My daughter and I had him take a photo of us together – In the back of my mind, I know just where I’m going to put that photo…

The next evening I excitedly found myself pulling out that business card, typing in the website address to see the page of phtoos.  And, as promised, there was page of photos of the bride and groom – just a sampling and a note that the rest of the photos would go online as soon as the bride and groom viewed the photos.  Ok – that makes sense!  But there was something that didn’t make sense and that was the ability to sign up for a notification of sorts which would remind me the photos were up and ready for purchase.

I waited a week, checked back on my own and then another week – nothing new. Took a few friends to the website to show them the photos, still nothing… before I know it, 3 weeks have gone by and my visits to his site are becoming less regular and I know at some point I’ll probably forget and that page of photos will be gone and the opportunity to purchase will be gone or at the least I’ll have to jump through some hoops to get the photo.

What is this photographer missing?

Two things jumped out at me – the most prominent:  A sign up form to be notified when the photos are available for purchase.

My next thought since I’d shared this page with friends who didn’t attend the wedding was that a “share this page” link  to email a friend or share on facebook or other social sites was missing.

This is a prime example of missed opportunities. He started out great at the gate – offering something of value to the wedding guests – bringing visitors to his website who might not otherwise even know he had a website as he shot photos all afternoon and into the evening…

But, his effort lost emphasis and importance by not having a way to automate and serve the potential customer and make it easy for them to return to his site.

So, what are you missing in your business? Do you make it easy for potential customers to remember you?

Are your newsletters targeted to the right people?  Do you offer the option in your newsletter sign up forms for different things? Sales & Promotions? Consignment news? General news?

Does your blog have  an RSS feed option so readers can check quickly to see if you’ve got updates?

When you have a shop event do you post photos on your website or a link to an online album like Flickr, Photobucket or Picassa?

The bottom line….

Take it all the way through to the finish line for both your customers and potential customers. Had this photographer done that, he’d probably have a customer in me and many others.  But, rather than creating memorability, he fostered forgetability and potential lost sales.. 

The one word which ties all three together is “relationships”.

Before you begin to develop a Twitter Plan, identify whether or not your current customers or potential customers are even at this cocktail party or  at the water cooler or any of your chosen social networks.  Do not assume that “if you build it they will come”.

If your market is GenXers then it’s likely you’ll find many of them on a social network – GenXers were born into a world of computers.

Yet on the other hand, if baby-boomers are your target then it could easily be a mixed bag of results – the younger the baby boomer the more likely.   The area in which you do business makes a difference as well, i.e. Older baby boomers who live in the Silicon Valley are more likely to social networkers than say those who might live in a very rural area with less technology a part of their daily lives.

I’m a baby boomer, but I’m also an early adopter of all things technology.  I also live in a rural area… But, if I were your customer, I’d be signed up for email newsletters and asking if you have a website.  Which in-turn means you you should be asking me if I have a facebook account or twitter account.  Which basically means that conducting  a review with your customers to find out if they do have twitter or social network accounts and what they’re using that network for is essential.

It may very well be that your market isn’t at the twitter party, BUT, if they are, then it’s time to begin forging relationships.  Start your social networking marketing plan and remember you should  be utilizing your a brand image, and a variety of ways your message solves problems, provides valuable insights into what you offer, intrigues and differentiates you from your direct competition.  And, should you want to promote products – don’t just drop an ad – let them know why it can bring value to their life… It’s all about building valuable relationships.

]]> http://designsbydeb.us/2009/04/are-your-customers-at-the-cocktail-party/feed/ 0 http://designsbydeb.us/2009/04/twitter-and-your-business/ http://designsbydeb.us/2009/04/twitter-and-your-business/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:08:57 +0000 Deb http://designsbydeb.us/wordpress/?p=79 I was doing some reading online the other day and I came across this story… It demonstrates the success (for a business) and the service (for the consumer) that Twitter can  bring a business.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –

Kogi, a duo of Korean BBQ-inspired taco trucks in Los Angeles, has “Tweeted” its way to international stardom and is inspiring restaurateurs seeking new ways to tempt diners during a deep recession. (read the rest of the story here)

Another way to market your business is to join a twitter group.  @tweva (The White Elephant)  just began consignshop twitter group right here! Recently she listed pictures of new arrivals using twitpic - so the photo link goes right in her tweet.  With the click of a mouse and the great use of overlay (in tweetdeck) – tempting photos of products she’d described in her tweet were on my screen.

Remember, Twitter is socially based, people are drawn to things which interest them and joining a group based upon consignment shopping might just land you some new business.

Imagine what you can do for your customers while building your business ….

Twitter for beginners – Written by Charlene Kingston of Crow Information Design, read by Bo Bennett, host of Twooting.com.

Small business owners donate money to local organizations, oftentimes they are the ones who who sponsor recreational and school sporting teams, scouting events and so on… These donations allow for lower individual costs – take that away and either the programs go away or allow only those who can afford the increased participation cost.

Small business owners donate time to causes – you’ll often see local business owners involved in the Lions/Lioness Clubs, Soroptomist Clubs and the like.

Small business owners are the ones who donate products to organizations who hold fund raisers… Today I was at a local Autism Speaks Fundraiser community event. They had a raffle with beautiful baskets and other gifts – all donated by our local businesses.  There wasn’t a basket from Wal-Mart, Target, Old Navy, The Mall, Home Depot or Lowes – they were from a local spa, a local bakery, a local gym and many, many more small businesses…   I’m not saying the big boys don’t give, but they tend to be the ones with the photos of the giant check for $500 for the Local SPCA or another cause.  And, certainly their giving counts – all giving counts. But, as small businesses struggle, their giving is less and has a greater impact.

Additionally, Stacey Mitchell from NewRules.org has found through various studies that independent retailers spend more than half their revenue locally. These businesses  bank at their local banks , hire local accountants, advertise in local media, and require many other local services that chains do not. These individual business owners shop locally as well, bank locally and give from an individual perspective and generally encourage their employees to be community minded as well.

For mid-sized and smaller cities especially, this is a vital source of economic activity and jobs that pay a middle-class income.

So, where is this going?

“Save your local economy three stores at a time, spearheaded by RetailSpeaks CEO Cinda Baxter is grass roots campaign to help local independent business owners/retailers and thus the local communities.

The 3/50 Project‘s goal promotes consumers to shop locally owned businesses while business owners thank customers for the positive impact that decision has on a local economy.

The 3/50 Project is premised upon three simple numbers; pick 3 local business and divide $50/per month to spend monthly between these businesses – the result: $68 retained in your local economy for every $100 spent.

Here’s how to contribute to your local economy:

Budget $50 each month to spend locally – things you normally need to purchase.

3: Pick three businesses you’d miss if they were gone, then return to them to say hello, pick up a little something that makes you smile, knowing those transactions are what keeps that business around.

50: If half the employed population spent just $50 per month with locally owned businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.
68: For every $100 spent in a locally owned business, $68 returns to the community       through payroll taxes, property taxes, sales tax, salaries, and other business expenditures. If spent in a chain or franchise, only $43 remains local. If spent online, nothing comes home.

In essence, the whole thing boils down to “Pick 3, spend 50, save the local economy.” It’s really that simple.

To read how this began, read here.

To learn more about The 3/50 Project

All it takes to begin?  It takes 1 person… Are you up for helping save your local community?

That was a phrase I remember from my childhood when posing certain questions to my parents. As a kid, it wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear – heck it wasn’t an answer at all. LOL BUT, it seems I picked up that trait, I’m always encouraging clients to create a newsletter as a marketing tool and have never done one for my clients.  But, that’s about to change…  Now, if you’re interested in hearing from me about various topics, then feel free to sign up for my new email newsletters.  The one I sent out to clients spoke to the 3/50 Project, marketing and Facebook.  Who knows what I’ll come up with in terms of topics of interest to my clients. But, I’ll try to make it interesting and as NON-technical as I can.  I promise.  Oh, and I’m trying out a new email service similar to Constant Contact.  This same service comes either as a hosted service or a licensed piece of software which can be installed on your server.  I’ll report back on my findings.

]]> http://designsbydeb.us/2009/04/do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do/feed/ 0 http://designsbydeb.us/2008/02/website-credibility-strategies/ http://designsbydeb.us/2008/02/website-credibility-strategies/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:30:23 +0000 Deb http://designsbydeb.us/wordpress/?p=27 As I browse the internet for various reasons I encounter sites which want to send me running for the hills. Others though make me want to travel across the nation or to different countries to visit their business and become their newest friend. How is this best achieved?

There are some trusty guidelines to develop your online credibility and if you plan to sell online this is probably one of the more crucial articles you might encounter which can set your business apart from the mediocre allowing business to outshine others. Certainly the goal is for you to have a better website, sell more online and/or receive more customers and consignors.

The first 10 tips I’ve suggested come from the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, Stanford University – I’ve added my own suggestions (bold and italicized) at the end of each tip.

1. Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site. You can build web site credibility by providing third-party support (citations, references, source material) for information you present, especially if you link to this evidence. Even if people don’t follow these links, you’ve shown confidence in your material.

Linking to credible information helps to increase your credibility and thus your website, simply owing to the laws of association. If someone you know recommends a great resource then you’ll hold that resource in higher regard. Linking to support organizations, resource organizations or trade associations is an example – How To Consign and NARTS are wonderful examples.

2. Show that there’s a real organization behind your site. Showing that your web site is for a legitimate organization will boost the site’s credibility. The easiest way to do this is by listing a physical address. Other features can also help, such as posting a photo of your business or listing a membership with the chamber of commerce.

For many resale businesses who have a website online, you won’t be selling merchandise online, but what you’ll be selling instead is your image. Taking advantage of all these tips will further polish your image, it will provide the whole rather than simply just pieces of information. If you’re selling merchandise online, before someone buys from you they want to make sure you’re an established company and that you wont suddenly vanish overnight. By showing people you have a real store, real employees and a phone number you’re answering the “what if…” questions that all new visitors to your website will be asking themselves.

3. Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide. Do you have experts on your team? Are your contributors or service providers authorities? Be sure to give their credentials. Are you affiliated with a respected organization? Make that clear. Conversely, don’t link to outside sites that are not credible. Your site becomes less credible by association.

The easiest way to do this is by writing or offering articles or starting a blog on topics that relate to your business. For resale businesses, this can easily be accomplished through some of the products provided on TGTBT. Provide an article on getting spots out of clothing, how to become a “greener” family and so on.

4. Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site. The first part of this guideline is to show there are real people behind the site and in the organization. Next, find a way to convey their trustworthiness through images or text. For example, some sites post employee bios that tell about family or hobbies.

If you’ve employees each of them brings talents and skills to the table. Maybe, one has a knack for display – let her or him write a small article on your blog. Or, on top of this you can give each employee a contributor status on your blog with their own category. Let them post about their likes, holidays, hobbies, etc. This helps to convey that you are in fact people and not simply a website or business. Each person on a blog will build their own following – much like in your actual B& M business.

5. Make it easy to contact you. A simple way to boost your site’s credibility is by making your contact information clear: phone number, physical address, and email address.

I’m still surprised at the number of websites I see that don’t contain clear and concise contact information where the only way to contact someone is through a website form. If you place an ad in the newspaper do you leave this information off? Your website is a 24/7 ad for your business. Make it easy for the potential customer to connect with you.

6. Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose). We find that people quickly evaluate a site by visual design alone. When designing your site, pay attention to layout, typography, images, consistency issues, and more. Of course, not all sites gain credibility by looking like IBM.com. The visual design should match the site’s purpose.

Your businesses image is translated through your website. If you’re creating your own site using a hosting template or even a website designer and be sure it reflects your business. If you’re using outdated clip art as graphics, that will be the image you’re portraying. Speak to some professionals about updating your graphics or your logo and your layout in general. Your site should have an intuitive flow for your customers. Overall your goal is for your website to look more credible which will result in more trust and thus more customers.

7. Make your site easy to use — and useful. We’re squeezing two guidelines into one here. Our research shows that sites win credibility points by being both easy to use and useful. Some site operators forget about users when they cater to their own company’s ego or try to show the dazzling things they can do with web technology.

One of the best ways to make sure your site is useable is by copying the big guys in the way that they layout their website navigation, pages, links and images. Look at Microsoft.com, Yahoo.com, Google.com and CNN.com to name a few. However, not everything on all those websites will work.  Keep in mind, none of those use the website toys – for example – music, not even the websites which sell music use music.

You’ll notice, information is highlighted to peak interest. If you are interested, you can click to fulfill that interest, if you’re not interested, you don’t have to wade through that information to get to the next topic which may peak your interest.

Think of each page as a filing cabinet drawer – folders of information is highlighted through graphics and a few lines of information to reflect the purpose or information.

8. Update your site’s content often (at least show it’s been reviewed recently). People assign more credibility to sites that show they have been recently updated or reviewed.

Again, a blog is a great way to do this. No matter how unimportant you think something is, it’s always better to post something over nothing. Post news about your company, talk about new trends in the industry or your local area, talk about products, services, new employees and even events taking place in your local area.

9. Use restraint with any promotional content (e.g., ads, offers). If possible, avoid having ads on your site. If you must have ads, clearly distinguish the sponsored content from your own. Avoid pop-up ads, unless you don’t mind annoying users and losing credibility. As for writing style, try to be clear, direct, and sincere.

This is one of the most important pieces of advice for anyone involved in the world of online marketing and sales. Keep the credibility of your website high at all times, avoiding annoying intrusive ads at all costs. This isn’t generally a problem, within the resale industry,  Sometimes, though,  we’re lured by the thought of our “website earning it’s keep”.  No matter your investment in your website, it’s existence alone means that it’s  earning it’s keep by getting the word out and being your 24/7 customer service rep. It’s the cheapest wages you’ll ever pay. And, there’s no workers’ comp you have to pay.

10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem. Typographical errors and broken links hurt a site’s credibility more than most people imagine. It’s also important to keep your site up and running.

It’s easy to run your site through a spell checker – even if you copy and paste into Microsoft Word. It takes just a few minutes and can make all the difference during those important first impressions. It’s also important to make sure your links are not broken. Websites change and so do their links. Check the links regularly. If you’re doing an overhaul on your site, do it offline and then upload the new and fresh content. Don’t ever take your site down for an overhaul.

In conclusion, this article is an example of something “you” can do on your own website or blog. Utilize a credible source and expand upon it to your customers/clients/consignors. Site your source and add your own two cents. I hope this article inspires you to take a look at your own website and ask the critical question – is your website credible. Once a website has credibility there’s no end to what you can accomplish. Credibility is worth more than you can image.

The one thing which makes the internet so attractive is that for small businesses it creates a much more level playing field between the big fish and the little fish. Once you’ve arrived to the playing field utilize it to your benefit and do use the tools to continue to keep the level playing field.

One mis-step businesses can take is through the email address they use. There’s so many options out there and most of us are familiar with using the email address provided by the ISP we are using. There’s no additional cost as it’s a part of the ISP access you pay for or there’s the truely free accounts through Yahoo and MSN’s Hotmail. They are free and all we need do is tolerate a few adds.

We’re in business, so it’s logical to use ourbusinessname@yahoo.com or hotmail.com or aol.com or ourbusinessname@myisp.com. I want to take a little closer look at this aspect of email and look at the potential impact.

With our internet connection we’re provided multple email addresses and many of us use that address for various purposes. To use it for your business email could prove costly though down the road.

How many times have ISP’s changed names (through buyouts/takeovers) or how many times have you changed ISP’s – if your business email is linked to yourisp.com when they change you have to change as well.

A huge cost, and one that not everyone will admit to, but I’ve encountered numerous times with clients, is that they continue to pay for an ISP’s service just to not loose the email address. Their business and personal contacts are so expansive that they’d loose a great deal of time and thus money in order to switch so they maintain two services. This is pretty typical of those who had dial up ISP service and then moved to DSL or Broadband. That minimal payout each month adds up over time. The aspect of switching over everyone is so overwhelming they pay just to not have to change.

Over a period of 6 years I had att.net, comcast.net and now because I personally made the choice to switch from paying $49/month to $20/month I now have sbcglobal.net
My personal address book is huge and I had plenty of advance notice to let people know, but I still lost people along the way because they didn’t take the time to change my email in their address book. That’s not to speak of all the registrations/subscriptions I’d done through my ISP email.

And, that was in my personal address book. Had I not been using my own domain’s email for business, I can only begin to imagine the time I’d have to spend getting clients to change my email address.

Throughout the last 6 years, not one client has been aware of my ISP changes nor have they been impacted. My business email always comes from my domain name. It’s seamless and is included as part of my hosting service, but even if my account is not hosted, because I own the domain and for as little as $20/year, my domain can be parked and inactive and I can still have a business email presence with consistency for myself and my clients.

Using a free service for a business email account:
Consistency is a strong point for users of Hotmail, Yahoo!Mail and similar types of free email accounts but keep in mind you may have to deal with the following types of inconveniences:

By using free email accounts, users share their email domains (e.g., “@hotmail.com,” “@msn.com,” or “.yahoo.com”), which makes it difficult to create a truly unique email identity for your business.
Many free email networks are prone to attacks by phishers, pharmers, hackers, crackers and other cyber crooks who attempt to steal sensitive information or plant email worms, Trojan Horses and other malware. This alone leaves your business communications prone to loss. And, the “big boys” always seem to be a target.

Some of the free email accounts may include unwanted advertising insertions in your outgoing email. Do you really want to be advertising an email provider’s promotions for your own business?

When you use free email accounts, you share your Internet domains with millions of other users and risk having your email address blocked by recipients or their ISP’s that block entire domains from their inboxes.

From a business perspective though, I remain fervent that the purchase of domain name and and setting up email for less than $30 year will save you long term headaches, provide consistency for your customers and provide you with a polished image.

What remains is continued branding of your business. This aspect imbeds your business into the consumer’s brain. I don’t have to be at my email address book to remember that your email is sally@consignmentshopXYZ.com. But, I probably do, to even remember some of the ISP names out there. consignmentshopXYZ@infotechglobalISP.com
That assumes I even get the spelling correct.

We know, taking those extra steps to make it easier for the consumer to reach you is what makes small business stand out on that level playing field.
Plus:

Using our domain name inspires continued branding of your business.
Using our domain name maintains credibility.
Using our domain name says we are here for the long run.
Using our domain name provides confidence that we know what we’re doing in all aspects of our business.
Using our domain name is affordable and consistent.

If you’re not sure what you should be doing to further your internet presence for your business please email me and we can talk about it, or post a question here for all to read, because I’m sure if you’ve a question, there are probably 10 others who have the same question.

I’m offering a solution to those of you who might not yet be ready for a website, but recognize the importance of planning and using your email name in business correspondence.

For an annual fee of $25 I will obtain your business domain name, park it, set up 1 email address, provide you with instructions on how to retrieve your email either on the web or through an email client such as Outlook express.

For that same $25 I can be your very own personal customer service person answering any and all questions related to your email account and domain parking.

Till next time…

Your website should be to provide certain level of convenience for your customers. Music on websites are simply not convenient and serve no tangible purpose. They make visiting your website INconvenient.
It not only slows the loading of your site, it can also be annoying for those who are only visiting your site with a specific purpose in mind.

Think of how many of your visitors are surfing the web while at work and while they my be on a T1 line and the music loads quickly, they are probably multitasking when all of the sudden music blares. It’s amazing how quickly we forget where the volume button on the computer is located. Do you think that will attract goodwill? What it does is form a level of embarrassment between your potential customer and that of his/her peers. NOW everyone knows he/she was surfing. Will that person be returning to your site?

Or think about how many people play music “of their choice” through web radio, itunes, etc. Do you really want them to have to fiddle looking for your off button so they can continue to listen to their music of choice? Don’t let that off button be the most used icon on your site.

Will your visitor enjoy the music just because you do? Itunes – a website about and selling music does not have music playing. They know music is a personal preference.

There are places where music has a place – an example are social networking websites. The music has a purpose in that it is a reflection of you. If anyone has ever been to a “myspace” page, how long does it take to download that music. Does your computer hang? It may not for the newest of computers and those who have T1 lines or broadband. But wireless and dial-up and even DSL – well it consumes time and if they can’t find the off icon, they might just be backing out of the site entirely.

For a business website everything on your website should have a tangible purpose. Whether to make a sale, create goodwill, offer a service or provide useful information about your business or your industry. Music can create an ambiance which is also reflected in your physical store or business. Remember though, the visitor is at your website with a purpose in mind. Meet those needs and they’ll come visit you sooner rather than later.

Deb