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What Does Web 2.0 Mean to Your Business?
Writing an Effective Contact Us Page
Is Your Company Ready for the Christmas Rush?
10 Misconceptions that Could Derail Your e-Commerce Business: Advertising Turns Off Customers
Hitting the Bull’s-eye with PPC Targeting
What Does Web 2.0 Mean to Your Business?
The term Web 2.0 is used a lot these days. What is it, and what could it mean for your business?
Despite its name, Web 2.0 isn’t an upgrade to the World Wide Web. Rather, it’s the result of the natural progression of e-commerce.
In the early days of the Internet, all kinds of business models were tried online. Some of them succeeded, whereas others failed spectacularly. But successes and failures alike helped refine the concept of what works online, and why.
Analysing and building upon the Internet’s success stories resulted in a new generation of best practices, Web applications, products and online services that are referred to as "Web 2.0".
How Can You Tell if a Business Conforms to Web 2.0?
Companies praised for being Web 2.0 companies share some common factors, including:
- A focus on user participation, allowing users to create and influence content
- Enabling the ability to move applications from the desktop to the Internet
- Allowing users to socialize, network and collaborate
- Providing well-organized, in-depth content, with an enhanced ability to find more information quickly and easily
- A focus on the market as a conversation, rather than information being pushed at consumers
- A move away from static Web pages
Web 2.0 sites offer well-designed pages that emphasise form over fashion as well as subtle, three-dimensional shading in graphics and large, clear text and gradient backgrounds.
Examples of Web 2.0 businesses include Google AdSense, deli.cio.us, Digg, eBay, Technorati, Craigslist, and Yahoo!Local. Some examples of Web 2.0 applications include blogs, podcasts and wikis.
What Does Web 2.0 Mean for Your Business?
Web 2.0 businesses are successful because they cater to consumers’ online needs. You can learn a great deal from these websites by following their example and, by applying similar techniques and technologies, you can enhance your own site’s effectiveness.
- Does your website need a re-design?
If your website is stagnant, difficult to navigate and too busy, it’s time to consider re-designing it. Internet consumers today want websites that are fast to load, easy to use, and crystal clear. If you want to share your message effectively over the Web, simplicity is crucial.
- Can You Make Your Business More Social?
By creating a dialogue between your customers and your business, you can make people feel valued and more invested in your company. Try adding a forum to your website, or ask your customers to participate in the new content you add to the site, new features for your products, and so on – then reward them for participating.
- How Can You Reach Out?
Consider adding a corporate blog or a regular podcast seminar as part of your website services. This will add a personal touch to your company, and help your customers feel as if they are participating in a conversation, rather than being talked at.
If you want to be successful online, it is a good idea to understand the trends and principles driving the Internet today, and apply them to your own business.
Writing an Effective Contact Us Page
Contact Us pages – every website has them, but how much thought do business owners put into getting them right? The answer is, not a lot. Ineffective Contact Us pages can drive away potential customers, frustrate site visitors, and waste company time and resources.
So here are three steps that will help you get your contact pages right the first time.
1. Make Contact Information Easy to Find
A site visitor who is attempting to contact your company is trying to tell you something valuable. Perhaps this visitor has a question that’s preventing him or her from becoming a paying customer. Or maybe the visitor has a suggestion that could make your site more profitable.
However, that visitor is unlikely to be so invested in your website that he or she wants to spend valuable time searching for ways to get in touch with you. To avoid losing important information or the chance to gain another customer, make your Contact Us pages as visible as possible. Include Contact Us pages as a prominent part of your menu structure, and mark them clearly so they are easy to find.
2. Give Your Site Visitors Options
It’s amazing how many companies try to force site visitors into using a communication method that is easiest for the business, instead of what the potential customer might prefer.
To enhance the chances of receiving valuable feedback, offer as many contact options as possible. Give your site visitors the choice of reaching you by telephone, by contact form, e-mail, through postal mail, or even via live support. This will enhance your visitors’ experience and make them more likely to start a dialogue with you.
3. Make it Easy to Reach the Right Person
Many companies have numerous contact options on their Web pages, but the information is presented as a list, with no clear guidance. Your site visitor probably doesn’t care that Bob is Vice President of Sales and Margie runs the Marketing Department. What’s important to your visitor is where to direct his or her questions and comments.
A much better organisation structure is developed according to your visitors’ needs. Instead of listing roles and titles, group your contact information according to commonly asked questions. For extra value, add links to your FAQs right on the Contact Us page.
Think about solving your customers’ problems, instead of presenting them with irrelevant information.
Another benefit of this organization structure is that visitors’ comments will be more likely to reach the right person the first time, reducing wasted time redirecting the inquiries.
By following these three easy steps, you will help present and potential customers start a dialogue with your company. A little bit of time developing your Contact Us pages to be as effective as possible can strengthen your business relationships, reduce frustration, and increase overall profitability.
Is Your Company Ready for the Christmas Rush?
Every retailer looks forward to increased profits from the end of year Christmas rush. This year, however, some unprepared retailers will be in for a big shock. Cheery decorations and special deals at brick-and- mortar stores are not going to be enough to bring in more customers in 2006.
Are you properly positioned to take advantage of the Christmas shopping trends this year?
Christmas Shopping Changes in 2006
More and more people are tired of having to search for parking at shopping centres and struggling through crowds – especially now there is an easier way to shop.
As e-commerce businesses become more aware of customers’ needs, the customers, in turn, are becoming more trusting of them. Today, online shoppers can find exactly what they’re looking for, research what other shoppers have to say about the products they’re interested in, find wonderful deals and even have their presents gift-wrapped for them – all without leaving the comfort of their own homes.
A survey by shopping rewards site Mutual Points shows that 44% of Londoners plan to spend less money in brick-and-mortar stores this year; instead, they will turn to e-commerce for their shopping needs. Recent data confirms this trend: in the first half of 2006 online shoppers in the UK spent 40% more than the £13.5 billion they spent online last year.
Even for those who do buy in person, the Internet still plays a major role in their shopping experience. More than 80% of these shoppers say they research their purchases online before buying.
How You Can Prepare for the Online Rush
If you want to take advantage of the Christmas rush this year, you will need to have a conspicuous online presence - ideally one that will cater to shoppers looking for information. You can then lure them into your offline store or, better still, supply them with an easy and convenient online ordering method.
Many businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to survive without an online presence. If you don’t already have an established website, you are losing a vital opportunity to attract your share of the billion-pound online marketplace, while frustrating customers seeking basic information, like your location or opening hours.
If you do have a website, now is an excellent time to review it thoroughly. Is it informative and well organised? Can customers find the information they need with a minimum of clicking? Is your shopping cart user-friendly?
Relying solely on your brick-and-mortar business for revenue could cost you dearly during the critical Christmas season. To ensure your presence in the Christmas e-commerce rush this year, you should start reviewing your online practices now.
10 Misconceptions that Could Derail Your e-Commerce Business: Advertising Turns Off Customers
Many companies that offer fantastic products or services online are still doomed to failure. Why? Because they buy into our Sixth e-Commerce Myth that strong marketing campaigns will turn off potential customers.
It is true that employing an aggressive marketing style can aggravate the very people your company is trying to woo. However, it is also true that if you don’t get your name out there, you are going to be lost in the shuffle.
So how do you balance the need to spread the word about your products and services with the need to stay in the good graces of your potential customers? There are three major steps to consider:
Step 1: Be Relevant
Internet surfers are remarkably good at turning out information that doesn’t interest them. If you are trying to distract them from their goals, they are more likely to become impatient or ignore your ads altogether, than to sign up for your products or services.
But if you actually help Internet surfers achieve their goals instead of slowing them down, you are far more likely to bring in paying customers and keep up the goodwill of those who see your ads.
The best way to ensure you are helping your viewers and not aggravating them is to keep your ads relevant. Show how your product or service dovetails with the pages visitors are viewing, and watch their reactions spike.
Step 2: Avoid Unpopular Tactics
Internet users have spoken, and the vast majority of them hate pop-up ads. And yet, many advertisers continue to use them! If you know an advertising tactic that continually rubs people up the wrong way, don’t use it.
Step 3: Be Respectful
If a potential customer has indicated he or she is not interested in what you have to offer at this time, make sure you listen. By continually battering people with unwanted advertisements, you will alienate them and lose the chance to convert them into paying customers at a later date.
To show you respect the needs of your potential customers, provide a way to opt out of your communications whenever possible, and be sure to stick to it. There’s little on the world wide web that breeds ill will more than spamming.
By following these three steps, you can effectively spread the word about your company, without turning off your potential customers with unwarranted aggressiveness. Your advertising budget will go further, and your conversion rates will soar.
Hitting the Bull’s-eye with PPC Targeting
Of all the people using the Google search engine, you only have the chance of converting a certain subset of them to paying customers. After all, if you are selling used cars in Oxford, the likelihood that your target customers will be searching from Los Angeles is very low.
So how can you avoid wasting money on Google clicks from site visitors who are unlikely to buy from you?
Luckily, Google has provided an array of options to help you display your ads only to people who are most likely to be in your target audience. By showing your advertisements only to those who are most interested in your products and services, you can avoid paying for curiosity clicks from others who will have little to no interest in your website.
Being picky has another advantage as well. Targeting your ads will also increase your click-through rate, which means you could end up paying a lower price per click.
Targeting methods Google currently offers include:
- Geographic targeting. With Google AdWords you can decide which countries, regions, or even cities will see your advertisements. If you are selling only to people within England, your ads will not be displayed to those with foreign IPs, unless they specify your location in their search.
- Language targeting. If you believe only people who speak a specific language will be interested in your site, you can display your ads only to searchers whose language settings match your preferences.
- Targeting profitable times. Are you a B2B company that does most of its business during office hours? Or perhaps have a site about day trips that people usually browse on the weekend? If you see a certain pattern to your conversions, you can specify that your Google Ads are only displayed during certain times or on specific days.
- Content targeting. If you are running your PPC ads on content sites, you can pick specific sites where you would like your ads to appear. If you know a site where your target audience hangs out, this would be a great place to display your ads.
Google is focusing on providing even more targeting opportunities in the future. They have already tested ways to display ads to people of a specific gender, household income or age. No doubt, these options will follow soon.
In our first segment on PPC marketing last month we covered how PPC campaigns make a wonderful test bed to determine the effectiveness of your advertisements. To complete this short sequence, in our third and final segment next month, we’ll talk about making PPC easy and effective, by using a professional to manage your campaigns for you.
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