Due to the recession and job cut backs all over the world, we witnessed great numbers of people getting unemployed. Finding new jobs is tough these days, but many of these skilled unemployed people decided not to sit idle and take control of their own lives. They decided to find new innovative ways to earn a living by selling their skills on the web.
Honestly, if you ask me I would say that the boom in the online marketing industry, social web applications and the boom in small home based business are all linked to the global recession.
There are many things common among these home business owners. They are all small businesses with very little budget (sometimes no budget) to spend on anything at all. They are their own bosses; they help themselves and seek no one's assistance to avoid added expenses. Thanks to the World Wide Web's amazingly extensive information richness, they think they can learn anything from the internet.
Many of these small businesses rely on this approach when it comes to their own website design. They think they can do their website design using Microsoft's FrontPage, or by using Wordpress and its free template repositories. No one is there to tell them they can't do that, actually they can and it is good that they do it.
Due to lack of skills their website design lacks the features, pleasantness, effectiveness and usability of a professional website design. Their websites look childish, rough on edges and useless. They do get visitors and since none of them complain many small business owners start believing that they have mastered the website design skills. Sadly, that's not true.
Small business owners must realize the potential of online marketing tools and their effectiveness. In fact doing the online marketing with planning, good management of resources and attention to details can provide great boost to their business. A good website design can help you convert your website visitors to loyal customers much more effectively than an amateur website design.
A professional website design service knows how to create websites for businesses. Since they are professionals and are doing different kind of website designs each day, they know better what is effective in design techniques these days. As an amateur you do understand that you can create your own website but you certainly don't have any idea about what are effective and usable website design techniques for conversions.
A website design service can also take care of your branding needs by offering you services such as brand identity building with a logo design, banner designs which you can use in your social media marketing campaigns, brochure design which you can use for your off line promotions. In fact, it is usually considered a very wise move to hire the same website design service to take care of other things as well to maintain a consistency in design and effectiveness of your overall online marketing strategy.
Spending money on quality website design and logo design is a smart investment. Unlike the popular belief among small business owners that the logo design and website site design services are expansive, they are in fact becoming more affordable each day. Search the web and your will find thousands of website design service providers who are just dying to have you onboard.
in Web Design
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Smart Women Have A Marketing Mantra
Smart Women Have A Marketing Mantra
I recently attended a conference for women business owners and ran into a woman I had not seen for some time. She looked a little unhappy when I approached her. I asked her if everything was going well and she shared with me that she had just lost a big client. In fact, this big client was more than 50% of her business. Wow! I'd be upset too. She was in the process of figuring out what to do next to rebuild her business back to a successful place. As we talked, I started thinking about the "golden" rule in business for Smart Women: Always have a marketing "mantra."
Marketing "mantra?" What the heck is that? Let me share a quick scenario that will bring it home for you. You know that the only way to grow your business is to get your message about what you do out to your ideal clients-- right? The "message" is the "mantra" that you want to communicate over and over again about the benefits your product or service provides to the customer. You may do this in several ways (I highly recommend more than one!). You can have a website, use social media, attend conferences, speaking, etc. Once your "mantra" reaches your idea client (and if your "mantra" is effective), you will then be rewarded with new business. What's the first thing you typically stop doing when you get a few great clients and get involved with providing great service? You stop your marketing "mantra."
I've seen this so many times and I've been guilty of allowing this to happen in my own business. You get so excited about the new clients and doing the work that you love with them, you forget all about keeping the marketing "mantra" going to attract new ideal clients. This common mistake will prevent your business from going to the next level of success.
I invite you to set up a system in your business to have a continuous, regularly scheduled marketing "mantra." The key is to create a plan and make it happen. This is where having a team of support for help and delegation is essential. I will share with you that when I got clear and focused on this part of my business, real growth began to happen. I set up a system that allowed me to communicate with my ideal client and provide excellent service to my existing clients at the same time.
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Here are a few tips and solutions to help you get your marketing "mantra" up and running smoothly:
1. Reach Out and Touch Consistently – It's important to reach out to your ideal client on a regular basis with information that they need and will enjoy receiving. Decide how often you'd like to "touch" your ideal client with your "mantra." I recommend weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Any of these will work, so choose what works best for you and do it consistently.
2. Focus your "Mantra" – This is where it's really key to know who your ideal client is. Focus your message and your useful information in a way that solves problems for your client. Show how you can add value through your knowledge and expertise.
3. Get some help – Don't try to do this alone! It's nearly impossible to work with your clients effectively and have a consistent flow of communication if you are attempting to do this all by yourself. There are plenty of skilled people who would love to help you get your "mantra" out to the right people.
Having a consistent, clear, regularly scheduled marketing "mantra" can make the difference between having a business that is doing well with a few clients and one that is super successful serving scores of clients effectively. I know which one I want. How about you?
Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.
*****
I recently attended a conference for women business owners and ran into a woman I had not seen for some time. She looked a little unhappy when I approached her. I asked her if everything was going well and she shared with me that she had just lost a big client. In fact, this big client was more than 50% of her business. Wow! I'd be upset too. She was in the process of figuring out what to do next to rebuild her business back to a successful place. As we talked, I started thinking about the "golden" rule in business for Smart Women: Always have a marketing "mantra."
Marketing "mantra?" What the heck is that? Let me share a quick scenario that will bring it home for you. You know that the only way to grow your business is to get your message about what you do out to your ideal clients-- right? The "message" is the "mantra" that you want to communicate over and over again about the benefits your product or service provides to the customer. You may do this in several ways (I highly recommend more than one!). You can have a website, use social media, attend conferences, speaking, etc. Once your "mantra" reaches your idea client (and if your "mantra" is effective), you will then be rewarded with new business. What's the first thing you typically stop doing when you get a few great clients and get involved with providing great service? You stop your marketing "mantra."
I've seen this so many times and I've been guilty of allowing this to happen in my own business. You get so excited about the new clients and doing the work that you love with them, you forget all about keeping the marketing "mantra" going to attract new ideal clients. This common mistake will prevent your business from going to the next level of success.
I invite you to set up a system in your business to have a continuous, regularly scheduled marketing "mantra." The key is to create a plan and make it happen. This is where having a team of support for help and delegation is essential. I will share with you that when I got clear and focused on this part of my business, real growth began to happen. I set up a system that allowed me to communicate with my ideal client and provide excellent service to my existing clients at the same time.
<
Here are a few tips and solutions to help you get your marketing "mantra" up and running smoothly:
1. Reach Out and Touch Consistently – It's important to reach out to your ideal client on a regular basis with information that they need and will enjoy receiving. Decide how often you'd like to "touch" your ideal client with your "mantra." I recommend weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Any of these will work, so choose what works best for you and do it consistently.
2. Focus your "Mantra" – This is where it's really key to know who your ideal client is. Focus your message and your useful information in a way that solves problems for your client. Show how you can add value through your knowledge and expertise.
3. Get some help – Don't try to do this alone! It's nearly impossible to work with your clients effectively and have a consistent flow of communication if you are attempting to do this all by yourself. There are plenty of skilled people who would love to help you get your "mantra" out to the right people.
Having a consistent, clear, regularly scheduled marketing "mantra" can make the difference between having a business that is doing well with a few clients and one that is super successful serving scores of clients effectively. I know which one I want. How about you?
Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.
*****
