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Quality, targeted content is the key to being noticed online

February 27, 2012

If you’ve popped some information about your business online and then sat back believing you’ve unleashed the ultimate 24/7 online marketing machine, I’ve got some bad news.  Your website won’t attract repeat visitors or droves of potential new customers without  further effort on your part.

There are more than 250-million websites competing for the attention of some two billion Internet users – and this means you have to do something to make your website stand out or your message will be lost in the frenetic white noise of cyberspace.

Apart from promoting your site as often as you can and including it in the likes of advertisements, email signatures and social media profiles, there are two key things you need to do to ensure your website is as effective a marketing machine as you’d hoped it would be. You need to:

1. Appeal to search engines – they help ensure your target audience finds your site.

2. Appeal to human readers – they decide what to read, how long to stay on your site, whether to transact, and whether to return.

The good news is there is a relatively simple way to achieve both – by providing quality, targeted, expertly written content; created by professionals with your target audience and marketing goals in mind.

Content is the key

Putting relevant, quality content on your site is the key to achieving this.

  • It allows you to include the relevant, target keywords on your site. Your site content is the main way search engines determine if the content of your site is relevant for a search on a particular keyword; which in turn determines where your site will appear on search engine results pages. If your content is well written you’ll be able to appeal to search engines without putting your readers off with keyword rich, SEO-focused, jargon-heavy mumbo jumbo [A deliberate attempt at over-the-top keyword heavy copy here – Ed] that fails to get any message across before the browser teletransports elsewhere in cyberspace with the click of a mouse.
  • It allows you to provide useful information and add value for the user. This will keep visitors on your site, encourage them to stay on your site, and hopefully encourage word-of-mouth recommendations, social network shares and repeat visits to your website.
  • It feeds a self-perpetuating promotion cycle. Popularity and social traction with site visitors or users in turn indicates to search engines that your site has quality content worth recommending, and helps to increase your search engine rankings and the chances of being found online.

Poor or sloppy web copy can cost you business (read more in three tips to avoid losing business with sloppy web copy), while quality, targeted copy can be used effectively to generate and maintain customer loyalty, and business growth. It is probably best achieved by hiring a specialist.

For more information, read our white paper on how banks can drive customer loyalty and growth with business-focused content. Although this applies specifically to the small business banking industry, you’ll be able to draw parallels and better understand how quality web content can help improve businesses in your industry too.

And yes, The Small Business Company specializes in providing a range of business-focused web content and online training, so drop us a line if we can help.

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Dealing with customer pain points

December 30, 2011

Does your business routinely overlook customer pain points?

It’s easy to get blasé about certain aspects of your business, and easy to overlook pain points that customers might experience when dealing with your company – simply because you haven’t stopped to question your procedures, or investigate ways to improve your customer experience.

To illustrate the point, the Kepler Track in South Island’s Fiordland National Park is one of New Zealand’s great walks. I had the fortune to walk most of the 60km track over Christmas… meandering through leafy well-kept forest paths, dipping into cool clear lakes, climbing slopes and stairs to above the tree line, sidling along precipitous mountain tracks and descending through leafy tracks, fern-filled valleys and past magnificent waterfalls and rivers.
Backpacker on the Kepler Track

The scenery is nothing short of breath taking, and well worth the aches and pains of previously desk-bound muscles – but there is one major detractor for most tourists along this track, and other tracks in the region.

The detractor is the diminutive 2-3mm black sandflies found in swarms almost everywhere along the track. The females of the species pack one of the itchiest bites I’ve yet to experience. Nothing lethal or dangerous – just an itch that lasts for weeks and begs to be attacked with a wire brush for temporary relief.

These sandflies have small wings and can’t fly fast – so trampers (as hikers or backpackers are called in NZ) can (largely) avoid being bitten as long as they keep moving. Stop for anything longer than 30 seconds and the first sandflies will appear, shortly followed by their mates, all with their homing devices set for any area of skin you might be thoughtless enough to expose.

The presence of sandflies forces trampers to march the day’s trek – non-stop – from start to finish. The alternatives are to cover up all exposed areas or smother the body in nasty chemical (effective) or natural (not that effective) insect repellent to simply stop and enjoy the views, let alone take a lunch break. Simply put, is detracts (noticeably) from the experience.

Local Kiwis, however, seem to have developed an immunity to the itchy bites, and largely underestimate, and often totally fail to understand, the discomfort these creatures cause tourists. Similarly tourists aren’t enamored with locals telling them to either tough it out or stick to the cities – tourists are customers after all and many tourism businesses overlook this important customer pain point.

It’s easy to come up with solutions (such as lighting environmentally-friendly citronella candles at huts or adding fly-screened rest points) without breaking the budget or affecting the environment, but the pain point is largely overlooked and ignored.

Are you overlooking any customer pain points?
Take a few minutes out to assess your business to make sure you don’t have your own home-bred sandfly swarm to irritate customers.

  • Is it easy to find product information and prices?
  • Is your business easy to buy from (location, parking, adequate stock levels…)?
  • Is your customer service prompt, friendly and efficient?
  • What about after-sales service and product backup?
  • Are there any difficulties you can eliminate, processes you can streamline, or red tape you can remove?

Finally chat to your staff to see if they are aware of any customer pain points, and don’t forget to talk to your customers as well to find out if there are ay buzzing nuisances you can eliminate. Perhaps you need to improve your signage, allocate more parking, add a till point, train your staff…? Identify what you need to do to eliminate any customer pain points.

If you’re still not sure what customer pain points are, how not to sell software in 2012 highlights quite a few in the the software industry.

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Posted in All posts, Small Business, tsbc-blogs | 3 Comments »

Five tips to ease the burden of rising insurance costs

November 22, 2011

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in earthquake zones like New Zealand or Japan, or more likely to be affected by other natural disasters such a hurricanes and tornadoes in the US, flooding in Thailand, or man-made threats such as riots in the UK. The cost of insurance is rising – the only factor your location plays is in determining whether certain types of insurance are available and how much you can expect your premiums to increase by.

Earthquake-affected businesses and households in Christchurch, New Zealand, have already seen a 30% increase in premiums (albeit off a low base) – and this could increase to around 50% – as reinsurers reassess the risks and charge accordingly.

Premiums are also rising in the US, as they are around the world, with an average increase of 7.3% and in some cases considerably more. For some Pennsylvania homeowners, for example, premiums increased by 33% last year.

What can you do to limit the effect on your cash flow?

  1. Budget accordingly: The first step is to be aware that premiums are likely to rise, and to budget accordingly. Expect to have to pay more for the same level of cover and put this into your cash flow forecasts and budget figures. If you pay your insurance annually, you might also want to consider a monthly payment option.
  2. Compare insurers: It could pay to shop around. Contact several insurers and compare prices and consider using an independent insurance broker for advice.
  3. Read your policy carefully: Go through your insurance policy in detail to make sure your insurance is up-to-date and that you’re not paying for the same cover twice, or insuring items you no longer own. Find out what mitigating steps you can take, such as a fire or burglar alarm to reduce your premiums.
  4. Consider a higher excess: The higher your excess, the lower your premium should be, in theory. Compare quotes at different excess levels and choose your cover accordingly. Consider putting the money you save on premiums aside each month to build a fund to cover the excess payment should it be needed.
  5. Share the risk: You’ll probably be able to reduce your insurance costs if you share the risk. Consider sharing premises with similar or complementary businesses much like medical professionals share premises. This can offer other shared cost-saving benefits and potentially increase your turnover too.

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Posted in All posts, Small Business, tsbc-blogs | 2 Comments »

The rising over 65 population is serious business

October 30, 2011

person over the age of 65The Baby Boomers of the ‘60s have created an interesting new demographic trend precipitously poised to affect most developed world economies – that of a rising number of people aged 65-years-old and over, who are living considerably longer.

Apart from casting serious doubt on the future reliability of pensions and the furor about the strain this is expected to place on the provision and affordability of health care, the rising number of seniors has a number of other implications for business.

From a business management perspective

As the dream of working until the mandatory pensionable age and retiring to a life of leisure shatters, you’re likely to see employees wanting to work for longer. This will require a commitment to continued learning to keep skills up-to-date, and a flexible approach that allows people to work part time or remotely.

While the generation gap could create some tension, keeping older people on for longer can be a valuable way to maintain continuity in a recruitment environment that will see younger generations changing jobs more frequently. Using older employees as mentors for new staff is also an effective way to make use of an accumulated wealth of knowledge and experience.

From a product development and sales perspective

The change in demographics should present some new marketing and sales opportunities, especially if you’re first to market.

• Think about targeting seniors

No, not taking them out – marketing specifically to them. With the number of people over the age of 65 increasing, they’re becoming a significant market, possibly up to one-fifth of the population within a decade. Can you afford to ignore 20% or more of the population? Most businesses are thinking about how to market to Generation Y, but they also ought to make marketing to this segment of the population part of their marketing strategy.

• Think about related products and services

The growth in the over-65 population will provide the opportunity to develop new products and services. Can you diversify and come up with products that will ease pains, increase comfort or well-being or make their lives easier? Are there services you can offer this growing niche market?

The only constant in business is change, and smart businesses look out for change and find ways to use it to their advantage. Is there a way to use this change in demographics to your advantage, either directly or as a part of the larger supply chain?

What are you doing to use the change in population demographics to your advantage?

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Two strategies to future-proof your offshore sales

August 8, 2011

With the recent half-hearted bail out of the Greek economy, other Euro-zone countries looking almost as shaky, the political in-fighting over the debt ceiling hampering the US economy, and low growth in the UK… you don’t need an analyst to tell you that global market dynamics are changing. But are you watching these economies battle it out in fascinated inertia or are you doing something to future-proof your sales?

Provide a cost-saving alternative: One way to future-proof your offshore sales is to provide cost-saving alternatives to the more traditional markets in the US, UK and Europe.

Businesses in low-growth economies or recessions will be under pressure to cut costs and do more with less financial outlay. They’re likely to be looking to reduce staff and outsource certain in-house functions if they can save money by doing so – and they’re also likely to be in the market for technology or products that allow them to do more, at reduced costs.

Repositioning, or possibly even redesigning your products and services to meet this cost-saving need is one short-term business strategy to consider, particularly if you already have established networks and rely on business from these traditional off-shore markets.

Focus where the growth is: Another strategy is to focus where the growth is. The BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – all maintained strong growth through the recent global recession and are likely to continue to fare better than other economies in the event of a double-dip recession.

Last year China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, and is well on its way to becoming a world economic super-power. Although slowing to fend off inflation-related issues its red-hot economy, which continued to grow at around 9% during the recession, is expected to outstrip the US to become the world’s largest economy between 2020 and 2030.

Brazil, Russia and India continue to perform well, and South Africa which was recently included in the BRIC group to form the BRICS group of emerging economies is another (albeit riskier) option to consider, along with a number of African economies which have been largely sheltered from the global recession fall-out. It’s worth noting that four of the top ten fastest growing economies in 2010 were African.

This is not an exhaustive list, just a nudge to look at high-growth economies. Focusing on countries in a growth cycle makes economic sense. Yes, there might be greater or different barriers to entry, but you’ve got more chance of generating healthy sales and profits by focusing on areas that are expanding, building and thriving rather than markets that are contracting, downsizing and firing.

Economies like the US and UK are widely believed to have reached their pinnacle and are forecast to decline in importance and size over the coming decades, so it makes sense to strike out on a long-term strategy to do business with the emerging world economic super-powers.

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Getting quality expert comment for your article

July 26, 2011

Getting quality expert comment for an article is actually easier than it sounds. The hardest part of is finding the right expert to approach – and digging up their contact details. Once you’ve identified a few possible experts, getting those perfect sound byte comments is all a matter of preparation and planning.

Here are my top tips:

  • Don’t be afraid to ask: Don’t be afraid to approach people for comment, even if they are high profile – the worst that can happen is that your request is declined. A small percentage of the people you approach will be publicity shy, but most people understand the value of coverage and are pleased to comment.
  • Do your research first: Know the ins and outs of your topic and identify the sort of information you want before you approach people. You can’t wing it and hope to get good comment. Good comment comes from framing intelligent and insightful questions – which comes from doing your research and preparation.
  • Give adequate notice: Although deadlines have a habit of creeping up on you, you’re more likely to get good comment if you give your experts a few days to respond.
  • Outline your needs: Send an email outlining where the article will be published, the information you need, and when you need it by; or convey this over the phone. If using email include a list of specific questions you want answered, and if phoning have your question list ready.
  • Give options: Some people prefer to respond verbally and some prefer to respond in writing, so give your expert options. I usually open with an email outlining my needs and give the expert the option to respond by return email or indicate the best time for me to call them for their input.
  • Follow-up: If you’ve given your expert a few days to respond, remind them before your deadline to be sure to get useful comments, on time. You might also find that the information you’re given raises more questions. Don’t be afraid to go back to your expert with follow-up questions.

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