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Archive for the ‘web design’ Category

How Do I Prevent My Small Business From Failing?

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Why is my business failing? Thousands of businessmen and women have asked the same question at one time or another, especially during the early days of their businesses. To be sure, the marketplace is a high-tech jungle where only the fittest survives.

The bottom line reason your business is failing is that you are not selling enough of your product (goods or services) to cover your operating expenses and make a profit. But the problem is not with the product, it is with the elements that make the product what it is. What are those elements?

  • Do you have the right product for your target customers? Obviously if you don’t they will not buy it, at least not in the quantity that will make you a profit. Choose a product that already has a demand, but emphasize a unique benefit of the product that your competitors are not. It should be a product that is consumable, so that your customers will come back to buy more.
  • Is your product quality and durability comparable to your competitors? The quality of your product is the primary element to which all the other elements are anchored. If you do everything right but have a bad product you will not have repeat customers. Majority of your customers will be one-time customers, and the bad news about your business will spread like a virus.
  • Is your product easy to use or consume? Customers are irritated when they spend their hard-earn money on an item, but cannot get it to work. Next time when they go out shopping they will choose an item that they won’t need the brain of a biochemist to get it to work. Choose products that are customer friendly.
  • Is the price of your product competitive? If a customer can buy your product at half the price from your competitor two block down the street, why would he buy your product? Look around and do some comparison shopping to check on your competitors prices and adjust your price accordingly.
  • What is the platform from which you sell your product? Do you sell your product on the Internet or in a brick and mortar store? If you sell on the Internet, is your website or blog pleasant to the eyes, easy to read and navigate? Being mindful that if a visitor to your website is not able to solve a problem he encounters on your website in 3 seconds you’ve lost him.
  • If you sell in a brick and mortar store, does the layout of the store give customers easy access to your product? Are the price tags conveniently displayed to avoid having the customer to ask for the price of each item? Are your salespeople informed about the product enough to answer customers questions? Your aim is to give your customers a pleasant experience in the store to make them want to come back again.
  • Once you set up your website with quality content and products, nobody will know that you exist until you advertise it. How much it will cost to do so will depend on the type of ad, and the competition in your line of business. You may choose to submit your website to the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN or Bing, and wait for months to have your website pages indexed, or buy ‘pay per click’ (PPC) ads that will send visitors to your website within 24 hours of signing up.
  • You will need to know about keywords and their placement on your website. When a visitor goes to the Internet for information, s/he types in a word or phrase. The search engine checks through its indexed web pages for websites and blogs with keywords or key-phrases that match the visitor’s query, and present them in order of relevance. Search engines are scrupulous in their selection, because if they provide the wrong information they will lose the visitor, and that is bad business.
  • Advertising a brick and mortar store normally involves running ads in the local newspapers or on TV. Since this can be expensive, you may want to set up a website or blog and encourage your customers to go there for discount prices and information about your product.
  • When you attract customers to your website or store, and they buy your products, the next step is turn them into repeat customers. Ask for their names and email or postal addresses. Because this information is valuable to your customers, offer something for it. Give them a discount or a coupon in exchange for their personal information.

You can stop your business from failing by selling more of your product to satisfied customers who will buy from you again and again because you sell the right product, high quality product, easy to use and at competitive price; because they know where to find you from the weekly information you provide them by email, letters, on your website or blog about new products, discounts and coupons. Shall we get to work now?

By Ben Aidoo

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Posted in branding, business coaching, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurs, marketing, sales and selling, web design | 1 Comment »

Web Presence Is A Must For Small Business Owners

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

It is considered that small business companies adapt web technologies very slowly. The reason is both money and the conviction! There is nothing wrong with the point. While considering creating a company’s web page, one would be impressed by the number of benefits it grants. Distinguish yourself from thousands of small companies being online. The benefits and growth of your company will refund all expenses related to creating web site and SEO web design as well. About 60% of small businesses don’t have a web site and you should stand on the side of remaining 60% – with the side of development and prosperity. Get more exposure in your branch and attract new clients – all of that is possible with a professional company website. If you are not a professional in the area of computer science, it’s recommended to find the best web design company that would create you an impressive web site for you.

Nowadays almost every company has a web page. If you still advertise your small business only in the newspapers, you are just out of the game. A professional web presence is just a must for a small business.

Your company’s web page should be clear, professional and useful. Remember about containing all the most important information about company profile and the offers your company grants! With the help of a reliable web design company it would not be hard to accomplish this factor. They would advise you not only on the graphic design and the structure of a web site but also advise which information will add credit to your domain. Another thing that would help your business to prosper is being active on social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. You can create a positive image of your company without big efforts.

With your company’s web page you would certainly improve your chances to develop, but still it isn’t enough. There is no point of having a web page if no one knows about it. That is why you should consider SEO web design. Promoting your website means promoting your business, so it’s worth both effort and money. The highest traffic on your company’s page will result with more clients and more money. That is why SEO web design is just a must nowadays. Ask your web design company if they offer such services and do not hesitate. Improve the traffic of your web page and gain incredible popularity in the World Wide Web. If your company web displays top on the list of search engines results, you have better chances of being noticed.

The last but not least advice – always remembers to keep your web page fresh and dynamic with up-to-date information. There is nothing worse than out of date price list or previous address of the company on your web page. That makes you unreliable and unprofessional too. With fresh and full of resourceful up-to-date web page, you have better chances to make impression on potential clients without even talking with them. Ethos 360 offers these services and more.  Click on this link for more info- www.Ethos360.com/branding/.

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Posted in branding, graphic design, small business marketing, web design | No Comments »

Lonny Magazine: Merging Innovation And Tradition

Friday, November 20th, 2009

We know that the print industry is suffering these days. Advertisers are pulling out of print and even with a devoted reader base, long-standing magazines like Blueprint, Domino, House & Garden and Vogue Living have folded.

In the December edition of Vanity Fair, former Domino magazine exec Patrick Cline and Michelle Adams combined their vision for a web based magazine that integrated ads into editorial content for Lonny Magazine, a word made from the fusion of London and New York.  Here, the web magazine mimics the reader experience of hard print, even the ability to flip pages. How many times have you jumped pages in a magazine to get to the editorial content?  Readers can mouse over articles or pictures of interest and can connect with a click to the retailer. See an idea you’d like to try in the editorial? Click on it to find out where you can get it.

Financing a new magazine was no easy feat given the status of the many big names that have folded. Lonny Magazine raised their money through the most traditional methods: their team worked for free, borrowed money from family, kept their day jobs and because they had no money for marketing, relied on the internet buzz generated by bloggers, facebook and twitter to spread the word of their launch.  Their first edition cost $11,000 to produce, 10K of photography, processing, and equipment was donated by friends and companies; 1K for various out of pocket expenses; even the car was borrowed from Adam’s parents. Now that’s what I call bootstrapping.

No calls or pleas for hundreds of thousands of dollars,  they got their noses to the grind stone and just ‘did it’, making their product, proving that it was feasible and profitable,  believe in their product, and paid their dues. Now they’re in Vanity Fair and in a much better position to receive financing than if they did nothing at all but brainstorm on a piece of paper.

Lonny’s next issue comes out in December, check them out at www.lonnymag.com.

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Posted in business start-up, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurs, raising capital, sales and selling, web design, women in business | No Comments »

Websites For Small Businesses- What You Need to Know

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Whenever I meet a potential client that has a business they’d like to tell me about, the inevitable question follows:  “Do you have a website?” You’d be amazed how often this answer is, “Uh…”

It’s baffling to me that people don’t really find a web presence as important as it should be. At some point, no matter what type of business you’re about to start, establishing a website or presence on the internet will be vital. These days, almost every company has a web page. If you still advertise your small business only in print only, you’re just not paying attention to current trends. A professional web presence is a must for a small business, especially a start-up.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Not only should the company’s webpage be clear, professional and useful, but it should contain the company profile along with any relevant information about products, services, or opportunities that your company is offering. If it’s a restaurant, post your menu. If it’s a company developing a product, list basic information about your development or management team. If it’s a law office, post partner profiles or client lists (if they agree to it, mind you).
  • Seek outside assistance from a reliable web designer. Currently, it’s not hard to find one. Throw a rock on Craigslist and you’ll find someone willing to do quality work at a reasonable price. The right designer can advise you not only on the layout and the structure of the website, but can also help with adding credit to your domain.
  • Speaking of domains, your domain name is extremely important. If you can’t find the one you want, don’t settle for a “dot net” or a hyphen to separate/connect the words. For example, if “www.variousthings.com” is taken, don’t go and get “www.various-things.com” instead. Think of the name of the business and ask yourself, “Which is more important, my web presence or my company name?” If you can change the company name to whatever domain you can acquire, it might be in your best interest to do that. If not, then sit down with the web designer and ask them what they think would be the best option.
  • Another thing that would help your business to prosper is being active on social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. You can create a positive image of your company with a little exposure. This of course depends on the TYPE of company you’re doing. Obviously an accounting firm doesn’t need a Facebook page, but might need a LinkedIn profile.  Be smart about how you use social networking.
  • There is no point of having a web page if no one knows about it. Make sure to consider consult someone regarding search engine optimization (SEO). You’ll find this to be worth both the effort and any additional costs since the high traffic on your company’s page will have you placing higher on searches and thus improving the exposure you can achieve. Again, this may not be important for all businesses, but usually it’s a benefit.
  • Always remembers to keep your web page fresh and dynamic with current information. There is nothing worse than out of date price list or previous address of the company on your web page. This can give the impression that the business might be unreliable and unprofessional. It can also give the impression that you’re not that tech savvy. By keeping a fresh and resourceful web page, you have a better chance of making an impression on potential clients without even talking with them.

I really believe that websites and a web presence have become the modern day business card. Once upon a time, we’d exchange cards with a possible business associate and if that card was a glorified handwritten post-it note, the chances of future business would probably be nil. Nowadays, we check web addresses and URL’s for the company’s information and if we discover that the website is just a place holder page… Well, that might not be the best impression for a future partnership.  Just keep all of this in mind when you get to that on the to-do list of, “Getting My Business Started.”

Posted in branding, graphic design, small business marketing, web design | No Comments »

Ethos 360 Gets a Facelift

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

If you visited www.ethos360.com today, you may have noticed the new web design and logo, made by Ariel Lepor of GreenLeaf Imaging. The site is a merging of all the previous three “ethos” sites: The Mentor site for business start-ups, the 360 site for business PR assistance, and the Advisor site of blog postings aimed at helping entrepreneurs. Take a look at the changes:

Before:

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After:

The new Ethos 360, after

Posted in ethos 360, graphic design, news, web design | No Comments »