Your Web Site IS you!

Being a professional means that you have to project a professional image. You are an expert in your field and you should look like one.

So, you have a web site. You decided you didn't have the money to get a professional design, so your 13 year old nephew put it together for you. It has your business name and contact info, so you don't need anything else, right?

Well...

A professionally done web site can be a powerful marketing tool. Even a small, three page site can bring in more customers. But, it will not bring customers in if they cannot find your site or, if they do find it, do not stay on your site long enough to find out what you are about.

An experienced web professional does a lot of work to develop your site in a way that is easily navigated, downloads quickly, has all contact information visible immediately and is attractive to the eye. In addition, there are behind the scenes procedures that help your site rank well in search engines.

So maybe that site your nephew did for you; you know - the one with the frames, music and flashing text - is not the best web site for your business.

Yes, your web site IS you!

Small Business and Slow Times

Wow. Another 9" of snow dropped on us yesterday. If your business is snow blowers, shovels, snowmobiles, snowplowing, etc., you are probably having a great winter season.

January in the US is typically a slow time for small businesses. It's after Christmas and the mad shopping rush is behind us. But, this is a great time to remind your current customers that you are there and have something they want or need.

One idea is to come up with a special offer. You can use post the offer on your web site, send it to your email newsletter list, do a few direct mailings. Make a flier, make copies and leave them somewhere visible so people see it as they enter the door.

Keeping your current customers coming back is much more cost-effective than trying to find new ones. Make it worth their while!

The Joys of Advertising!

OK, I spent the morning creating a database of local business mailing addresses so I can print out address labels and get some direct mail pieces sent out. I finish the database, set up my labels for printing, merge the database and document and populate the fields on the label. Everything seemed to go so well. But alas, it was not to be. For some reason, my data field number plunked itself in front of the first line of each address. Why? Why? Why? The document will not let me go through manually and delete the numbers and I cannot print and send labels out that way. Looks unprofessional.

So, I go back to the old fashioned way. Use a template and a lot of copying and pasting. Finally, finish the addressing the second time, try printing a test run on a plain sheet of paper and... a paper jam! I tell ya, the frustration level can really rise fast. OK, fix that and finally have my sheets of labels printed and ready.

Now I just need to stick the labels on to the postcards and get them mailed out. Sounds almost as easy as printing out a few labels, doesn't it?

Little Things Mean A Lot

Business relationships, especially for small businesses are based on so much more than the actual exchange of products or services and money.

Being more than just the company's web designer, or whatever you are, is key. You don't want that client for just the current project, you want the client for a long, long time. Not only that, you want the client to think of you as a friend.

Let's say, in the course of a telephone conversation with a client, you find out that his or her child is graduating from college soon. How about sending a greeting card to mark the occasion? It doesn't cost much and takes very little time, but it lets the client know they are in your thoughts, even when you are not trying to sell them anything.

Creative & Cheap Ways of Advertising Your Business

Keeping a business afloat in early 2009 is certainly a challenge. It takes me back to when I first began my web design business and needed to advertise on a $50 advertising budget!

One thing I did then and am getting ready to do again now, is send out a few targeted mailings. I ordered some nice postcards from Vista Print, bought some postcard stamps from the post office, went through the phone book yellow pages looking for companies who might need my services and mailed a few cards out. I actually made a couple of contacts through those mailings that became long-term customers. It was well worth the initial cost. This time, I am searching online for local businesses who might need my services and will be sending out a few postcards at a time. I am also going to keep some postcards with me at all times to hand out or stick on public bulletin boards around town.

Since I am reestablishing myself in a new area, I am also handing a few business cards out to friends, relatives and business owners I have worked with, so they can pass them out to others. Believe me, my husband's wallet is full of my business cards!

Another thing I did recently was to post my services on one of the local television station's free online classified sections. I got lots of web site hits the first few days, when my ad was on the landing page. It dropped off after awhile because new ads were being posted and so did my hits, but it was free and is still up for someone who finds it.

In a business climate like this, we need to keep thinking of creative and economical ways to advertise our businesses. If we do, we may just be able to hang on.