I’ll be traveling again this summer, and I’ve spent a lot of time looking at websites for tourist destinations and hotels recently. So many people book room reservations online these days, whether it’s for air travel, hotel stay, or vacation home rentals - that it amazes me the shape of some websites today.

The large chain hotels are NOT the ones I’m talking about - it’s the small business owners. The mom-and-pop hotels, the local restaurants, and small tourist attractions. Some of the websites look like they’re stuck in the 80s, and that’s embarrassing.

If you are running a business you need to invest in a good website. People are online checking everything and if you have a less than desirable website that looks like a third grader made it, it doesn’t look good for your business.

One example was a tourist spot I had on our list to visit during our summer vacation. I was less than impressed with their website, and am wondering if maybe it’s something worth passing up. Don’t get me wrong, it may be a great place, but based on the time and effort put into their website, I’m wondering if the place itself is neglected too.

People may not take your business seriously.

I’ve looked at business websites and been turned off completely. What could have been good business for the small business owner - ends up turning into NO business.

If you can’t invest in your business, maybe it’s time to rethink things - there’s no excuse for not having a website with so many people today connected. Whether you want to make one yourself or pay somebody to do for you - it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You don’t need the largest company in the world to make it.

You don’t need all the bells and whistles, but you do need a clean and neat professional appearance. It should tell people what you are about, what you offer potential or current clients or customers, and any other details that may be important to your customers in your line of business.

What are you waiting for? Go take a peek at your website and see if it’s worthy of your business.

When looking at ethics in marketing, let’s take this to a very basic level…would you be comfortable explaining what you’re doing to your mother and grandmother? Seriously…if you need to ask, you probably know the answer.

I was on a popular marketing message board, and somebody said they had a question and weren’t sure if what they were thinking about was ethical….right here, this is your clue. IF YOU HAVE TO ASK, there’s a problem. The reason we may ask someone is we’re trying to justify the behavior or action we want to take. In this instance the person wanted to be deceptive with a family member so they could benefit from their sibling’s success. Ouch!

In this case it was quite obvious, but what if it’s right on the edge of what may or may not be ethical. It’s a fine line at times, but all you really need to do is this…”Would I feel comfortable explaining what I’m doing and WHY I’m doing it to my mom?”

If you have to ask if it’s ethical….generally you all ready know that answer. There are better ways to take your business forward. Opt to be a better person and let go of the greed.

The holidays are a great time to gently remind customers and clients about your business. If you send out holiday cards (and you should), drop a coupon in to give your client incentive to drop on by.

If you’re a hair salon, offer a token free bottle of shampoo with highlights. Massage therapists, offer 10% off your standard rates for a limited time. Car mechanics, what about a free tire rotation with an oil change? Florists, add in 2 extra roses to that dozen. Landscapers can offer a discount for early bookings for the upcoming year. Chiropractors, offer one free session after 5 regular priced sessions. Give people incentive, and they’ll not only remember you, but they may just mention you to someone else.

“Hey, guess what I got in the mail….”

Seriously, if you’re not sending out holiday cards to your clients, you’re missing out. People are often surprised they are remembered and thought of, so it’s a nice touch. Also, it’s a chance to get your logo or brand forefront. People are NOT thinking about you on a day to day basis, so a gentle reminder in a friendly way is a great way to boost business.

If you’re a business that sells gift certificates, get those cards out early, and remind people you have gift certificates, and that it will take the pressure off holiday shopping if they pick up a gift certificate. Give them 5-10% off, and you’ve given them that extra push to get to your business and buy one or two, maybe even three.

What are you mailing out this holiday season?

Does your small business need a brand? Many smaller businesses think branding is just something for large companies. Having a brand can help you clearly identify your company. How will you stand apart from all the other businesses that are similar to yours?

You don’t need to spend a fortune on branding. Whether you choose to set your brand based on a product or service you offer, maybe your logo, or even your customer service, figure out what makes your business unique.

When flipping through magazines or watching commercial, start paying attention to how companies brand themselves. Whether it’s a slogan, jingle or logo, that instant recognition is important. Those little key factors influence people and trigger responses from customers, whether it’s one of trust, or savings, or even variety.

If you had to create a tag line that describes your business, what would it be?

Look, up in the sky, it’s…it’s….is that Mickey Mouse?

If you’re in Walt Disney World, you may happen to catch a glimpse of cloud shaped Mickey Mouse heads. In fact, pretty soon, you may start seeing other corporate logos in the sky, in cloud shaped forms.

In an interesting story, Francisco Guerra has created a way to float shaped clouds, up to 4 feet in size. Walt Disney World will be trying it out with some Mickey heads. What’s next?

Clever marketing is one thing people look for. Creative new ways to capture your attention and get their brand out there is golden.

What do you think about this new idea?

That’s what people want to know. They don’t care about the fancy new equipment you have, they don’t care that you’ve been in business for 80 years, and they don’t care if it’s your birthday next week.

It’s a simple lesson. People want to know how your business will benefit THEM.

Listing your great features is all and well, but the focus is on the customer. They want to know how your business or service will benefit them.

Lesson #1: Always list your benefits before your features.
Lesson #2: Omit needless words. Don’t take 200 words to say what you could say in 50. Get to the point!

Now, ask yourself, what benefits can you offer your customers?

Most companies are in business to make money; almost every business I know is. Sure there may be one or two out there with other goals, but at the end of the day, businesses want to succeed and that means making money.

One surefire guaranteed way to increase sales is by working with qualified leads. It saves you time and effort when you have a list of qualified sales clients led to you. How do you go about getting sales leads? You find a company that does lead generation work. Don’t find just any company, find a company that cares about quality. You can’t rely on big lists that waste your time, you need up to date, qualified lead lists.

Who do you turn to? Lead Dogs is a great place to start. Microsoft, Orbitz and Adobe trust their business with Lead Dogs. That speaks volumes to me; what about you? These are large, successful companies that are blazing trails. If they trust Lead Dogs, maybe I can too!

*disclosure - sponsored

Growing your business

If your a business, and you’re trying to find a way to increase your bottom line, there are 4 things to look at.

1. Do things more efficiently
2. Expand your product or service line
3. Target a new market
4. Increase your price, or limit your size

The first is finding a more efficient way to do something. Let’s look at a massive company like Ford who is speaking of consolidating some of their dealers. You’ll find fewer Ford dealers in a neighborhood, and in return, they cut out extra costs.

Another way to grow business is by creating a new service or product. A large company like McDonald’s could create a new product like McNachos or McO’s (onion rings). By offering yet another product, you may find more income from people who normally skip the fries, but like something different. If you offer a service like housecleaning, maybe you start offering a new service such as steam cleaning carpets at an extra cost.

Targeting a new market is another way to increase your bottom line. If you sell and market trendy bags to 20-30’s female clients, why not market to a little bit older client, showing benefits of a trendier bag. Staying current, hip and young is as simple as adding a trendy bag to your fashion wardrobe.

Increasing your price or cutting back on product size is something you’ll see in the grocery store often. Cereal may stay the same price, but if you look closely, maybe they’re offering 20 ounces in their box in place of 22 ounces. You may not have noticed because the price remained the same. I noticed it on a bottle of ibuprofen type product. I noticed the bottle remained the same size, but there were now 2 less then what they used to put in it. If I had just grabbed it off the shelf without looking, I may not have noticed. That’s what a company is banking on! We’re creatures of habit.

What will you do to grow your business?

It’s so easy to believe you have to cut prices to bring customers in for value. Why not offer them something above and beyond, and keep those prices in tact? When you discount your goods, you’re changing how your customer now perceives the value of the product or service you’re offering.

When you add value, you say my price is fair, and I’m offering you something extra. Did you know that women will flock to cosmetic counters when you add a free item like a lipstick with purchase. That’s right, because it’s something “free”, and that perceived value means that they feel like they’re getting a good deal.

You can also do that. Think about what you can offer extra. What business are you in? What wouldn’t cost you a lot to add in for incentive? If you offer car washes, can you throw in a free tire scrub with special cleanser? If you’re a spa, can you throw in a free eyebrow wax with a facial? Maybe you’re a printing company, and printing out an extra 50 business card would only cost you pennies. To a client who is looking for value, offering those extras increases their appreciation of your service.

You’ve created a website, and you sit wondering where your traffic is. Just because you put something on the web, there’s not going to be a mad rush. Sorry to burst your bubble. You need to work for it. First off, if you’re a small business, you NEED a web presence. If you don’t know how to create one, hire somebody to do it for you. It will be worth its weight in gold. It will be an outlet to talk to customers about what’s going on with your business, and quite honestly, I rarely deal with companies that don’t have a web presence. A lot of people check a company out online before dealing with them. You don’t need a flashy, fancy website. A simple site, that’s got good content and information your customers will be looking for is more important than flash! People want information, plain and simple.
Now that you have a website, you need to work on building traffic to it. While some people will find it by looking specifically for you, others won’t know where to look. New people means new growth to your business. If you have retail on line, you can’t sell without customers!

If you’re going to have somebody build your website, it’s important that they understand what SEO is. Search Engine Optimization is going to help you get noticed. That means when somebody searched for your website in a search engine like Google or Yahoo! they’ll actually find you. This is one way you can climb over your competition. They may or may not have a website, and it may or may not be optimized. More traffic means you’ll have a better chance of converting those people into buying customers.

The internet is changes often and quickly, and it’s important to hire someone who understands this and stays current. Strong content is the key, but there are other factors when creating a website that will bring you to the top. Those top positions in a search engine can mean a heck of a lot more traffic than sitting in position 13 or 14! Yes, it can make that much difference.
As much as you want to optimize your site, it’s important it’s a natural build. This way the search engines trust this build more. Find a company that knows the language, and can show you what they’ve done for other clients. Don’t just take their word for it, get references and call and ask. Let their experience help your website get seen.
How are you going to get your company’s website seen?