Before you do anything on Linkedin or use any of its functions, clarify your “Why!” Why are you doing Linkedin? What do you want to accomplish on this social networking program? How will the Linkedin program fit with your other small business marketing efforts?
If you are clear about your “Why” or your purpose for using Linkedin, you can leverage your time and communications. What is your “Why”? Here is how others are using Linkedin. You may want to use some of these reasons or add your own.
• Using for job searching
• Building and enhancing your career
• Adding to your expertise status
• Generating leads for your business
• Keeping informed about your industry and competitors
• Finding business resources to solve your business problems
• Improving your internet presence for Google searches
• Fostering your brand recognition
• Increasing visibility for you and your business
• Selling your products and services
• Finding affiliates and joint venture partners
• Increasing the number of business relationships
• Finding additional talent for your business
• Developing social relationships
• Identifying other personal or business goals
You can have more than one “Why” or reasons for using Linkedin. However, the more clear about a central purpose for using Linkedin, the easier it will be use this program effectively without wasting large chunks of time.
I suggest you print out this list of reasons and come up with a set of reasons that fit your situation. We will begin to use this in the next blog entry where we create a Linkedin plan of action.
I get asked, “Is this social media stuff just another internet fad?Aren’t Face Book and My Space and You Tube just things kids do?” Let me answer these questions by describing what is meant by social media and offering three reasons why social media is no fad!
What is Social Media?
Wikipedia, itself an interactive on line encyclopedia, describes social network and social media as primarily Internet and mobile based tools for sharing and discussing information.It involves building online communities of people who have shared interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interest and activities of others.These terms integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction using words, pictures, videos and audio.They reflect the changing trends in the use of the World Wide Web technology and web design with the aim to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web.
Why the Shift to Social Media?
I find three reasons for the popularity of social media and social networking.
First, because we can do it! Technology has given us the capacity to do it. The desk computer gave way to lap top which gave way to internet phone access.We have become wireless and totally mobile.
Part of this new technology also involves the capacity to interact on the internet.During its infancy, the internet was a one way conversation.Today, technology allows us to interact with each other using words, pictures, audio and videos.
Second, the death of mass media.People no longer need mass marketing by TV, radio and newspapers to give them information about products.They learn from the internet.They learn about products and services and their buying options.Through internet social networking programs, they learn from others who have actually experienced the products.People are turning to other people like themselves rather than to businesses for buying information.
Third, space and time no longer limit people.We once lived in our own neighborhoods, our own cities, and our own county.The interactive quality of the internet has eliminated space and time barriers between people.
Social networking programs connect us in real time to anyone in the world.We can connect not only with one person but also with groups of people in the same real time.With Face Book and My Space and Twitter, having “Friends” takes on a whole new meaning.
Some complain this new social networking is not the face to face communications we once called friendships.Those complaints remind me of my high school days when parents complained about Elvis and his rock and roll music because it didn’t sound like their music.
The rules are still being written about how we communicate in this new, real time social environment.The rules are still being developed about how we do business in this new environment.Social media is not a fad.It is already the norm for those under thirty five.It soon will be the norm for the rest of us.Social media and social networking are here to stay.
Last week, I went to find a client’s ad in the yellow pages.I couldn’t find our yellow page book.I asked my wife.She said, “I think there might be an old one in the garage.I don’t keep them anymore because we don’t use them.”
Our family is part of the 17-1 statistic who prefer the internet over the yellow pages.Four years ago, this statistic was 7-1 in favor of the internet.If people have changed their buying habits, how does this affect your efforts to attract more customers?If you understand why people make this choice, you can adapt to reach today’s customers.
Is It Time to Drop Your Yellow Page Ad?
Why do people choose the internet over yellow pages?
The internet is faster.Type a few key words into a Google search and within seconds you have hundreds of business options.You don’t have to look for the yellow page book, leaf through pages to find the appropriate section before you search the ads for the relevant business.The internet does all of this for you–in a second!
The internet is more accurate.Let’s say you owned a store that offers carpet products, wood floors, counter tops, installation services and a variety of home cleaning products. Where would the prospect begin to find you? Where would you put your ad in the yellow pages? Can you afford an ad in every section of the book? How does the prospect find information about your products and services?
With an internet site, when you place key words in the copy of your website, your business comes up no matter what key words the prospects types into their search.
The internet is more complete.Look at most yellow page ads and essentially they are business cards that gives the business name, address and phone number.It is hard to learn anything about the product and services from the ad.
With an internet search, the customer can learn many things by clicking through websites.You can compare product features, warranties, price, etc.This is not just for products.People are now comparing other services on line, doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, etc.They don’t have drive to the business.They don’t have to call the business.In the privacy of their own home they can do their research about the business they want to visit or the products they want to buy.
The internet is more convenient.People have computers at work.They have them at home.Many have internet access on their phones.It is easy to shop on the internet.Customers use it 24/7 to fit their busy schedules.They don’t have to carry around or find the big, yellow page book.
Conclusion
If the internet is faster, more accurate, more complete and more convenient than the yellow pages, where should you spend your money to attract new customers?Maybe it’s time to cut down or drop your yellow page presence and put more effort into your website presence.Your customers have already made the move.
While I am not Australian and may have missed some of the back ground behind this blog entry, it’s good to see that retail businesses are interested in either advocating for a retail websites or calling them poppy cock! I wonder if such debates also circled around the invention of the TV or the computer? Enjoy this blog entry from Craig Reardon.
Al Hanzal
An open letter to Gerry Harvey
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
By Craig Reardon
Dear Mr Harvey
First let me say that, like most people in any size of Australian business, I have complete respect for you as a businessman of the highest calibre. Your track record as one of Australia’s most successful retailers is probably without peer in this country.
Therefore it comes as a complete surprise that someone of with such undoubted business acumen could write off the greatest business tool since the telephone as a “con” and “waste of time”.
While admittedly it is more likely to be a plaything of your grandchildren than of your peers, surely even you can see that the bulk of most western populations use the internet to assist their retail purchases – if not complete them entirely.
You only need a cursory glance at the success of e-tail pioneers like Amazon (whose last quarterly sales by the way, rose 37% compared to Harvey Norman’s 3%), eBay, Dell and iTunes internationally and Red Balloon Days, Winestar and Peter Alexander locally to understand that the internet is revolutionising the way people shop.
Of course Harvey Norman can opt-out of playing in this rich new income stream. But I suggest it’s at its own peril.
Let me share my own limited online buying experience with you.
Personally I’m actually not a big shopper of any kind let alone the web. But even I went no further than the web to purchase my largest home office item in the last 12 months.
I needed a laser printer. I’d heard a lot about Deals Direct so went there first in search of the equipment (on my PC of course). There I found a model to suit my budget and requirements. But before pressing the button to purchase, I thought I’d compare it the prices from other retailers.
So I “wandered” over to shopping comparison engine www.myshopping.com.au . There the prices for the model from around 30 retailers were listed. As it turned out what I’d heard was correct. Deals Direct did offer the best price and delivery deal so I went ahead and made the purchase.
The next day before I’d finished opening my emails, the delivery van turned up to my door with said laser printer. “How good is this” I said to myself – or actually to Charlie our spoodle.
The obvious concern to you in this standard online transaction was not only that Harvey Norman didn’t get the sale, it was nowhere to be seen when shopping around for the best deal.
This lack of visibility on a medium about to become more popular than television can’t be good for your business.
And I’m not even an early adopter with online shopping, coming in somewhere around “late majority” – the slower half of the adoption curve.
But what concerns me most is not the strategy you’ve chosen for your own business – that’s clearly the business of you, your team and your shareholders.
The far greater concern is the message a captain of industry like you is giving to your fellow Australian retailers about this significant new promotion and sales channel.
Part of my work is as an e-business educator to Victoria’s small business community. I provide affordable and fun information evenings to assist business operators – including retailers, understand the web and how it can assist their businesses.
Recently I ran an evening in Melbourne’s northern suburbs about selling and promoting online. Despite being promoted by the Economic Development Officers of six local councils to their lists of local businesses, numbers for the evening were not looking great.
So I thought I’d get away from the office and go and talk to retailers over two afternoons. In total I must have visited 100 retailers in the area to tell them about this great, convenient and affordable way to find out about the web.
Now I’m not the world’s best salesperson as my former sales trainer wife would attest. But even I could get at least a handful of retailers along to this event.
Or so I thought. Of the 100 retailers, not one would part with the $35 to find out about the web. Even though we put it on after closing time and offered to feed them!
Clearly those retailers had already heard that the internet was a waste of time.
But it’s not even those retailers I’m concerned about.
What I’m concerned about is that as you read this, literally thousands of Australian consumers are searching the web for every product you can think of.
And given most overseas retailers provide better service, range, prices, delivery tracking and websites than their Australian counterparts, there’s a strong chance that the sale will go offshore.
Don’t believe me? Then how do you explain that e-tail giant Amazon’s international sales are on par with its US operations? And that a significant component of these have come from right here in Australia?
What I’ve been saying for some time is that if you don’t look after your customers online, your competitors will. And that competitor may not be local. It may be offshore.
And that can’t be good for the Australian economy.
So Mr Harvey, with all due respect, before you go slamming what many believe is the most significant development in retail in the last half century, have a little regard for your smaller counterparts who are tipped to have one of the worst years on record – and need as much help from channels like the internet as they can muster.
And perhaps a little regard for the national account deficit to boot.
Regards
Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in Melbourne and beyond. www.theeteam.com.au
Today we put a premium on creating websites and webpages that are user friendly. John Williams does a very nice job providing a number of tips you can use to make your site and pages more user friendly. Thanks John
Al Hanzal
Useful Tips for User - Friendly Web Designing
A website is a handy and trendy marketing tool for business. For a good website, the visual web design must be attractive and must be able to grab the attention of a large number of visitors.
Web designing is an art and has to be done with interest and involvement. When done with involvement, the user-friendly feature will automatically get incorporated in the design. Stunning web design with good programming and marketing strategies will greatly increase the visibility of the website to the Internet browsers.
From this introduction it can be easily understood that web design is the key aspect of a website. For designing a user-friendly website here are a few tips which I gained through my experience in web designing. These useful tips, when implemented, will yield good user-friendly web designs.
Here we go.
1). What does the website convey?
Your answer to the question will lead you all the way to a good and meaningful web design. For designing a website, one should have a theme. On getting to know more of what the website is about, as a designer or as a Webmaster, it will be easy for you to design accordingly.
2). Planning for the web design
Planning makes work proceed smoothly. The first step in planning is research. Surf through the web to find sites similar to yours. Do a simple yet meaningful research to understand the pulse of the visitors. On doing so, your first impression will always be the best one.
3). Setting theme and layout
After your research and planning, the vital part of your web design is the collection of assets. The first step will be theme selection and webpage layout. There are personal websites, informational websites, ecommerce websites and service providing websites. It is all in the hands of a designer to select a matching theme to satisfy the need and implement it attractively.
4). Web Page Design
Neat and informative web pages are the most visited pages on the net. To design such a web page, the important elements to be taken note of are the header, footer, text area and the navigational area. Avoid using animated/flashy headers and navigational icons. Use a uniform header and footer to give a professional look to the website. These, when designed with care and when followed, will result in good web design.
5). Site Map and Navigation
In web designing, the term navigation is very much apropos with user-friendly. Navigation within the website should be very clear and easy. Always try to implement normal links for moving around, and avoid animated buttons. The column to the right of the webpage should have good navigational links. The site map is another important and easy way for finding web pages in the website. So, never forget these as these are the principal tips to be remembered while designing.
6). Usage of images and text
Web designing is all about expressing the ideas of the business to people. For it to be a success, use of correct images for communicating the content of the website to the visitors is a must. The text in the webpage must be search engine optimized and must convey the message clearly.
7). Page Size and Download Time
After placing the images, links and the text, the complete page should not exceed 30 KB. This size will ensure that the page is downloaded quickly, within 5 to 6 seconds. This time is crucial time because either it may bring visitors or divert them to another website of the same type.
The above are a few important tips to be considered while designing a website. You can follow them or modify them to suit your need. But the fact is that designing is about presenting the information in an elegant, decorative and user-friendly way.
About the Author:John Williams - Dot Com Infoway Ltd., a professional Web Development Services company delivers web design services for all your needs. They specialize in complete website development solutions with expertise in Web Application Development services to global clientele.
It’s your choice.You can have one time sales or you have a series of sales by using time as your sales ally.
Start by asking yourself the questions, “What happens over time with my products or services that I could use to build a series of distinctive sales that will benefit my customers? Are there ways I can help the customer maintain the product? Are there ways to upgrade the product? Are there ways to meet new needs that arises from using the product or ways to protect the original value of the product? These are all possibilities that arise over time.
This possibilities start with a good understanding on how your product makes your customer’s life better.Too often, businesses wait until a customer comes back to them with additional requests.The customers are the only one who can initiate a sales process. You can initiate a sales offering based on things that time and life do to your customer’s usage of your product or service. Your website can effectively make this happen.
You’re the expert. You know what can happen surrounding your product. By initiating the sales offerings you can offer help to your customer.
Take the customer who wants his lawn mowed. You can cut his grass and get paid for it. You have done what the customer asked. Does he just want his grass cut? Or does he want his yard look nice for himself and his neighbors? What about cutting his grass all summer long so it looks nice each week without making him call you each time? Could you conveniently use a credit card and a contract for this purpose? What about fertilizer and weed killer? He wants his lawn to look beautiful will this not help achieve that goal?
He is more than just concerned about the beauty of his lawn. He also wants it to be healthy and thriving. So offer aeration services in the fall and spring. He wants it to come back green in the spring. So what about a winter applications that will achieve this purpose?
These additions are part of helping the customer keep his yard the way he wants it. You can do a one time sale or really assist the customer in solving over time their issues. Every business has these possibilities.Use your website to make these offers.
More Than One Time Offers
Businesses often make the mistake of only making these time evolving offers only once.If customers didn’t buy the first time, they don’t make the offer again.
Perhaps the customers have not had enough time to use the product.They may not be ready.They may be open to the same offer at a later time in the process. They might not want the maintenance agreement at the start of the process.They may be very open to a maintenance agreement as they use the product.
Conclusion
Time can be an ally for repeat business from your customers.Using an automated system from your website gives you a tool to make this happen easily and cost effectively.What do you have to lose?
The retail economy as we have known it for the last 20 years is dying and giving birth to a new digital economy.
Here’s my sobering prediction for 2009.If your business does not have an effective website on the internet, you will not survive the current economic downturn!Why do I make such a direr prediction?
Because the present economic recession is not the usual ebb and flow of economic cycles!Yes, it has some of the typical ingredients of other economic slowdowns.More importantly, we are at the dividing line between the old economy and the newer global economy now driven by the internet and computerization.
When the economy turns upward some time in late 2009 or early 2010, we will not return to the old economic model.Many of the jobs that have been lost will never return.Businesses that disappear will never return.It becomes vital that you joint the digital revolution that has already begun.
Turning your Website into a 24/7 Sales Person
Every small business owner would love to have a sales person that works 24/7 365 days a year; never complains or calls in sick; takes calls at all hours of the day or night; works while the business owner sleeps and sell products or services in the same way the business owner would sell them.How much would a sales person like this cost and where would you find them?
Well, your website can be that 24/7 sales person for your business.
Compare a website to other forms of advertising.You buy an ad in a local newspaper.That ad is good for that edition of the newspaper and perhaps useful to wrap up the garbage!You pay for an ad in a magazine.It is good for a time period and then the next issue comes and your ad is gone.You can purchase a yellow page ad.It’s good for 365 days.Your ad looks like other competitor’s ad on the same page in the yellow book!If you need to make any changes to your ad, you must wait until next year.Ask 10 people when was the last time they used the yellow book?
Your website eliminates the limitations of these other forms of advertising.A website operates 24/7, 365 days a year.Unlike smaller and more expensive ads in newspapers, you have plenty of space to present the features and benefits of your products/services.If you need to change your website on a regular basis, the new web technology makes them as easy as typing a word document.Clearly a website gives you many advantages over any other form of advertising.
You may counter, “But my customers do not use the computer or the internet”.You may or may not be correct.Did you know that customers now prefer the internet 17-1 over the yellow books?Why would you put an expensive ad in the yellow pages, next to dozens of your competitors if people prefer the internet?
Another study shows that 70% of all customers start their buying process by going on the internet.They may not buy the product from the internet, but they find out buying options information and use the internet to sort out which business they may want to visit or call on the phone.
The numbers of people aged 30 and younger is closer to 90%.How many people are you missing by not having a website?
A Simple Exercise to create a powerful landing page
It is not difficult to make your website into a 24/7 sales person.Here’s a simple exercise to use.
When you are face to face with a prospect, what are the three questions they always ask about your business or your product/service?These are the three questions you want to answer on the home page of your website.You can use other web pages to give more details about the benefits and features of your business.Let me give you a simple example of this formula.
I worked with a Montessori child care.There original website devoted the first three pages to the famous Maria Montessori.From web statistics, we could tell that people were coming to the website but not making calls to follow up for appointments.
When I asked the director to identify the top three questions people asked her when she meets them face to face, they were:
Do you have any openings?
Where are you located?
How much do you charge?
We redesigned the home page to answer these three questions.We moved the address from the fourth page to the first page.She immediately began seeing a difference in the number of calls the child care center received.
Conclusion
If people get their top three questions answered when they land on your website, they will explore your website more deeply.Your website can now become the best source of customer leads for your business.It operates 24/7 as your sales person!
Al Hanzal
This is one chapter in a longer ebook,
Doing the Little Things in 2009 to Grow Your Business
To request a complete copy email me, al@hanzal.com with ” 2009 ” in subject line.
Use Your Website to Suggestive Sell Your Customers
What has McDonalds done for years.You’re standing in line at McDonalds, waiting to buy a hamburger.The clerk says to you, “Would you like fries and a soft drive with your hamburger?”Without hesitation, you say, “Sure.”Did you know that McDonalds makes 25% of their profits from that one line? Suggestive selling is an easy way to add more profits to your bottom line.
Build a Relationship with Your Customers
Your customer has made a purchase with you.They obviously like you and trust you.They chose you over other purchasing options.You now have the opportunity to start a long term relationship with the customer.You can either waste the opportunity or you can use it to grow your business.
Here are some ways you can use your website and the internet to suggestive sell to your customers.
Thank You Notes
Did you ever order something on line and when you received the thank you page for your order, they invited you to buy an additional item that related to your original purchase?Were you offended by this additional offer?No.You may not have made the additional purchase.I am sure you read the offer.Perhaps only a few people bought the additional items.What did it cost the seller to make this offer?Nothing! Can you send a thank you email after a customer purchase with additional offers for them to buy?
Follow Up Emails
Use follow up email to your customer.Automate these emails.(Easy to do on your website)In each email you can show other products, success stories using your product, offer others services that will help use their purchase more effectively.
Here are two concrete examples:
1.In a recent conversation with a financial planner he told me he would love to have his own website.However, the company, because of the legal implications of financial investments, will not allow him to have his own website.Instead, the company sends out monthly materials to his client list.
Here’s what he found.He now has his clients call and ask him for programs they have heard about in the emails they receive from the company.Instead of waiting for their annual review, his clients are taking the initiative to call about new programs and policies.New sales!
2.Think about the last time you called your favorite pizza place.They already have you in their data base so there’s no need to ask for your address (makes ordering simpler).They invite you to add specials like soft drinks or cheesy breadsticks.(Suggestive Selling).When they deliver the pizza to your home, it comes with coupons for your next purchase.
You do not have to be in the pizza business to continue this sale-after-the-sale model of selling. Fundamentally it comes down to an attitude, nurturing relationships, and keeping in contact with the customer. Web technology makes this simple to do.
There are many ways to use the power of your website and the internet to make suggestive selling offers to your existing customers.Website suggestive selling is a win-win situation.Your customers like it and it generates more profits for your business.
Let’s look at how your website can assist you in growing your business in these three ways.
2.Turning your Website into a 24/7 Sales Person
Every small business owner would love to have a sales person that works 24/7 365 days a year; never complains or calls in sick; takes calls at all hours of the day or night; works while the business owner sleeps and sell products or services in the same way the business owner would sell them.How much would a sales person like this cost and where would you find them?
Well, your website can be that 24/7 sales person for your business.
Compare a website to other forms of advertising.You buy an ad in a local newspaper.That ad is good for that edition of the newspaper and perhaps useful to wrap up the garbage!You pay for an ad in a magazine.It is good for a time period and then the next issue comes and your ad is gone.You can purchase a yellow page ad.It’s good for 365 days.Your ad looks like other competitor’s ad on the same page in the yellow book!If you need to make any changes to your ad, you must wait until next year.Ask 10 people when was the last time they used the yellow book?
Your website eliminates the limitations of these other forms of advertising.A website operates 24/7, 365 days a year.Unlike smaller and more expensive ads in newspapers, you have plenty of space to present the features and benefits of your products/services.If you need to change your website on a regular basis, the new web technology makes them as easy as typing a word document.Clearly a website gives you many advantages over any other form of advertising.
You may counter, “But my customers do not use the computer or the internet”.You may or may not be correct.Did you know that customers now prefer the internet 17-1 over the yellow books?Why would you put an expensive ad in the yellow pages, next to dozens of your competitors if people prefer the internet?
Another study shows that 70% of all customers start their buying process by going on the internet.They may not buy the product from the internet, but they find out buying options information and use the internet to sort out which business they may want to visit or call on the phone.
The numbers of people aged 30 and younger is closer to 90%.How many people are you missing by not having a website?
It is not difficult to make your website into a 24/7 sales person.Here’s a simple formula to use.
When you are face to face with a prospect, what are the three questions they always ask about your business or your product/service?These are the three questions you want to answer on the home page of your website.You can use other web pages give more details about the benefits and features of your business.Let me give you a simple example of this formula.
I worked with a Montessori child care.There original website devoted the first three pages to the famous Maria Montessori.From web statistics, we could tell that people were coming to the website but not making calls to follow up for appointments.
When I asked the director to identify the top three questions people asked her when she meets them face to face, they were:
Do you have any openings?
Where are you located?
How much do you charge?
We redesigned the home page to answer these three questions.We moved the address from the fourth page to the first page.If people get their top three questions answered, they may explore more deeply into the website about things like the Montessori child care philosophy, daily schedules, etc.The website is now the best source of customers leads for this child care center.It operates 24/7 as a sales person for the center.
