters are a great way to stay in touch with your visitors and they can be done with a small amount of time and maybe a few dollars depending upon which email software you may use. As stated previously, the experts will tell you the money is in the list. It’s a great way to build relationships, offer deals, stay in touch, and show your expertise. Newsletters can be unfavorable if you treat the people’s personal information incorrectly (i.e. selling it), spam them to death with only offers and no good content, and basically do all the things people don’t like. An example: a local lawn care company may build his list for his clients and even folks who do it themselves which bring in a whole new set of prospects. Come spring time they send emails to their list about the new products out there, tips on how to handle their lawn/garden, hiring tips of a lawn care company, etc. This is where you’ll hear marketers jumping from making a couple bucks a month to thousands.
Are there ways to monitor who and how many people read which newsletters?
Most email software programs such as Aweber offer tracking tools. Plus if you do have offers in your emails which you should, the number of conversions will help track this as well. I use a web building tool with built in email service that tracks how many were sent, bounced, and were read. It’s great how technology has allowed us to easily test and track everything.
What is your opinion on email marketing? Is it beneficial or detrimental to a business?
This goes with one of the previous questions. If done right it can be really beneficial. Just follow the standard common sense rules of no spam, make sure you offer high quality information, send deals exclusive to your list, let them know about various events and other industry specific items, and so forth. I’ve deleted lists b/c the marketers only sent offers with no information. I am a huge fan of it and all internet marketers will tell you that you MUST be doing it. It’s near free and easy to implement so why not do it? You can also trade email lists with other business owners and send offers to their list now cross selling which becomes even more exciting. The people on your list trust you so that is huge online.
What is the difference between email marketing and spam?
Nowadays you can either buy a list to email or you can have people opt-in to your list. They can offer their information to you through your sign up forms and they have to now confirm that they are ok with receiving emails from you. Even though they do this you can still spam them by doing nothing but bombarding them with garbage and just sales offers that don’t make sense. Typically though the spam you see is where someone has gotten your email without your permission and is sending you offers that you didn’t want in the first place.
Are there certain software or internet security tools that protect the privacy of mail list members?
Yes there are various ways to do email lists. You can use companies that house the lists and utilize their database/formats to send mail. This is quite popular. You can buy software for your desktop/server. This may be an option if you have a large list. Typically most people only opt in their name, email, and sometimes an address/phone number depending on the list and most programs have strict policies on privacy of information. My thought is if you are truly building a long term business, then take care of your customers.
Are there automated tools that can track of who has received what message and when?
Goes with the above questions. There is one part of any good email marketing software/online site and it’s the autoresponders. They are wonderful tools that allow you to send messages to your list at given times. You could essentially create up to a year’s worth of messages at once and those messages will go out when you want them to over the course of a year. Then yes there are tracking tools/analytics within these programs that allow you to monitor how well your mailings are doing. Very cool stuff.
Are there any laws or requirements regarding web marketing?
The laws are changing constantly on the web especially in the forms of fraud, taxes, and so forth. The FTC just released new guidelines for affiliates in terms of what can and can’t be said to promote a product. Basically, you can’t make up stuff misleading the consumer. I know there’s an ongoing discussing regarding the applicability of sales tax collection through web sales. Then there’s your spam policies, privacy policies, terms and conditions are important, disclaimers, and all other legal matters that any business deals with. Since I am not an attorney, I am not well versed in all these matters, which makes it important to have professionals on your side.
Do you have any characteristic applications or features that you include on the websites you design? Does your marketing group provide services or features different from most other web marketing services?
We are a team of digital designers, graphic designers, and web marketers so we can more than likely compile just about anything. There’s nothing custom (design wise) that we’ve done yet as that gets expensive and most small businesses don’t need all that to be effective. I am not the designer so I would have to pass that question on to them, but our design team has worked on movie websites, fortune 500 companies, and others. I more into being cost effective and getting results and I tell clients that the design is one piece of the equation – usually the only piece that is accounted for and the reason most companies get little to no results.
There aren’t a lot of companies out there (in Dayton) doing specifically web marketing. There are design firms, marketing firms, and businesses like the yellow pages starting to offer these services, but these folks are expensive and don’t exactly offer the full package (nor are they always experts and do what they sell – trust me if they really made money online they wouldn’t be working for these companies making a salary). We put together custom packages for our clients to fit their needs so that they get the most out of their web marketing efforts. We guarantee results and personally I will work on a client until they see that this stuff works. I love doing it and so does my team and we enjoy showing clients a new way to do business!
Follow up Questions:
I had asked about the advantages/ disadvantages of linking to related sites and in your answer you mentioned “black hat techniques” that could ban you from search engines. What are some examples of these techniques? I was not aware that someone could actually be banned from a search engine!
Just a couple examples include getting involved with link building techniques to try and fool the search engines. There have been many that have come and gone. That’s the main one. Going overboard with keyword stuffing, link cloaking, and others. I stay away from that stuff b/c if Google or others catch you they can ban your website from their search.
With social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook becoming more popular, how are businesses responding? Is it recommended to join one in order to stay in the loop and stay updated or does it just depend on the targeted audience? Why do businesses have both a Twitter and a website?
They are great tools to get in front of your audience and update them regularly with new features/events, etc… Just another tool that allows you to reach out to your market. They should be used since so many of your potential market is on either of them and it allows you to continue to build credibility. Plus they provide great linking opportunities back to your website which helps at the search engines.
Recently, I learned about PURL (personalized URLs) and I have received many of these through college mailings. Is there currently a growing push to incorporate PURL or similar personalized options?
Honestly, I have not heard as much since this is a newer application being used. There are some direct marketers who are testing these to see if response rates are better, but I believe software is needed to do this. This hasn’t been a huge topic around the Internet marketing forums I frequent - yet at least.
Along with PURL, are there new technologies, either recently released or upcoming, that will really affect web marketing? How do you see web marketing evolving in the future? Do you think web marketing will ever fade out like print and radio ads?
Print and radio are still used and still big, but the web has definitely stolen a lot of their thunder. It won’t go away, it will just evolve into new technologies. Honestly, there is so much out there in terms of what’s new that I really focus on the basics and try to clear out the clutter of people selling you the latest greatest product. Social networking will continue to evolve and so will the ability to do more on the web i.e. video, audio, and other new features. They continue to create new tools to add to your arsenal. I just try to stay abreast to changes that may affect how to market online or new tools that may benefit what I’m trying to do. The key is to stay up to date and adapt as necessary while still focusing on the fundamentals. Will it fade? I sure hope not.
This should either help show the importance and impact and either make us look like we know what we’re talking about or completely off our rockers!!!
Joe Collinsworth
Collinsworth Group Marketing & Design
http://daytonohiowebmarketing.com
Sitesell Local
We are big fans of Sitesell. We use them among other tools to build and market websites.
They are now offering great tools and tips for Local businesses and they offer tons of tips on how to use the web to become a leader in your local niche.
Click here to learn how Sitesell can propel your business by using the web!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Is Your Website Turning Customers Away
Another post in the web design arena, but for good reason. You can market all you want, but if your design, navigation, and content/sales process is poor, you’ll be wasting time and money on your marketing.
That doesn’t mean your website has to have all the bells and whistles. I’ve seen ugly websites do wonderful in their market for various reasons.
It means that your website has to entice and welcome your visitors to do just what you want them to do - your most wanted response per page.
What do you mean Joe?
Well, I was reading Fortune Small Business which is a good magazine by the way, and they do a feature each month to help transform a business. They bring in a few consultants/experts to analyze what the company is currently doing and how it can improve in various aspects of their operation.
They were recently doing a company in Columbus, Ohio which as you know is just an hour or so away from Dayton, Ohio. The first consultant brought up the company website - I didn’t get to see the website before changes were made.
Her first impression was that it was turning away customers because it was “too slick” or looked too professional. Was it nice looking? Sure, but the owners missed the point. Their site looked too much like a franchise or national company and as many business owners know, sometimes you don’t get the same care and quality (not always) with a large company than if you went with a family runned operation (again, I say not always).
Let me explain what I mean. I spoke previously that we had a plumbing issue. We hired a national chain only for the technician to upsell us for repairs that weren’t necessary because they make more money that way.
Instead we hired a small business who came out and charged us 33% less than the national chain would have for the same repairs. Now they have my business for life! This isn’t the only time this has happened and there are times that we’ve gone with national chains because the small business has lacked in customer service or other areas.
Point - You want your website to appear professional looking, but since your site is an extension of your company and you as a business owner, you want your site to portray the message that you are sending.
In this case it was the message of, we are a small, family operated company who will go above and beyond. They simplified their website and made their potential customers feel welcome and more apt to contacting them for products/services.
Does this apply to every business? In a sense it will, but more so for service businesses than anything.
Just some thoughts for you to consider.
Contact us to ask about our commission based programs or lead generation programs and don’t pay little to nothing upfront to get yourself established online!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Why Aren’t You Using Social Networking
Is your business changing it’s marketing strategy at all? Are you at least trying to utilize the Internet to promote your business and generate leads.
According to a recent Nielsen survey, almost 50% of businesses don’t have an Internet presence and I can guarantee after scouring websites and working with a few clients that if they have a website they aren’t using it to the fullest.
Are you aware that over 80% of all consumers look for merchants online? It is quicker and they can research companies easier than looking at some tiny ad and throwing darts in other mediums. In fact per a recent story, I noted I found a wildlife company in Dayton, OH to take care of my squirrel needs in the attic.
I am sure there are other companies that could have helped, but they didn’t have a website. If I found them on yellow pages online, I always look for a website. Even seniors are using the Internet to find companies or they contact family members who will use the web to help them find a company.
Wake up folks!!! 8 out of 10 people looking for your business aren’t using the Yellow Pages, yet half of all businesses or more are still using this. This is why they continue to print a yellow book - b/c people pay for advertising. Even the yellow pages has an online sales crew that goes around helping businesses with a web presence - they know that is where it’s going.
As we’ve stated before that you can even use social media for FREE and promote your business, connect with your market, update them each time they should know something.
At the very least you need to set up a twitter account for your business, a linkedin account, and a Facebook account for your business. Facebook even offers free pages where you can set up a profile similar to a personal one, but just for your business. Then you can use cheap and free advertising to promote that page, build followers, network, etc…
I have read stories of folks dramatically increasing their business just by using 2 or 3 of these mediums. Plus it gets you more familiar with the Internet and how to use it to market your business.
Quit wasting time. The more you waste, your competitors are jumping online and gaining a foothold on the market.
Contact us for a free consultation so we can make this process easy and simple to follow!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Are You Paying Too Much for Website?
As a consultant both in finance and web work I can’t tell you how many invoices I’ve been seeing where companies are paying an arm and a leg for their web design, web management, web marketing, and other services.
I came to a conclusion: that either there is a huge need for this type of work and finding quality professionals to do the job is tough and/or companies buying these services and products have no clue what they’re paying for.
Unless you need custom work done which is sometimes the case or full time management, lots of space, and other criteria, then these costs shouldn’t be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
In fact for about 80% of the businesses who compete locally especially shouldn’t spend more than a few hundred to a few thousand for selective services. Now this will vary on all levels, but for instance, I saw a company charging thousands of dollars to simply do website updates that weren’t going to be that complicated or time consuming.
In fact I spoke with a therapist who was sold at a seminar on a business package that involved all this for $50,000 for a year. For what he needed this was astronomical. He ended up paying someone $25,000 which was still high, but we’ll see just what this person handles for them.
My point with all this is that you shouldn’t just shy away from the Internet, marketing, or design efforts if someone comes in and quotes you a bundle.
One of my clients was considering paying a few hundred dollars a month for a service they were already paying for - this would’ve been in addition. I did it for much less because it only took a few minutes to implement and automate for them with checks/updates from time to time.
So, when planning your design and marketing strategies, be sure to consider multiple quotes or finding someone who you could even hire on a retainer that would do more quality work and be more available to take care of your needs. It’s these entrepreneurs and contractors who are hungry for your business.
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Ask us how you can take advantage of a Free Consultation and Free Proposal Package!
Happy Holidays and New Year
No post this week folks to take time out and spend it with friends and family. We want to wish you all the same!!
2009 has been a wild ride in a lot of areas especially for businesses.
This is a great time to review 2009’s goals and aspirations and take a look at how to create and design a wonderful 2010 both personally and professionally.
We’ve got some cool stuff in store. We just got done assisting a small business getting online through an approach that makes sense for them and are ready to help more businesses see the value of the Internet.
So, Happy Holidays to you all and we’ll be back soon. Now would be a good time to contact us regarding 2010 planning for your web needs.
Joe Collinsworth
Best Ways to Approach Marketing Online
I was reading through some great information the other day and thought I’d share.
In setting up a web marketing strategy many get lost by the sea of ways to do so. Some just have no clue where to start and sometimes even experts have to get back to the basics.
Below is a great list of ways to promote your website and local business and reasons why…
1. Focus on Google Adwords first. Why? Because it’s instant and you are able to test and track results very quickly.
2. Search Engine Optimization. This takes time. For some not too long, but as you build/strategize your online marketing efforst, you’ll certainly be thinking SEO.
3. Other Pay per click. There are great mediums for advertising that don’t cost a fortune. Those can include Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, and other social networks, as well as local ways aside from the yellow pages.
4. Email Marketing. This is something every business can implement even without a website. Everyone uses email nowadays and you’d be amazed at the results. Some marketers online make millions just from the email lists they control.
5. Affilate marketing. This isn’t for everyone, but if your business is looking to go for a bigger pond such as nationally or global then utilizng affiliates can be huge.
6. Press Releases. PR and exposure are amazing ways to generate buzz for your business. If done right or even half right, PR can be a great way to exponentially grow your company.
7. Direct Mail. Done online and offline direct mail has proven to create amazing results.
8. Print Advertising. When it’s all said and done you should still consider print unless it’s not creating a solid ROI.
Your marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. Just consisent and you must test your marketing to ensure you are getting the results you desire. Every CEO/owner of a company needs to be involved in their marketing.
In Dayton, Ohio you will hear a lot about a Heating and Cooling company who is marketing all over the place. I won’t name names, but they are also a client of the CPA firm I work with.
When all other companies are lowering costs and cutting back, this company knows it must hit it hard with letting folks know who they are and that they are not afraid to spend money on their marketing. Trust me it’s paying off!!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Planning the Design of Your Company Website
Before you ever get your site up and running, you must plan your site design, navigation, and content.
It is critical to the success of your Internet campaign to plan for a website that not only looks good, but works as well. You must plan for your USP and MWR - Unique selling proposition and Most wanted response in each section.
Most business owners don’t have the time to design their own site, so we won’t dive too deep into resources, but there are many great Free design tools out there. Many of which make the process simple.
Experts say that you have about 10 seconds to keep that visitor from clicking away. It is imperative that you tell them what to expect right away.
What most designs offer are just the opposite. They send people away with overwhelming graphics, links here and there confusing the visitor, throw up flash and banners that are annoying, provide poor content, or do nothing but talk about themselves. Visitors want to know one thing - what’s in it for me and how is this company/website going to provide a solution to my problems, wants, and needs?
Other aspects you must envision as you begin to think about building a site include, keyword selection, graphics, images, metatags which are simply descriptions, title tags, and so forth. Also, content is what wins overall! I’ve seen horribly ugly sites provide great, overdelivering content with simple navigation win and make more money for the business owner than all the fanciness one could think of.
These sites are crisp, clean, provide the visitor want they’re looking for, and the website owners gets their most wanted response which could be signing up for their newsletter, contacting the company for an appointment, selling a product, getting a bid request, or other.
One big thing we recommend is to not use free services that lack the appeal and look very unprofessional. There are plenty of free resources, but skimping on a webhost or your site design can be detrimental. On the other hand it shouldn’t cost thousands upon thousands to build your site unless you require very in depth needs, tons of pages, or customized solutions.
On top of the above, your site should include a frequently asked questions page, a privacy statement, policies and terms, an about us page if done right can be very powerful, contact us page, an opt-in offer, and testimonials (not enough businesses use these which is a shame).
Next, you want to consider how to lead your visitors. How will your pages be set up? Are you providing a store? Will your pages lead to sales letter pages? How do you get a most wanted response on your content/article pages? How many level two and three pages will you have? Do you need customized work or a directory solution? Will you create landing pages for your advertising?
Most companies put up what we call a “brochure site” and that is their first flaw. There is so much more they could do with their site in order to generate business.
Once you get these items taken care of, you’ll want to consider your home page. This is the page that you typically build most of your links to and the first page people will see.
Your look and feel is critical. Your headline can make or break your entire page. Don’t forget to have them opt-in to your newsletter or email list. Make sure your navigation is simple and consistent, plus easy to follow.
Here are some things you don’t want to do: Don’t drive visitors away with banners and links. Don’t use too many colors or goofy fonts. Be tasteful with your graphics and images. Using audio, video, or flash can help your site, but incorrect use can hurt it horribly (your words will sell). Slow loading websites hurt your chances. Don’t pull any blackhat techniques - these will be things you’ll want to ask your design team.
Bottom line: There’s a lot to do when planning your company site design. The reason most company’s websites don’t perform is they don’t plan properly.
This is why our company and others offer this service. It’s important to either do it yourself correctly or find a quality team to assist you.
Contact the Collinsworth Group to discuss how we can help with your web design needs.
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Direct Marketing Tactics for Local Business
I am a big fan of Dan Kennedy books and information. The guy flat out knows what he’s talking about and produces results. In one of his books I’m reading he talks in the first couple of chapters about getting rid of branding as a strategy for the small business among other great tips.
Here’s why most businesses don’t succeed with their advertising efforts - they either try to copy each other or copy the big guys which have a different agenda than a smaller company should.
The big boys focus on things such as impressing the board, stockholders, looking good, winning awards, and eventually selling something. A smaller company’s goals is to simply SELL SOMETHING!
Most businesses don’t take the time to set up a winning strategy surrounded by what he calls his results triangle that focuses on message, market, and media. Then taking the time to test, track, and identify what is working and what is not.
The key is to implement a winning strategy that if there are weaknesses in the chain, the plan will not succeed as intended. We recommend either picking up his books of contact us to discuss these strategies.
Your advertising and marketing campaign needs to follow some rules in order to succeed.
Your goal is to solve your target markets problem, to get your message in front of them, so they search you out and the sales and marketing process becomes easy - you gravitate them to you so to speak.
These are the rules we work to follow in our messages and so should you…
You must always have an offer in your message.
You must have a reason to respond now. You want to envision a slug sitting on a couch reading or viewing your message and your goal is to get that slug to take action now.
Your message needs to have clear instruction on what to do.
Test, track, and measure your progress. You need to have a system in place to figure out what you ROI is, what is working, and what isn’t.
Don’t worry about brand building - it’s a by-product of the process.
Follow up is key - every business person or salesman knows this.
Make sure your message and copy is strong.
Focus on results - that’s all that matters.
Study other direct mail/marketing campaigns - copy those instead of your competitors.
Stick with any marketing plan for at least 6 months.
Many companies simply don’t attack their marketing and advertising efforts correctly. They focus on strategies that don’t work as well any longer or they just throw something up on the wall hoping it works.
Be different, unique, and follow these simple rules in order to ensure your dollars aren’t being thrown out the window.
For assistance with any of your marketing campaigns, be sure to Contact the Collinsworth Group today!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Recommended Woodworking Company in Dayton
Recently I worked with this great team at L&M Hardwoods, located north of Dayton, Ohio:
http://stores.ebay.com/LM-Hardwoods
Check out their eBay store as they’re adding new products everyday or just to contact them to discuss a project.
If you ever need custom wordwork, trim, molding, or other then this is the company to contact!
We are completely satisfied with their work and highly recommend them.
Joe Collinsworth