We Had a Website Once

As I travel around, speaking to business owners about the power of web presence, I am not often surprised by what I hear. However, one thing that always seems to catch me off guard is the comment, “We had a website and we let it go.”

Usually, this is offered as an explanation as to why they do not have a website, but even more bizarrely, as justification as to why they do not need one now. This is simply nuts and here’s why.

If you once had a website, then you probably understood the benefits of a powerful web presence, and made the decision in favor of it. But what happened? Obviously it did not perform as expected or customers and prospects would, right now, be able to find you online.

Why didn’t it deliver results? Perhaps it was an ineffective design or poorly maintained. Perhaps no one could find it because it was not effectively marketed. In any event, it was not because websites do not work.

Imagine this:

You mistakenly print a competitor’s name and address on a marketing flyer and distribute throughout the tri-state area. While customers flood to your competitor’s store, you wonder why your flyer isn’t working. Do you blame the concept of a marketing flyer, and decide that using marketing flyers is not an effective way to advertise your company? Do flyers simply not work? Of course not! It was the way you used the tool that was flawed, not the tool itself.

So, why does the fact that you once utilized a website incorrectly lead to the conclusion that websites don’t work?

What can you do? Well, you can find a website developer with a proven track record of building and marketing successful websites for small businesses. Do your research and, the second time; use the right tool in the right way! Websites work. The Internet is here to stay. Don’t dismiss the effectiveness of this powerful tool simply because your first attempt did not work. Wise business owners make the time to understand mistakes so that they can adjust and respond more effectively. Be the wise business owner you know you are. Build a website that works and you’ll be very pleased that you did.

An Example of how to begin using Social Networking to Promote your Blog and your Business

I am often asked, “Why do you belong to social networking sites? Aren’t those for kids?” In reality, Social Networking sites can actually be very useful tools to build and promote your business, and today I want to talk about just one example of how.

It has been my practice, since October of last year, to dedicate time and effort into developing an informative and useful blog – the one you are reading - focused on the topics of Internet marketing and website development. The main objective has been the promotion of my website development and Internet marketing business. To do so, however, requires a strict focus of attention to offering useful and powerful information to my readers. After you begin writing this kind of information, though, you need to actually find the people who will read it. Everyday, I am searching for ways to promote the blog and increase my audience.

Recently, a fellow blogger by the name of Tom Volkar set me on the trail of a powerful Facebook application called Blog It. Facebook is a social networking site as I referenced above, and different people and companies develop all sorts of “applications” that can be added to your Facebook account to do a wide variety of different things. This particular application, Blog It, actually helps to promote my blog. Here’s how:

Once I installed the Blog It application into my Facebook account (please feel free to connect with me in Facebook by going to the About page of this blog and clicking on the Facebook badge), I linked Blog It to my actual blog. I now had a way of connecting all of my Facebook “friends” to my blog. Every time I post to my blog using the Blog It application, all of my 96 friends are notified that a new blog post has been added. It’s that simple.

And the technical support available from Six Apart through the Facebook / Blog It Discussion Group is incredible. I give kudos specifically to Bryan Tighe at Six Apart for monitoring this discussion board and responding very quickly to everyone’s questions and concerns.

This is just one example of the potential power of the increasingly popular social networking sites, and one way you can begin to employ that power. Social Networking on the web….not just for kids anymore!

Who Makes Your Business Decisions?

Have you ever wondered what decisions your receptionist might be making for you?

Your initial reaction may be to say; “My receptionist doesn’t make any decisions for me. I make my own decisions.” But perhaps you should not be so sure. I call small businesses every day to promote my services, and one of the most troubling responses I get is “No, my boss wouldn’t be interested in a website.”

First, ask yourself these questions:

Is having a dynamic and results-producing website something that I do intend for sometime in the future?

Do I intend to ever sell products online?

Do I intend to ever offer access to my services online?

Do I intend to ever use the power of the Internet to reach tens of thousands of customer that no longer use the yellow pages?

If the answer is no, then you should do some research on the power of web presence. I think it will surprise you. Every day, more and more businesses get “on line,” and at some point soon, businesses will not be able to survive without a web presence.

But if you answered yes to the above questions, then how will your receptionist ever know when that time has finally come? How will she know when it is time to let the gate open and allow the website developer access to you?

It is entirely too easy for the receptionist to say “no” to a salesperson. Perhaps she remembers that you quickly dismissed several calls from website developers in the past by possibly grunted something like “I don’t have time for that right now.” But she does not necessarily understand the reasons why you may have made that comment, and may not understand that, at some point, you do intend to get a website.

And what if the guy on the other end of the phone, tomorrow morning, is the right guy? What if he is the quickest, easiest, most affordable and most effective way to get online? That’s what I offer, and I could be calling. But you never get to hear about it or talk to me because of your receptionist’s unrefined and less than strategic screening process?

We all understand that it is the receptionist’s job to minimize distractions and unnecessary interruptions for the people working in his/her office, and to do her job effectively, she must limit access to her co-workers. However, there is a fine line that should not be crossed when it comes to allowing the true decision-makers to make the important decisions about the business, and too many Gatekeepers cross that line and exercise control that is not theirs to exercise, only because they have not been adequately informed.

If you think this might be happening, a conversation with your receptionist might be in order. If you feel you do not have the time to investigate it or to instruct your receptionist…I wonder how many important decisions are never even making it to your desk?

Some Good News

Dealer Depot is a brand new client, and after just 60 days their new website has delivered for them in a big way. They are a wholesale supplier of building materials, and their office and warehouse are located in the small town of Monongahela, in Southwestern Pennsylvania. When I first met with them they had a site that wasn’t working for them because it was not developed by a professional. Their website offered limited information, was not properly optimized, and was seldom if ever visited by the search engines.

In the middle of February, they hired us and three days later, we had a site up and running which had a more professional look and feel. By the end of the first week, we had begun adding product listings to the site, and by the end of 30 days, a complete and comprehensive site was published. Web site optimization was complete within 3 additional days, and by the end of the 35^th day from start date, a fully functional and optimized site was submitted to the Search Engines.

And less than 60 days from the day we started, I received a call yesterday from Dealer Depot who was calling to inform me that they had just acquired 2 new customers from the West Coast. They wanted to know how and why? I told them that the details are not important, but the “why” is because you hired Power On The Web to develop your site and manage the Internet marketing and online promotion of it.

So, how fast can we get a professional website up and running? Sooner than you might think. How quickly can we get businesses positive and measurable results, with our web solution? Sometimes within weeks. So, what are you waiting for? Call Clem for a no obligation walk-through today at 724-263-6611.

What You Should Know About the Internet

Are you a small business owner? Have you ever thought something like this?

 - I do not need a website because people do not look for what I do online.

 - I do not sell products online, so I don’t need a website.

 - Only teenagers use the Internet, and they are not my customers, so I do not need a website.

 - My neighborhood is not savvy with technology. No one uses computers around here.

 - We do not do any Internet business, so a website would be useless to us.

 - I’m older and not into computers, so a website would be a waste of money.

These are actual quotes from what business owners have told me when we discussed their need to develop a web presence. If you have said or thought something similar about your business, then I have some important information to share with you. Consider the following:

By The Numbers - the percentage of adults who use the Internet

76% of men     and      74% of women

92% of people ages 18 - 29
85% of people ages 30-49
72% of people ages 50-64
37% of people ages 65 plus

Source: Pew Internet American Life project http://www.pewinternet.org/

This information shows the massive segment of the population that are Internet users across the wide cross-section of age groups. And with such access to immediate information as is available at our fingertips online, do you believe it likely that these individuals will look for products and services in the yellow pages or on the Internet? Be it someone to cut their grass, do their taxes, fill their cavities, or provide legal advice, the reality is the Internet is where people go for everything.

It is truly irrelevant whether or not YOU use a computer…your CUSTOMERS do. It is irrelevant whether or not you choose to “conduct business online…” your business still needs to have a presence there! Your competition is there, and so are your customers. And, as I have often said, if you are not selling where your customers are buying, then they are buying from someone else.

So, let’s stop being afraid of the Internet and embrace it as the amazing tool that it is. The Internet is here to stay, so you better use it to stay in business before your choice to not be there puts you out of business.

The specifics of your website design are not important.

If the topic of this post sounds unbelievable, I hope to open your eyes by the time you finish reading. As with most of my posts, I was gripped by a recent experience I had with a potential customer who owns a car detailing shop. Since we started talking almost two months ago, each discussion he and I have had about considering a website for his business has been a discussion about colors and music. As I attempt to steer the direction of the conversation to more relevant topics, on which his decision should be based, he insists on discussing background music and how he wants “red and yellow everywhere.” Here’s the problem in a nutshell: this business owner is missing a very important point.

Don’t get me wrong. A good looking website is important, and I always intend to use the colors and design schemes that mirror what the client wants. But the truth is that his website is going to be a tool. Some businesses choose to use it primarily as a tool of credibility, an “online brochure,” if you will. But the true power behind a properly designed web presence is in the additional exposure that a properly optimized website can bring to your company…the new customers that your website can attract to your business who would not otherwise find you were it not for your web presence.

For the business owner who may be unfamiliar with these terms, “search engine optimization” simply means making a site search-engine-friendly.  Optimization occurs after the actual design of the site is complete, and involves making the site visible to the search-engines and their “spiders,” or their programs that crawl the web in search of sites with valuable information.  Optimizing a site is vital to properly market the site to Search Engines.

When making the initial decision to possibly invest in a website for your business, the important questions to be asking are NOT questions about design details. Instead, here are a few important examples of questions to ask when you begin this process:

• How long will it take to have a properly optimized site online?
• How do you optimize my site after design is complete?
• Do I have the ability to submit the site regularly to search engines? Or can you provide this service every 4-5 weeks, and at what additional cost?
• Can I control the addition of new and fresh content at my discretion to attract ongoing Search Engine attention?

Certainly, a poor-looking website that attracts new customers is not what you want either, but recognize the priorities in the appropriate order of importance. Determine a developer’s ability to provide your business with proper visibility first, then worry about making the site look the way you want it. In reality, the latter objective is the easy part that most any developer can accomplish for you.

Getting the traffic to your site is the vital skill that not all site designers possess.

Why historical success says NOTHING about your need for a Website

If you are a small business owner, how many times have you said or thought this: “I have been successful for years without a website. I don’t need one.” As a website developer, I hear it several times every single day.

USA Today’s “Ask An Expert” Steve Strauss http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/index.htm received this inquiry from a reader. “…I just don’t see the need for a [web]site. My business has been around forever, and we have done just fine without one. Am I wrong?”

You are not alone. But, if you think this way about your business, then I want to speak to you directly and bluntly. You can’t live in the past! It doesn’t work in any other area of life, why would it work in business? Do you still dial 555-1212 to reach directory assistance? How about area codes…remember when we only needed to dial those to call people really far away? Do you drive the same car you drove in 1970? Still watch the same no-remote tune-with-a-dial 12” black and white model TV with only 3 channels? Or pay the same amount for gas that you did five years ago? As times change, so do the things we buy, the way we buy them, and the way business owners must conduct and market our businesses to get our attention or even stay in the game.

And as the old saying goes, you are either moving forward or falling behind.

Are you still skeptical? Want some proof? Ask the next 25 people you talk to (friends, family, customers, or employees) if they bought anything online 15 years ago. Then ask the same people if they bought anything online in the last year. If you do not believe you need a website before this experiment, the results of your survey are going to shock you.

If you are still a “doubting Thomas,” take it one step further. Ask these survey participants about buying a car, planning vacations, finding a new doctor, shopping for homes…the subject matter isn’t nearly as relevant as the fact that people shop online, and they do research BEFORE they shop, and before they make just about any purchase.

Visit Steve Strauss’ exchange with Phil in its entirety. http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2008-02-11-getting-a-website_N.htm. It tells a story that I would do injustice to try and reiterate, but the message is clear. Marketing strategies are not the same as they used to be. Not having a website puts you at a significant disadvantage because times have changed. Everyday, more and more of your competition develops a website so, eventually, it will be the businesses without a website that are out of business.

The strategies that made you successful yesterday are not what will keep you successful tomorrow.

Reading the Signs of a Changing Economy

After writing my last post, I realized that there is a wealth of information that I can examine and share by looking at my experiences with small business owners. This post is the second, in a series of a yet undetermined number to come, regarding small business owners and the Internet. I call the series “Small Business Owner Web Phobia: Do you have it and can you get over it?”

I recently met with an owner of a rather large garage door company. During the entire conversation, he kept referring to the large amount of money he was spending on traditional advertising, yet he was not getting results. Frustrated, he listened as I explained how the economy is changing and people are moving more and more to the Internet to find the things they want and to research companies they might do business with. At the end of the meeting, he said he would consider my proposal and get back to me. Now, two months later, he has contacted me twice to tell me how busy he is and how he can not move forward yet, because he is spending so much money on traditional advertising and none of it is working.

As a website developer and Internet marketing consultant, one potential answer seems very obvious: develop a strong online presence. Yet, the business owner seems to almost miss this point entirely. He continues dumping money into traditional advertising with admitted poor results, yet hesitates to begin developing his online marketing effort, even after our initial meeting which seemed to impress him. There is something about the way this owner has conducted his business in the past that is getting in the way of him seeing a solution to his problems.

Traditional advertising, for a very long time, was the only game in town. Ten years ago the only options this owner had to promote his business were phonebooks, newspaper ads, and flyers. Yet, as we see paper directories fast becoming almost extinct as more and more consumers look to the Internet and “Google” everything, a change in the business owner’s way of thinking needs to happen.

Are you doing the same disservice to your business, perhaps without realizing it? Here’s a way to find out.

Take a good and long hard look at your business. Where are you spending money to grow or market your business that is not paying off? Do you even know for sure what DOES deliver a return on your investment? If you don’t know, why continue to invest in a mystery? It’s likely that you could invest 50% of your budget online and be sure of the results. Then you could use the remaining 50% in traditional advertising to support your online presence. Online is where searchers are looking; so isn’t it wise to be there?

The reality is that we are in an Internet economy. Everyday, more and more consumers look for products and services online. Many want to gather as much information as possible, even before they are willing to call or walk into a business. If you are not there when they go to the Internet, someone else is answering their questions and fulfilling their needs.

The bottom line: if you are not selling where your customers are buying, they are buying from someone else.

Why working ON your business yields more results than working IN it.

I started discussions with an owner of a window installation company, just before Thanksgiving. His company is a two-man shop, and he is very hands-on, as many small business owners are. This particular business owner claims to see the value of a website and the need to conduct business online. However, shortly after reviewing the proposal, he claimed that he was entirely too busy to undertake the project of developing his Internet presence and online marketing strategy. He had no time to meet with me for a follow-up appointment, because he was too busy working IN his business, and “could not” find the time to work ON his business.

Of course, working IN your business is important, isn’t it? After all, we can confidently say that it is what you must do to make money, right? But is it actually costing you money in the long run?

I run into this everyday. The Heating contractor, who cancels several appointments to fix thermostats. The restaurant owner who just can’t make the time. There are countless examples of small business owners who seem to miss the bigger picture. Or perhaps they see it but don’t think there is anything they can do about it. These business owners place so much value on the short-term that they fail to see the importance of developing long-term strategies to keep their business strong and stable.

I wonder: how could a small business owner, who needs to work IN his business for short-term financial gains, still give enough attention to working ON his business to help it prosper long-term?

This relates directly to the third habit of Stephen Covey’s (http://www.stephencovey.com/) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The idea Covey embraces is that putting first things first is, above all, the key to prioritizing work. As Covey explains, some things are very important but, because they aren’t urgent; they get ignored. The window company owner knows his website is important, but because he’s so overwhelmed with day to day work, the website never makes it to the top of his list.

Interestingly, now in March, the window installation company has almost no work. And the owner, who still claims to see the value in a website, is afraid to spend any money. His online presence, although key to his success, remains one of those things he hopes he will get to one day.

If you know and understand that you need to be working ON your business now, here are three suggestions that may work well.

• Make a commitment to look at the big picture and see where you would like your business to be 2-3 years down the road. Make business decisions based on that long-term vision.

• Schedule just two hours (at the same day and time) each week to examine where your business is and where you would like it to be. Make this time sacred, without exception, to make important decisions about your business.

• Look back over the last 12 months and the hours you spent “installing windows” when you could have been developing an online presence to bring in dozens of high-income projects. Ask yourself…. do I wish I had installed a strong online presence instead?

If you do, it’s not too late to make an important decision today. Get help and get moving! The Internet is not going away!

To the business owner who doesn’t understand that he needs to work ON his business, I hope you are still in business 5 years from now when 95% of your competition has an online presence and you are wondering why your phone is not ringing.

Accepting Credit Cards Online

Everyday, more and more consumers become comfortable with the idea of making online purchases. Even still, there is a significant segment of the population that stays in resistance of this trend. Most often, the resistance is due to a concern about online security. So the question we are most often faced with, as online retailers and Internet marketing consultants, is one of the proper level of security that we should provide on our sites.

Anytime a consumer sends information (name, address, or credit card number, for example) this is “data” that is being sent via your website. Security provided by the website to assure privacy of the information sent is essential to prevent pirating of your customer’s banking and personal information. The security of data is provided through a process of encrypting (jumbling or scrambling) the information prior to it being sent over the world wide web, and the level of the security your site provides is based on the extent to which the information is encrypted. In simple terms, and as a basis of information that you should understand as the website owner, a minimum level of encryption that your site should provide to your customers is “128 bit,” with additional levels of protection being provided by “256 bit encryption.” When discussing your website solution with your developer or provider, be sure that the security that will be provided by your site is “128 bit encryption” at a minimum.

As a website owner, it is essential to assure that data you collect from your customer is encrypted and, additionally, to determine the level of encryption necessary to assure your customer’s level of comfort with conducting online transactions with you via your website.