Posts Tagged ‘Internet’

How Can I Promote My Own Business Online?

So you’ve finally decided to take the first steps toward exposing your small business to the vast ocean of prospects called the Internet; or maybe you’ve had a website for a few years that was built by your neighbor’s cousin’s daughter’s boyfriend. The fact is that if you’ve been in business for more than a year and you’re serious about your future and the future of your business then you need to continue reading because this post was written with YOU specifically in mind.

There’s really no good reason for any brick and mortar business to NOT have a web presence. Even if you’re a one man operation and the entire business revolves around your particular expertise or specialty, you owe it to yourself and your clients/customers to put forth the best possible image that you can for your business. Here are a few more reasons why a website is essential to business growth:

1. 1. A website can make your company look larger than it really is. Positioning is crucial to success.
   2. A website exposes your products or services to a wider audience than local advertising possibly could. Branding is crucial.
   3. A website gives you the ability to stay in constant contact with your clients/customers through auto-responders.
   4. A website that has been properly optimized will have you appear as the authority in your niche or field of expertise.
   5. A website gives your clients/customers a venue to make suggestions or offer feedback for you to improve your business while they can remain anonymous.
   6. More interactivity equals more satisfied customers which in turn equals more profit for you and your business.

Once you’ve decided to move ahead with creating a web presence for your small business there are a few things to consider before attempting to D-I-Y (do it yourself) or even hiring someone to do it for you. Make sure that you have some things crystal clear in your mind before you begin the process and you will save yourself time and frustration later on.
Things that you absolutely should have in place before moving forward:

1. 1. A mission statement. (If you didn’t do this when you first opened your business, do it now)
   2. A vision statement.
   3. A clear picture of exactly who your audience is.
   4. Short term and long term ATTAINABLE goals.
   5. A positive mental attitude.

If you’ve taken the time and forethought to really get these thoughts and processes ingrained into your psyche you’re well on your way to successfully taking your business to the next level and beyond.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why You Need A Website (slideshare.net)
• Small Business – Taking the plunge (moo.com)
• What Small Business Owners Need to Grow their Business in Today’s World (powertofightthebigboys.com)
• Why You Need An Internet Strategy Consulting Firm To Explode Your Business? (wealthyways4you.com)

Is Social Media The Answer For The Offline Business?

There are many tools available for an offline business to use to become more visible.  When offline advertising staples, such as newspaper advertising and direct mail, are not giving the best bang for the buck,  consultants are often called upon.  They are required to help transition the client onto the Internet for increased exposure.  Usually the first and most effective methods are the inclusion of the local business details in regional and metropolitan web portals that specialize in businesses on the local or regional level.

Another popular way that business can become more visible to its public is by trying to use the potential of Social Media.  There are a large number of ways that these tools can be used, but a careful evaluation of the needs and directive of the business must be undertaken.  Besides the huge potential for profit, there is just as large a possibility that it could become a disastrous situation.

The Social Media has been designed to promote networking and the formation of “cliques” and groups.  Here like minded people get to explore their common interests.  More and more, opinions are being driven through the various sites that become powerful forces in product selection. Consumers are finding the opinions of peers in their network just as powerful, if not more important than the information provided by the companies that physically manufacture and distribute the products they are interested in purchasing.

The strength of peer pressure and opinion offers a huge opportunity for the consultant to bring a client’s offline business into the spotlight.  The glare of public scrutiny can also cause serious problems if the approach is not upright and ethical.  For instance, some businesses have sent a “ringer” to join a number of groups to see what the members are thinking about various products.  If they are there to promote and push their make or brand, it will probably be identified.  The negative resentment of being made to be stooges by big business (no matter how big in actuality) can cause a drop in sales as people simply boycott out of principle.  The danger here is that sometimes a boycott can spread faster virally and cause serious damage to a bottom line.

If a business is going to join in the discussion, it should do so honestly and above board.  When a corporate representative is available to identify trends and help solve problems, there is a lot of good will generated. Word of mouth is strongly generated from such corporate involvement is usually quite positive.  There are even large multi-national companies monitoring the Social Sites on a continuous basis.

By listening and participating in  the discussions, they are in a much better position to understand  the trends and concerns of the consumer in a wide variety of areas.  The size of the company is not relevant.  The small offline company can join in the discussion and promote their products or services easily, but as mentioned, do it honestly and upfront, otherwise the chances of being burned are rather strong.

Some Social Structures like Twitter can be used to offer press releases, 140 characters at a time.  Depending on how the structure is set up, a Twitter account can be interactive with the consumers, or it can be strictly used as a one-way blast to all the followers with no responses offered.  Although this is a cheap way to offer product announcements, this works best when there is a real person also online. They must be identified with vested interests, often through the actual user name,  Their purpose is to identify trends and problems as they are voiced.

Some larger  corporations, with the resources to do it, will even approach a disgruntled consumer after they have been identified.  They take the time and effort to help move them to a corporate Customer Service platform where their issue can be properly handled and solved.  This in turn often results in happy testimonials about the way a company has gone out of its way to provide satisfaction being voiced back to the original group.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 5 Social Media Tips for Small Business (kylelacy.com)
• Promoted Tweets!? What Does this Mean for Brands? (socialmediatoday.com)
• How the Recession Sparked Social Media (socialmediatoday.com)
• This Weeks #Social Media Topic: Managing the Marketing Mix: Which Channel is More Effective? (directmarketingobservations.com)
• Social Media Increases Revenue and Growth by 60 Percent (prweb.com)

Getting Into Your Client’s Head

Every business has expectations that need to be addressed when developing the original action agenda for transitioning an offline establishment into an online presence.  If these are not addressed almost immediately, the relationship can suffer over time as their unspoken objectives remain unfulfilled.

Careful evaluation and discussion of what the business can rationally expect to gain from a presence on the Internet is extremely important.  The raw data can be obtained using a written series of questions in the original interview.  Or the information could be developed through more informal means. It is important to get a feeling for the pulse of the business and what can be reasonably expected from the online effort.

If the business is faltering, and this is a last grasp at a lifeline, make sure you make no promises.  More often, though, moving to the Internet is seen by an uninitiated outsider as an easy way to increase sales immediately and exponentially.  It may happen: there are many cases where Internet successes have been massive, but there are just as many where the results took much longer to develop than expected.  Either way, it is vital to the developing relationship to understand these expectations and make sure the store is given a realistic viewpoint of what your services can and will deliver.  It is the classic case of under promising and strongly over delivering that should be a hallmark of any services you render.

During the initial evaluation phases, it is also a great time to determine what resources and advantages the client can bring to the table on their own behalf.  Often there are many hidden gems of people who can provide a lot of unique expertise and benefits to the Internet community. Store specialties must be identified and exploited to full advantage in the online presence.   Every little edge that is exploited may spell the difference between a strong campaign and one that falls inexplicably short

Many older store owners have years of expertise and knowledge in areas that can bring huge benefits to them and their followers/readers/fans.  Often they become known as experts in their field.  But this style of presentation requires dedication and commitment to an ongoing contribution.  Many shopkeepers simply do not have the patience or writing skills to provide ongoing content.  It is up to the consultant to recognize inherent talent and even more importantly, understand whether it can be relied upon in an ongoing fashion.

Be very careful about relying on employed talent.  Employees have a way of suddenly leaving a business at the very worst possible time and taking their knowledge with them.  It is unwise to devote an entire campaign, unless it is very short lived and transitory by nature, to the skills offered by an employee.  It is a much better bet if you can count on an owner to perform since he/she would have a vested interest in the outcome.

Identifying and correcting, if needed, the expectations of the client in the very beginning leads to much less stress and disappointment as time goes by.  An open and honest relationship is the foundation for many future collaborations.  Making sure you understand what the business is willing to expend in time and effort also prevents many logistical mistakes.  It is much better to know right away that all the work will fall on your shoulders, so that the fair compensation for the effort is understood right from the beginning.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Biz 2.0 – The Future Of The Workplace (davidonline.co.za)
• Importance of web presence for a newly establish business (teabreak.pk)
• Wikipedia backs Facebook Community Pages (v3.co.uk)