Say 100 visitors a day, 2 conversion to sales. Most businesses would assume the way to increase sales is to increase exposure, if 100 were to be 200, that would result in 4 sales right?
Maybe…
Except that the cost of acquiring the additional 100 would be pretty costly. You can go on to SEM which might help to a certain degree since Google Adwords and Yahoo sponsored search is based on a pay as customer click model. You might even want to consider additional advertising and marketing if the customer reach is not optimal.
Or
You can increase the user experience of your homepage and get the most out of 100 people who visit your website everyday.
1. Make Navigation easier – You know the drill, 3 clicks to a selection, no more. Customers are not that patient
2. Include a internal search box – This is for the really impatient customer. Key in what they want, press search and viola!
3. Make the information above the line as clear as possible – No advertisements, irrelevant links or pictures on the top 800 mega pixels. A simple Nav link at the side, promotions at the centre and highlights at the side. Its that simple.
4. Speed, Speed, Speed. The searcher should not have to wait, the whole purpose of going online is to get information sweet and fast. Google assigns a quality score for speed of loading too. Clearly the big G knows its staff.
5. Is there any roadblocks along the way to purchase? E.g Register and Log in, excessive surveys, etc.
Last but not least
6. Are you selling good stuffs?
Dreams of the future
June 19, 2008
One day in the not too distant future, I want to be an expert on cool stuff like Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight. Not just that, I love to be involving in data crunching on Excel, Databases and SAP. Dreams…
Build your Brand Loyalty
June 19, 2008
Yes, build your brand loyalty. Daily and relentlessly. Things which helped a business rise to the top might not be a factor in the future. When the golden goose stop laying golden eggs what will you do?
Why?
Top Positions in Google and Yahoo might never last
If you can predict with certainly that your keywords in the main search engines will remain top for the next decade, I will kidnap you, tie you up and interrogate you personally. It is important that you keep your loyal customers in case the big G decides that your website isn’t worth its ranking.
Hey, I have a merry band of loyal customers!
Says who? Customer loyalty will only last as long as the good provides exceptional value to them relative to other products. It is important to create brand loyalty by constantly upgrade your products and services to add value your customers’ purchase AND be ahead of the competition.
But wait a minute! My product is very niche, I have a few key accounts
You are saying that the survival of your company depends on the whims of a few customers. What if Google decides to release another free products to rival yours? What if your competition bagged your customers? Unless you have exclusive rights to the whaling area for the next hundred years, even if you fail to catch any whales, you can still release the fishing boats quickly into sea. No fishing boats?… that’s a big problem.
How?
Essential
1. Research and Development should always be top priority. Keep adding value to your product. This is essential.
2. Service the account regularly
Good to have
3. Roll out a road map to your customers. Give them the trust they deserve.
4. Constantly demonstrate how your product is better than the competition, least they be seduced by other vendors behind your back.
5. Watch out for warning signs of potential defections
6. Organize your customer into a community of backslappers (via social networks) and get them to evangelize others too. Make them feel good about being your customers, give them memberships.
I don’t believe this
7. Always remember who your loyal customers are…nah. There is no such things as loyal customers despite what Coke went through when they switched from vintage coke to a more modern coke and alienate others. That was in a different era before the Internet.
Customers will always be loyal to you as long as you provide an outstanding level of satisfaction to their purchasing decisions
Mozilla Firefox 3
June 18, 2008
I am an Opera Browser fanatic and an occasional Flock user. However I have downloaded Firefox so they can set the download record.
Those browsers are far better alternatives than Internet Explorer which has limited features and frequently targeted by hackers and viruses.
Immediate Aims
June 17, 2008
By this Christmas, I want to say I fully understand Web Analytics, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing (E-mail, PR, viral marketing, etc).
By 2009 Christmas, I want to say I am well versed in Enterprise Business Intelligence and Website Deployment.
High Hopes, but hopes always comes first before success.
Another Victim of the flash con
June 16, 2008
Today, a business I proposed my services to changed their website from a decent website needing some work and content mix to the abomination we called the 100% flash landing page. And the sub directories are all in flash as well. The whole thing is just one big flash file masquerading as a website.
Geez, unless they are going all out and putting their advertisements everywhere and on the face of the moon, how are they going to be found when people search for their product? How are they going to change content easily?
Surely someone convinced them to spend a fair amount of grands on a flash design and guarantee them brand recognition. He must be laughing his way to the bank.
First Stage Over
June 16, 2008
I have finished populating this blog with enough content and rant (with the right keywords) to start the Search Engine Optimization Process (SEO). From now on I will go through my drafts a few more times and with more in depth research. For instance, how did I miss out mentioning 37Signals‘ products is beyond me. That company has some brilliant products most of it are free to use with a limited subscription. This would not have happened had I put in more effort into my post.
Confession over. Time to kick ass!
Google Analytics Bootcamp
June 14, 2008
If you happen to be at Vermont from June 17-20 (Fat chance I will be there). Do yourself a favour and register yourself for the Online Marketing Boot Camp. It might turn out to be one of the wisest investment for your career or business. Soon we will live in a world with minimal marketing and advertising waste because of the advances of marketing measurement.
Don’t be a tool! Use one!
June 13, 2008
Today, I had to venture out into the open wide spaces outside of my office to take a taxi to a little known road. I never liked taking taxi due to its outrageously high prices around the city area. Sure doctors and lawyers charges more, but more on that later.
The first taxi driver. No luck, where the hell was that place? The second taxi had no idea on how to find that place too. Don’t they have street directories.
I was on the verge of pure undiluted anger. I flagged another taxi not expecting much. He asked me for my final destination then nodded. Maybe he been there before. That was an unexpected piece of luck.
He then keyed in a few buttons on the taxi touch screen monitor which I wrongly assumed was just an expensive piece of communication device between call centre and the taxis. Up pops the map, and the roads in the map is search able very much like most other good online maps are. I asked him about it. Was it difficult? Troublesome? How come many taxi drivers don’t use it?
“Where got lar?” He replied in stereotypical Singlish, “Very easy, just press press the address and got map liao!” He was not afraid to try the tools at hand. Like they say, you will never know till you do it.
There you have it, I got to my place, I paid the taxi charge and he got his business all because he knew how to use the tools allocated to him. It was a high price yes, but he certainly deserved it.
Websites and businesses should follow such examples. Here are some recommended suggestions.
1. The internet – Find out what others are saying about you. Do a search, Type “XXX Company sucks” or links:XXX Company in Google Search. Get one of those free programs to search for backlinks. If there are any negative feedback, work on them and post a reply or press statement assuring the audience that you are doing darn hard to address their fears. If the positive are good, make those users evangelists. Give then more discounts, ask them to e-mail a brochure to recommend to others. Send them Thank you and Christmas cards. Make sure they don’t just stay happy, convince them to convert others. Because a delighted customer is a much advertisement than the best poster.
2. Live Chat – Many internet users are suspicious of E-mails because of the publicity relating to spam and viruses. Furthermore, they don’t have high expectations of a reply appearing in their in-box so soon. For the time you take to open your mail, key in a reply, run a spell check and edit it a few times to make sure you sound like the Queen of England, your potential customer would have already surfed your competitor sites (in Search Engines, its so easy!) which might convince him to purchases quicker than you can type “Dear Sir….” Get live chat, make sure its well implemented and someone will actually be there to capture all the sales leads. A second too late with the reply is no reply when the searcher decides to plant his flag somewhere else.
3. Why are many internet website with strong elements of brick and motor store components without maps or directions to their shop? It doesn’t have to be a professionally looking map (although that might boost the image of the website). A map of straight lines and square shapes will suffice.
4. Google Analytics – Ok, this is not some tool which one can pick it up and use it immediately like a screwdriver. You do need a fair bit of technical skills (HTML and web analytics) to set it up. Get someone else to do it for you, if not, you can pay me a tidy sum to do it for you. Setting up is a pain. The joy is in the results. For websites with lots of visitors a day, say 100,000, I recommend something better but cost quite a bit.
5. Spell Checker – I am starting to state the obvious here, yet many important documents and presentations are riddled with spelling errors which can be easily picked up by Microsoft Office spellchecker. If you cannot buy Microsoft Office, download a free but decent alternative.
6. The most important tool for a website is the creative mindset. Write a strong and compelling messages all over your website in a clear and concise manner. Don’t leave your customers baffled with all those colours and pictures. Type something.
7Banners’ Lab
June 13, 2008
Forgive me for being a copycat. I cannot think of any other suitable words other than “Lab”. ‘Testing Ground’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Occasionally I will test the latest software and tools just out of sheer curiosity. Sometimes Google or Yahoo come out with a kick ass feature which seems like it could take over the world or just fizzle out.
Leave it to me to test those and then tell you if it might profit you. Sacrifice isn’t noble, it is dumb. The wise just profits on those who had sacrificed themselves.
