Finally Launching My New Website…

The Trials and Tribulations of Building a Website

I would love to say that my new website is finally finished, but websites are never finished.  They are a living and breathing part of your business that is constantly evolving and changing. What I can say is that the major redesign of my new website is finally complete. What I am saying is the structure of the site has changed dramatically. What I want to share is my journey that is filled with errors, poor judgment, but is guided by a clear vision and the result that I wanted. Let me explain the clear vision first.

I wanted to have the RickSegel.com website to be easy to understand, use and serve as an example of what good web design should be. The other thing that all of us want in a website is that it must be an investment and not just an expense. There are too many websites that are built which are beautiful but worthless. A website should generate business but it cannot be any type of hard sell. It is important to understand I have reviewed over 500 different websites in seminars, workshops, webinars, magazine and newspaper articles along with my book, The Essential Online Solution. That makes me a picky customer.  Generally, I am an easy sell, but as they say, knowledge can be a dangerous thing. The other factor to consider is that not only have I reviewed that many websites, but I have also reviewed the work of hundreds of web designers.

The one constant complaint that I got about my previous website was that it was difficult to navigate. The sad part about it was even I couldn’t find things that were there, so how could I expect my visitors to find what they were looking for? The internet, ecommerce, and web designs are changing at hyper speeds, which means your website has to be and look fresh all of the time. The other goal that many of us forget is that the web is about convenience in finding things fast. That is why things such as pictures flying in and out, music blasting, and the use of FLASH is truly not necessary. One of the other things I learned from reviewing so many sites is that the prettiest sites don’t always receive the highest ratings. It is the ones I refer to as utilitarian that often receive this distinction. Another way of saying it is that function beats out form. So don’t expect to go to my website to find whiz-bang graphics.

Now let me share some of the mistakes I made along the way. I believe the biggest mistake has been in my selection of vendors or consulting firms who supposedly have all of the answers. My new site represents the efforts of four different web development companies. One quit, two were fired, and one firm I love. The web designer who quit was a one-man shop who simply burnt himself out by promising too much and carried guilt when he couldn’t deliver it. That was my first lesson for the size of the website that I have: a one-person shop is way too small if you want multiple projects taking place at the same time, which is really what the web is all about. The first company I had to fire just talked in technical terms and I had no idea what she was talking about. When I would ask for an explanation, I was made to feel stupid. I am the customer. She forgot that and I forgot her. The good thing about the relationship was that I realized it early and made a move.  

The next firm I hired had such great promise. I loved the people she employed and loved her website plus the websites she had created in the past. I should have known there was a problem when shortly after I joined the firm, she changed her website and the new sites she was designing were terrible. Remember I had a clear vision of what my website was to look like and do for me.  The principal of the firm would argue with me on every change I wanted to make. We would meet on a weekly basis and argue about the stupidest things, and I ended up wasting months and money until one of my colleagues observed that we were literally just spinning our wheels and going nowhere. The lessons to learn from this relationship were firstly, make sure your philosophies are in sync with each other. Second, never trust a company that is telling you how to do business when the health of their business is suspect. Lastly, don’t ask them to use a process or a piece of software with which they have no experience.  

I am a huge believer in the HubSpot Software Solution to “Inbound Marketing”. The company that I had hired did not know or understand the true benefits of this approach to marketing.  In short, I was paying someone to learn and that was dumb! To my credit, I was smart enough to finally go to HubSpot and ask them for referrals of consulting firms which utilized their product and processes. That was smart! I then reviewed 15 different vendors and interviewed 8. That was also smart because each one gave me more knowledge and a better understanding of what was needed.  

Let me share the reasons why I like my website as much as I do and maybe there are some lessons for you to learn as well. I do invite your comments and criticisms, and I will explain and defend any of my actions and why we did what we did. I am not saying defend in a negative way but rather an explanation of why it was done that way.

1. It is easy to navigate. Anyone can figure out where they are and how to get there.
2. It is focused on the benefit of the viewer.  
3. It is built for growth. As many pages as it has, it is relatively easy to add to it.  
4. There are reasons to return to the site.  
5. The calls to action and opportunities for perspective clients to contact me are many.  
6. My use of testimonials helps to build my credibility. It reinforces Rick Segel as an authority and a thought leader.
7. It positions me as the expert in my field. This is important for all of us, not just for a writer and a speaker. Every retailer has to be positioned as the expert in their area.
8. It is an integral part of all of my marketing efforts and it has a lead nurturing system built in for prospective clients.  
9. It allows me the flexibility to include many of my other business ventures under one umbrella, such as texting4retailers, mystery shopping4retailers, and even websites4retailers.
10. There is a sense of organization that is not only appreciated by the viewer, but also appreciated by the people who work on the site. Simple is good.

I wanted to make the process I went through an example and something we all call learn from so that maybe your process will be a little bit easier than mine. I will share the name of the company that I am using: Lynton Web Solutions out of Houston, TX. Rick Segel and Associates are pleased to announce a partnership with Lynton Web Solutions which will create websites for retailers and help them with new and innovative marketing strategies.

I hope this makes a difference in your online struggles.

Have a great week and check out my website at www.ricksegel.com. I would love your feedback.

Here Is a Simple Idea That Works

I just got an interesting job that I think could become a great business tool for you. This is so good a business model that I might even want to pursue it even further and use it for more than this one client.  But the best part is that anyone can do it and reap the rewards from this model.

I will be working for a distributor that has two major trade shows a year. All of the vendors he represents attend these buying shows. They offer 2 educational programs before the show begins and I will be doing one presentation for their sales reps and another one for their retailers.  

In addition to the presentations, the distributor asked me to do a rather interesting assignment that could become a major trend. What I will be doing is going from trade show booth to trade show booth, with a video camera and a microphone and asking the vendors sales/managers or sales reps a few simple but powerful questions:

1. What is HOT from your company?
2. Why is it HOT?
3. Why should the consumer buy it?
4. What’s new?
5. What are the advantages of doing business with your company?

When I edit the responses I will break the videos down to a 3 to 5 minute maximum.  They will be converted into YouTube and placed in a private section of YouTube.  Then the distributor will offer this library of videos for the retailers to use on their websites. FREE Content.  And the distributor will charge the vendor an advertising fee.  

What makes this important for you to do?  

One of the reasons that online sales have been strong is because of the amount of educational data, product reviews, customer feedback, and owner’s polls. When you think about it, an online merchant is able to beat the retailer at their own strength which has traditionally been customer service, expertise, and dependability of the specialty retailer to know and stand behind the product.

Things have changed and the difference is in the area of expertise and sharing that expertise. Having a website filled with instructional and informative short video makes your website one that people will return to again and again. Even if someone doesn’t buy from you, people will be talking about you and in time that will pay big dividends.

SO WHAT IS THE ACTION STEP?

First, ask every vendor you do business with if they have created short instructional, fun, or informational videos that you can use on your website. If not, start to bring a camera to trade shows, any point and shoot camera works since they all take movies today. Then, ask the questions I listed earlier. OR When a sales rep is in your store, take a video.  OR you can use SKYPE (it’s free or has a tiny charge) to capture a video recording right through your computer.

I have found someone to edit my videos. Trust me, there are plenty of people who do that work as a part time job. Then just have them up load it to YouTube (it’s really pretty simple- I even did 2 of them a month ago myself). Once they are on YouTube, you can easily add them to your website and Facebook site.  You can even use these videos in your store if you have a flat screen monitor.  You can use some of the smaller screens that are not very expensive.  

This is really a winner and it just enhances the shopping experience within your store. It also makes your website far more interesting and encourages your visitors to return again and again. 

The Seven Breakthrough Marketing™ Tools

If you are a regular reader of this column you are beginning to better understand that there is truly is a revolution taking place in marketing today. There is an explosion of ideas coming to market. But it’s more than just the number of ideas-- it is the speed in which these ideas become accepted and used by large numbers of our marketing audience.

The days of saying, “We do it this way”, or “Why fix it if it’s not broken” are no longer a part of a marketer’s vocabulary. Then you add one more element to the mix of quantity of ideas, the speed of acceptance, and universal use --the cost. Most of these ideas are either low cost or no cost but do require commitments in both time and education.

The bottom line is that we reach people differently today. Consumers have new buying habits and ways in which they receive information about the products and services they seek. The following is my list of The Seven Breakthrough Marketing Tools we need to know in order to compete in this overcrowded marketplace:

1. The Touch Tools - These are the ways that we get in touch with people-- from face to face, to telephone calls, to communicating via answering machines, to traditional mail, e-mail, text, newsletters, etc. The reason why this tool is so important is because if a business is collecting email addresses but the majority of their customers prefer to be contacted via the telephone, then the method is worthless. Making a business aware of the preferred touch tool can make a dramatic impact on the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
   
   
2. Multiple Landing Pages - Today a businesses DNA is made up of the words that our prospects use to find our type of business, our products and or our services. This is perhaps the most important of all of the tools because people do not go into websites from the front door anymore. They do searches for specific words and phrases and we must have a single landing page where they land and then we can redirect them to the rest of the site or sites. In other words, if you sell Blown glass by Josh Simpson. Make sure you have a separate dedicated page for just Josh Simpson Art where you use Josh Simpson’s name as often as possible. That page links to the rest of your site.
   
   Then you want to have another site that just talks about “Blown glass” and again the term “Blown glass” appears as many times as possible. These pages are not generally long. They have only a couple of short paragraphs and, of course, they must have some graphics that will encourage the viewer to explore or learn more about your  company and entice them to click on other sections of your website.
   
   
3. Call to Action Graphics - The call to action is the action step we discussed in #2.  These are the graphic nudges that will encourage the reader to seek more information. This is perhaps the single biggest mistake that we all make when we don’t create a vehicle for a prospect to find out more what we can do for them. That is why websites today should have multiple forms to fill in to receive “additional information”, a “trial period”, or “free offers”, etc. The reason why you need graphics is to make it stand out. A call to action without graphics draws 73% less action.
   
   
4. Create Your Lead Nurturing System - When someone expresses an interest in a company or a product, what system do you have in place that will follow up with the customer? This can be a series of emails, letters, newsletters, or even phone calls over a desired time period, generally from 3 months to 1 year. I like to say, “until they Buy or Die”. But trying to come up with an idea of what to send or say every month or quarter can be a daunting task that rarely ever gets done. However, if you plan the pieces in advance the job is less intimidating and gets done.
   
   
5. Opt-in text/M-commerce - This is perhaps the fastest growing of all marketing tools and one that I am about to make a major personal investment in Texting Advantage for Retailers ™.  Here is the concept:  You will see in an ad on a sign in your window or on the side of the bus that says something like text 71277 and in the message type in “specials”.  Or it could even say get our tips on ………………………  This message can be on a billboard, store window, plastic bag, etc. The bottom line is that people can opt in to your list without ever having any contact with your business. That is a powerful concept that in turn will result in sales.
   
   
6. You Tube and the Video - This powerful technique is changing how we not only learn but also the way we entertain our self and it’s all FREE. It’s important to separate the concept of using Video and YouTube. YouTube is important because it is a first rate delivery system that has an unbelievable distribution network. But it is the use of video that is so important. These include:
   
   
1. Video Testimonials - Here you will capture comments by customers, make a video of them, and post them on your website. They can also be played in the store.
   
   
2. To Learning Minutes - These are 2-4 minute educational videos that should be branded and can teach the customer something about a product or technique. Again, they can be played in the store, in a section of a website, and can be combined in a collection that can be sold.
   
   
7. The coupons - I recently wrote an article pertaining to the use of the various coupon services. My advice is that I would get involved with as many coupon services as possible. Why? Simple, they are all pay for performance. So as long as you make an appealing offer without giving the store away, you can’t lose.
   

These are my seven tools but the way things are happening so fast, be prepared to learn new twists on some old rules and some ideas that could only happen because of the new technology that the internet delivers to us almost daily.  My advice: select what makes sense to you adapt and adopt it. But fasten your seat belt and get ready for the ride of the explosion of marketing ideas and concepts.

It’s Time Your Business Jumped on the YouTube Bandwagon…. And Here Is Why

YouTube is more than weird people trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. I believe it is becoming one of the most important tools to understand, master, and employ in your business today. What I want to do is first tell you some of the ways you can use YouTube in your business. Then I am going to take you step-by-step on exactly what to do to go from an idea to finally having your first video published.  

It is important to understand that the method or technology that is important is the use of video. YouTube is just a free service that makes using video on line so easy and inexpensive that we sometimes just refer to the videos as YouTube videos. It is really just using video but when you price out the cost to do it yourself, you will begin to understand the significance YouTube has made.

First a disclaimer: Although I have used many videos in my business, I have never been the one who handled any of the technical stuff that is involved in making this work. I say that because if I can make it work anyone can! I have never been accused of being a computer geek.  So I am going to use my very best “Dummiesque” skills and make it so easy that even someone afraid to turn on your computer will be inspired enough to give it a try.  Now, let’s begin.

How can a small business or retail store use You Tube and why should they?

1. The Testimonial. Have you ever had a customer give you a compliment about how much they like your store? Of course you have. The next time that happens just pull out your digital camera and ask the person if they could repeat it so you can film it.  If they are complimenting you, trust me they will never complain about doing it.  Then you can download it on to YouTube and the places you can use it are endless--from your website to having it play in the store.  
2. Positioning & Branding.  A short YouTube video can tell your potential customers who you are and what you do and the important question, “Why should the potential customer do business with you?”
3. Training. A YouTube video doesn’t have to be available for the general public to view . If you have lots of part time people, it is a great way to offer the same program wherever they are. Then create a test to make sure they watched it.
4. Product Information. The next time you work with a sales rep, interview them and let them talk about their product or products. Sales reps can be a very valuable source of product info. Just ask 3 basic questions and remember that the video should be no longer than 4 minutes.
5. Product Showcase /Product Presentations. This seems so obvious but it’s amazing how many people forget to just talk about the products they sell.  
6. Educational Purposes: Every retailer today is in the education business because there are so many new solutions or products that are being released weekly or monthly. But it more than just new products; it’s how we use or maintain our old products. Like the jeweler who teaches how to properly clean a ring. Or the gift store that teaches what the best gift to give for the occasion.  
7. Make it personal. Unveil the person behind the company. We like to do business with real people and YouTube videos are a great way to do just that.  Just talk to your customer and tell them how you got started in business, your successes, and maybe even failures. We love to do business with the underdog. Introduce your family and/or staff.  
8. Employee Videos: Encourage your employees to make videos about some positive aspect of the business. Or even have employees talk about the positive attributes of a business. Then take it a step further and have your employees sing the praises of another employee and what a wonderful experience they would have if that employee takes care of you
9. Contest Videos: This can apply to your employees or it can apply to a customer contest. Especially if you are catering to a younger market, it is amazing how these kids get into creating their masterpiece. The only requirement is that that it’s clean and relates in some positive way to your business. Remember the Word of Mouth thing. This is the stuff people talk about.
10. Share the Journey Videos A few years ago a restaurant chain called BGood in Boston won The Retailers Association of Massachusetts restaurant of the year. This business was built solely on their videos. Every couple of weeks they release a new video. As the owners described their unusual form of marketing, they said all we are doing is sharing our journey. They are hip, upbeat and fun. Go to bgood.com to review these classics. Wait to you see the amount of videos they have created. (There is even one when they received the RAMAE Award from me with the Legendary Uncle Ferris. He is one of the owner’s uncles and is quite the character which makes him perfect in the use of video.) 

The Steps from Neophyte to YouTube Producer and Director:

1. Log on: Go to YouTube.com Create a YouTube account. (If you have a   Google account, it’s the same.) Then log in.
2. Title:  Type in your Title
3. Description: Then type in the description of what the video is all about
4. Category: Then decide what category should your video go into. (Just pick the one that best fits.)
5. Tags: Now type in the Tags, which are simply the words that people will use to find you.
6. Broadcast Options:  Choose Open to the public or private for just friends or family.
7. Sharing Options: Choose if you want to create a URL or if you want to embed it into your website.
8. Upload from your computer and you are now done.

Now you have a basic video.  If you need any help editing and you are a Mac user, go to IMovie. Microsoft has a similar movie-editing feature. There is also a simple free service called Slideroll.com that works well.  

Don’t go crazy with creating all sorts of fancy intros at first. There will be plenty of time to get sophisticated.  There are also some wonderful YouTube videos that explain what to do.  Have a great week.

http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/

Are You a Groupie? You Will Be!

BUT FIRST LET ME SHARE A PERSONAL THOUGHT.

I had company over the weekend and I was asked when I was going to slow down and enjoy life. Are you kidding? What could be better than what I am doing now? I get the opportunity to learn about the latest and greatest ideas, concepts, strategies, techniques, and tools. Then I get to share them with the world and make a difference in the lives of people that do what I did. I think that’s called fulfilling, rewarding, and exciting.   Why do I say exciting? Because I love the new and shiny. As a retailer, it was the love for the different, exciting, the bright and shiny new whatever that made me a success. As a writer I still share that same love. That’s why this is my moment because we are experiencing an explosion of ideas and here is another one that has the potential to change your life and business.

No, I am not trying to be dramatic but the results are. Get ready to be a Groupie, because you will.

The concept is called is called group buying or better referred to as Group Couponing. There are websites popping up all over that are offering coupons from retailers to their groups or subscribers. Basically it’s a site that lists coupons that are paid by the retailer that is really pay for performance advertising. Yes, I would be a groupie for that type of advertising.

Pay for performance advertising says that you would be willing (actually any business person would be willing) to just pay only when the coupon is redeemed. If I would ask any small business owner if they would pay $10,000 in a month for advertising, the answer would probably be NO or way out of my budget. Then if I asked if $1,000 would be better? The response might be that it’s more in keeping with the budget. BUT if the $1,000 were to deliver only $2,000 in sales than the $1,000 would be way TOO MUCH. On the other hand if the $10,000 delivered $100,00 worth of business then the $10,000 would be cheap.

However if you through in the guarantee that you would only pay the $10,000 if you did the $100,000 worth of business, then it’s a home run.

This is what Larry Joseloff, director of content at Shop.org, the National Retail Federation's digital division said about this concept in a recent interview with USA Today in an article published on May 14th, 2010. “This is a way social media can be measured and a way for it to be monetized. I'm not prepared to say it's an overwhelming long-term consumer trend, but it's definitely something that's having an impact."

Gregg Pupecki, sales and marketing director for Wendella Boats & Chicago Water Taxi, is more effusive. His company sold more than 5,000 discount tickets on its first Groupon promotion and 20,000 on the next, which offered a 75-minute architecture tour of the Chicago River.



Here he talks about the coupon service, Groupon.com, one of the leading services (I will list the others as well). "I think Groupon is one of the best sales and marketing tools to come out since the Internet," he says. "Groupon is something any business owner or marketing manager can do themselves, no matter what size the company is."

Here is a partial list of companies that offer these services:

• 8coupons.com
• BuyWithMe.com
• LivingSocial.com
• CouponMountain.com
• CrowdSavings.com
• CouponCabin.com

The following is copied from BuyWithMe.com which is a site that explains why retailers should get involved. It explains the concept better than most of the other sites I reviewed.

Our partners (BuyWithMe.com) rave about our simple, seamless and speedy process.

1. Propose a Deal. Together, we work out a “win-win” offer by determining the service you want to feature and the minimum number of buyers required for your deal to go through, so that you’re guaranteed the volume you want. Simply provide your pictures, deal details, and business information, and our editorial staff handles the write-up for you, representing and protecting your brand as if it were our own.
2. Present the Deal. Your discount will be featured as “Today’s Deal” on our website and remain active under the “Other Deals” tab until the promotion ends.
3. Promote the Deal. Our tech-savvy customers visit our website and use social networking tools to get others to sign up in time for everyone to get the deal. BuyWithMe promotional support, email blasts, strategic alignments, and online contests help spread the word all over town.
4. Profit Without Risk. There is no “deal” if you don’t get the sales volume you require. We collect the pre-payment for you and deliver it in one check, so you can focus on all of your new customers!

Here is a way many of these services will earn extra money and is a win/win for all. Again this is from Buyfrom me.com

“Our “Bonus Deals" are valuable alternatives to reach our consumers even when you’re not running as “Today’s Deal.” We can also retweet your offer to our twitter followers, offer you banner ad space and generate other creative word of mouth campaigns.”

Why get involved in this type of advertising?

1. Almost every major retailer is jumping on this bandwagon.
2. It’s a completely measurable from Start to Finish.
3. There is NO Upfront Capital Expense: what could be better?

4. It will build your brand and exposure.
5. It’s easy to track your results. How many other forms of advertising can say that?
6. Built in loyalty. Loyalty is not easy to gain these days but coupons create a magnetic pull that just works.
7. Don’t feel as if you have to register for all of the services out there. Most of these coupon companies have affiliate programs where your coupon will appear on multiple sites because one coupon company will pay a fee to another company for the exposure.

My last bit of advice. Coupons WORK especially in higher ticket priced merchandise. They literally built my retail business. This is just putting the concept on steroids. And remember one more thing, rich or the better customers love coupons. (That’s probably why they are rich!) This system is a keeper.

The Miracle of Google, Part 2

Last week I wrote about all of the wonderful, whiz-bang features and tools that Google offers for free to help today’s business owner. This week I want to explore the ways Google can and does transform businesses everyday.  Many of the tools we are going to talk about are free, but we will also start to explore the way that Google makes money. It’s these fee-based services that have flipped the worst economic recession into boom times for many retailers and small businesses. Let’s explore exactly how it is done.

Where to begin? Well, I’ll start by giving you my interpretation, which may be subject to differing points of view. The one thing that is a little confusing is that the sections I am telling you to go to have different page titles than their domain names or URLs. An example of this is the first page that I recommend you begin with, Google Business Solutions.  The URL is www.google.com/services.  But if you do a search for Google Business Center (which was the term the folks at Google told me to use), the 3^rdlisting says, “Welcome to Google Business Solutions.”  Bottom line is that this is where you want to be.

So let’s get started:

1. Open a Google account, which we discussed in the first article.

2. Go to Google Business Solutions.

3. From Google Business Solutions, click the first option, which is called Google Places.  As Google describes it, “Google Placeslets business owners claim or add local listings on Google to get found online, communicate with customers, and gain insights to make business decisions. Features include creating coupons, posting live updates, and viewing how your business is doing with a real-time dashboard.”

Make sure you watch the video about Google Places. It gives a wonderful overview of what Google can do for you and your business. Understand that this is a free service that allows you to list your business for free, update its information, post photos and videos of your business, and (the part I like the most) even post coupons for your business!

Another benefit of Google Places is a new section called Free Insights, which reports back to you where your customers come from and what terms are they searching for to find you.

4. Merchant Center is also located on the Business Solution Page and is very important because it allows you to list actual products by vendor, model or style number to help searchers find your site and your products.  Again, this is a free service.

5. Google Maps allows you to add maps and directions to your store’s website. This section was once used for all local ads, but now you go to Google Places instead. This is powerful because you are making it easy for your customer to find you without leaving your site.

6. AdSense is a service that allows you to make money from Google. It will scan the words used on your site and place small-space ads on your website.  It does create extra revenue, but frankly I don’t see many people getting rich here.  There are, however, many success stories that contradict my statement.

7. There are some services that are free but really need a web/Google-pro to execute.  My recommendation is at least to make sure your webmaster is aware of these free services and urge him or her to use them as seen fit.  

The first one is Webmaster Central, which helps webmasters better understand how Google works so they can build their sites most efficiently.

Website Optimizer does exactly what is says - it takes advantage of the Google ranking system and teaches web pros how to optimize their site ranking.

8. Google Analytics is the real biggie that you can either tackle yourself, but I would recommend hiring a Certified Google Partner.  Spend 20 minutes using this service and be absolutely WOWED with the information Google can gather from a user searching through your website.  Sign your site up and gather what you can understand, but get a pro to help you better understand the potential of this truly magnificent tool.

9. Lastly is the service where Google actually makes their money and also transforms your business.  This isGoogle AdWords, a search-term bidding system managed by Google and measured by Google’s search results.  Many people refer to it as Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC).

It can build a business instantly when it’s done right.  When it’s done incorrectly, it can be a costly mistake.  How?  The key is to know what words to bid on.  If you pick a term too general, you can waste a lot of money, as your site is likely to get buried below big-name competitors in search result lists.  But don’t worry; you can use Google Analytics to help you select the rightterms for your site, helping you to transform your business.  Read the success stories; think of the possibilities!

It’s been fun interviewing and exploring Google, but I have only scratched the surface of the depth of this American Icon.  My only goal for this article was to raise your curiosity about Google and how it can change the way we all do business.

Did You Google Today?

Google is an absolute PHENOMENON! It is like no other business model in the world; it has grown faster than any other business in its time, quickly ballooning to a size that rivals old, established companies that have been around for 100 years; and it has made more millionaires through its stock than any other company in years. The truly amazing part is that 85% of everything Google creates, distributes and supports is FREE. If that doesn’t blow you away, think about this: in the area where Google makes the most money, Ad Words and Sponsored Links, they NEVER raise their price. They let the customer do that, letting us bid on the terms that we want.

Google has changed the way business is done and where its going BUT this article isn’t about that. This article is about all of the wonderful tools that Google has to offer that we, as small business owners, need to be aware of and use to our full advantage. On Friday I had the good fortune of interviewing Deborah Chou, a Google information officer, at her California office.  We talked about Google’s various tools and which tools every business should be using to help make their business more profitable. There are so many tools to discuss that it will take a couple of weeks (and even more) to cover them all.

But before I begin, if anyone who is reading this article has a favorite Google application that you can’t live without (other than the Google search feature), please write in and share it with all of us!

Now let’s get down to the basics…

First you need to open a Google Account, which is as easy as supplying a name, password and email address. An account can be created through any of Google’s various offerings like Gmail, AdWords or Google Calendar. So let’s get started!

The first step is to go to Google.com and then do a search for “Google Tools.” The second item down is “More Google Products.” Click on that and you will see the page below. The page is much longer than I am showing here, so don’t think the list is this short; plus, there are many more tools that Google doesn’t even mention!

Here are my Top 10 recommendations for Google Apps that every businessperson should consider.

 

1. Google Alerts. Any time an interest of yours is in the news, you can create an alert by word, phrase, name or category and Google will send you an email alert with the link to articles, websites, blogs - you name it! Do this right away by listing every competitor you have, trends in your industry, your name, your company's name or any other category, phrase or keyword you can think of. You can customize your alerts be received hourly, daily, weekly or even monthly. I read mine daily, as it's an easy way to stay up-to-date with all of the various industries I follow.
2. Google Calendar. I find this to be an invaluable tool because I'm able to access my entire calendar on my mobile phone or computer - appointments, dates, deadlines, birthdays - anything that you would document on a calendar, you can access anytime, anywhere. You can also customize each update to automatically update your entire team's calendars, or specific people, on both their mobile devices and computers whenever you choose.
3. Blogger.com. This is a division of Google that allows you to create a free blog. If you have ever been intimidated with the prospect of creating a blog, don't be! Blogger.com makes it so simple and painless to create a blog customized to your needs and specifications. In less than 15 minutes you'll be up and running!
4. Google Sites. This is a free and easy way to create a webpage. They even have dozens of prebuilt templates for you to choose from, and some wonderful, easy-to-follow videos that walk you through the entire process.
5. Google Checkout. This is a complete online shopping cart and credit card processing service. The benefit of using Google is the fact that there are no extra or hidden charges. They supply you with an order management system, fraud protection, a product search feature, and of course, the brand recognition and good name of Google itself. Your customers will be able to clearly see the Google graphics on your website, giving them a greater feeling of transaction security.
6. Google Docs. This is a great document management system that allows multiple people to work on the same document and access each document at any time. The application could work for mailers, ad copy and even store layout and design.
7. Google Forms. This is actually part of Google Docs. It is a collection of templates for any form that you would need to run your business imaginable (a similar product is also offered by Microsoft in Word). The benefit of using Google is that it integrates seamlessly with Google Docs, which is accessible to your entire team.
8. Google Business Images. This collection of images is free to use with no copyright restrictions. The benefit here is that it enables you to insert first-rate images into all the different forms of business communication you use to run your business.
9. Google Voice. This is a unique service that allows you to filter all of your calls and messages into one phone number. It also has a feature that will transcribe voice messages. On this one, be sure to review the video because the possibilities are endless!
10. Google Business Channel. This is a good place to end this article, but a great way to lay the groundwork for next week's article on more advanced applications like Google AdWords, Google's Advertising Program and Google Analytics. The Google Business Channel is a collection of short videos on YouTube that explain every product Google offers. Trust me, it is a must for anyone in business today.

 

We've just scratched the surface on the free services that Google currently offers. Next week, you'll start to understand the huge impact that Google has made on running and growing a small business, and how it can and will truly revolutionize your business in an exciting way!

And one more thing, make sure that your business is registered with Google Local. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to the Business Channel and find out.

Have a great week! 

 

 

Are You Showing Your Prospects a Way to Become GREAT Customers?

When a customer comes in a store, we greet them, we try to engage them in conversation, we ask questions to better understand them and their needs. Then we suggest different things--we ask them if they like the merchandise and want to buy it. After they have made their decision we tether them back to the store by asking for an email address or the really smart businesses delve deeper and learn as much as they can to better serve the customer.

Even if they don't buy that day, we still try to capture information so that we can make them aware of what is happening at the business. The more we know about our customers, the better and easier it is to sell them. (That doesn't mean that we do all of those steps all of the time, even though we know we should.)

BUT you already know all of that.  So what's the point?

It came to me as one of those moments you say to yourself, "Duh that makes sense! Why didn't I think about that sooner?" Also known as or similar to saying and hitting yourself on the forehead and saying "I could have had a V8!" The point is what steps or procedures do we have in place on our websites that could engage the customer and bring them into our community of customers? Most of us, and I include myself, do very little to capture information or engage our web visitors.

What a waste of efforts!

You spend all of this time developing a website, putting content on the site that is relevant and interesting, and the most any of us do is have a small box, generally hidden on the bottom of the page that says "sign up for our newsletter" (which never seems to come out or if it does it is not done on a regular basis). Then there is the other common box that says, "Sign up for our mailing list". You give NO reason to join, NO incentive or offer to join. So we have customers coming to our sites who might love everything they see and they are the perfect for our store but they don't see any reason to sign up for the newsletter or couldn't find it at all.

The other simple mistake we make is we have only one spot on our website to sign up. If you are saying to yourself, "What's wrong with that?" remember, we don't enter websites through the front page any more. We do a Google search using a certain keyword such as "candle sticks." If we click on it Google it will take us to the pages where candlesticks are mentioned the most. We might not have any data collection widget on that page or even a way to purchase that item on that page.

The Next Issue: Are you Selling or Just Telling?

What do your sign up Widgets actually look like?

Yes, let's make our signup widgets a little more interesting, inviting, and engaging. Let's use some "Sell Words", let's add some graphics and something that says subconsciously  "That looks interesting , I want to get more information". The following examples are from Hubspot, the inbound experts. They believe that we are now living in an era of Pull Marketing NOT Push Marketing. The difference is we want our customers to find us as and contact us by finding us in places our customers expect to find us. That sounds simple enough, yet we don't do it. We get fixated on certain words or phrases and lose sight of the big picture. They also believe that boring is boring. That means the "Call or Calls To Action " must look interesting and inviting. Here are some examples they use for various industries.

This first one are just two different versions of the same offer. This offer of a free webinar can apply to just about any retail business but especially for any business that sells a product that is confusing or requires some product know how or education about the product. That is almost every product I can think of.  

These next two are for a Pet Sitting Service  and they clearly state what the offer is or what I like to call it an Ethical Bribe. An Ethical Bribe is something that you are offering a customer with a high perceived value and little or no cost to you. Such as special report or the 10 Best Ways to do Something.  In this case it's 3 Free months of Service.

 

This next one offers a free consulting report:

This one is always popular--an offer for a Free Downloadable e-book. I use this one on my site. But I am a writer. Don't worry, there are lots of free e-books available to use or just hire a researcher to compile a report your customers will love.

This one is just a basic coupon but it is so inviting. The GRAPHICS work well here.

Here is one we usually forget. Something that encorages referral business. In this type of offer, we must remember to create a form that captures multiple names and contact information and here it would be the type of product they might most be interested in.

Lastly is simply a special report about a specific topic that YOU want to be considered an expert in. These special reports can also be refered to as "white papers".

 

This is just some food for thought. Doesn't it just look better and it works so much better!

Just as note, I want to thank Hubspot, which I am a client of for supplying the wonderful calls to action that are in this article. I strongly recommend that you check out Hubspot, www.hubspot.com. They offer a free 7 day trial. (Although I am a client, I have no financial interest on this recommendation.)

On another subject, I do want to thank all of the people who responded to my question last week about the need for a service to handle your social media initiatives. There were some great answers and I will do a special article about it next week.

Why Are You Marketing That Way? ...The Follow-up

Note: This is an article I didn't expect to write.

(Please be sure to read the end of this article because it could change all of our lives... that's enough hints for now.)

When I wrote my article last week about the new ways to market, I never expected to be writing a follow-up piece. However, I have apparently touched a nerve or a pain point much larger than I first realized. Actually that's not quite true because I felt that this was and is the most important issue facing retailers today. However, I just wasn't sure if the rest of the world would see it my way.

After reading all of the emails and blog responses, I really do feel your pain and confusion. Knowing which way to market and advertise has always been an issue. But the difference today is the sheer number of what I call "Touch Tools" or ways to reach or contact our customers.

It is not only the thing that we worry about but it will be the ways businesses will differentiate themselves from their competitors. At one time it was the merchandise that was the major differentiator. Then it became locations--downtown, on the highway, in a strip center, or in a mall.

Next, the trend was service, and then price. And now it has become the way we communicate our message, so that the customer we want sees it.  It is one thing recognizing the big issue or trend (which is perhaps the better word for the marketing shift) but now we have to address all of the problems, fears, and concerns that surround the trend.

As I see it, here are the concerns which are reflected by some of the responses I have received.

There is a lot of stuff to learn. Most people who go into the retail business don't go into it because they love technology or are the fastest learners. I put myself in that category. When my publisher wanted more of a reference book for The Essential Online Solution, it was painful for me but I simply had to push myself to master these new technologies.

Here are some of the comments I have received on this:
"This new generation of customer THRIVES on this technology. We'd all be best advised to reach these new customers the way they want it."
I agree completely.

"My customers are reluctant to give their e-address (due to age?) because they are being bombarded with so many messages already."
I don't completely agree with that. Giving an email address doesn't mean that much because the customer can unsubscribe quickly and it doesn't even mean they are even going to open the email.

The Time Issue

"I count myself as one of those who is completely overwhelmed and bombarded by the amount of constant interruptions coming in from every direction and the amount of sheer time (even as fast as it is) it takes to keep up with it all.
You really do need an additional employee who can handle all of the social media marketing, and nothing else.

You are right. There are only so many hours in the day. But the investment in that other person must be a prudent investment.

"I can't afford a separate person to do this - it's going to be me!! I just don't see how it's possible!!"

But can you afford not to?

 "Does anyone else but me just about flip out with the speed of change? Yeah, I know that at 55, the synapses don't adapt as well, but the sheer enormity of the shift and how much one has to pay attention to in order to be viable is staggering."

Right on target! However, the future of business will be won by those who have the ability to learn, understand, and implement.

"I do it all market, sell, pay bills, and do online marketing. I have FB, myspace, text, twitter, linkdin, and I use ping.fm to update it all. It is exhausting, but I have paid people to do it and they don't do it, or do it wrong so it is me all alone working the business, and working right now. How do you do it without doing it 24/7?"

You can't do it all. It is impossible. We must be better managers and recruiters. Read some of the following suggestions.

"We'll find a way to do this because nothing else works. It's exciting, more than anything else. SOMETHING THAT WORKS."

Social media is really working. Here are some positive thoughts:         

"Our women's business is on fire, up dramatically in southeastern Michigan (Detroit area!). We're doing more than ever, and always looking for more good ideas. It DOES get mind-boggling, it DOES get overwhelming, but results put wind in the sails." 

Isn't business in Michigan supposed to be bad?

"Our Myspace page is bombarded with sales questions every day. Myspace is right for my business because of their median age. FB is also a great tool and it's easy to link them together, which saves time. Social networks are wonderful; remember to be a "friend", not an advertisement."

An Interesting REMEDY

"My number one, must take immediate action, piece of advice? Create a Facebook page for the business today. Immediately suggest the page to all of your current personal FB friends and have your employees do the same. If a business with three employees with an average 150 facebook friends each who can encourage just 15% of those FB friends to join the page, a business could develop a page and reach over 1,000 people within 24 hours. Wow!

 

We can all relate to this one

"This here is a one-horse shop and I'm the horse", and it sounds like there are a lot of us out there and we are exhausted.  
 
"What I like about social media is that the sites can be linked together so I can post once and hit them all. And it's FREE. I like free. So I try to post something short and simple 3-4 times a week...something about the history of our town or a quote about books (I'm a used bookshop), just to keep my presence out there." 

 

This next one is the real winner. Check this website out... 

There is a great resource for virtual assistants at http://www.odesk.com/ as they work with a number of people who are very internet savvy in the Philippines but have a great accountability system in place.  

I have spent a lot of time on this site and it is a keeper.

Here is the section I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

I want share some things with you and ask your opinion. As you can tell by many of the comments people have contributed, they fall within four groups:

• Group 1. I don't have time to do all of this stuff
• Group 2. I don't have the money to hire someone
• Group 3. I really don't understand it all, I am afraid of all this new technology and I really don't feel like learning it. But I know I should.
• Group 4. Hey, this stuff really works. I want to learn how some of the other social media sites work.

HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA?

I have been asked face-to-face at speeches, by phone calls, and countless emails if I would either help my audience members or refer them to someone who understands retailing and the best social media vehicles to use. Up to point, I have respectively declined but the need is great and I find myself in a unique position.

I would just like to know the interest level in a service such as this and how do YOU think a service like this should work? Plus how much do you think a service like this should cost?

Yes, I have my thoughts and ideas but before I unveil them I would like to hear from you. This does NOT mean that I am proceeding with this but I would love to know the true interest level. Just post your answer to the blog or send me an email. Thank you all in advance for your feedback.

Let's wrap this up with this last comment from a reader. I think it's the best attitude to adopt.

"I am doing quite a bit, but falling down on in a few areas. So I rejoice in what I AM doing, and strive to improve where it is needed while not beating myself up."  

The 7 Things Every Business Needs To Know About Facebook… Plus The Winners!

1.	Know the FOUR Business Goals for Your Facebook Account Get found by people who are searching for your products or services Connect and engage with current and potential customers Create a community around your business Promote other content you create, including web pages, blog articles, and your advertising.
2.	Every business should (must) create a page, so your customers can become your fans. The myth is that Facebook is only for kids or Gen Y. It is for everyone. Older people and especially Baby Boomers (the oldest Baby Boomer is now 63 years old) which means most boomers are still working, in pretty good shape, and don’t think or feel old like they are ready for the rocking chair.
3.	Profiles are for people, Pages are for businesses. Do not create a personal profile for your business. This is one point that many people who are successful at Facebook are not even aware of (including me). A Page is similar to a Profile except that it is, by default, public and users can become a “fan” of your Page without first requiring approval from the Page administrator. Creating a Page is completely free but will require your time to build and maintain. To get started, visit www.facebook.com/pages
4.	Make Your Page Easy to Understand ~ Use Tabs (The Tab Interface) – This allows you to group the content and applications as per your requirements. Not only you can edit the default tabs, but you can also add new tabs giving you complete control in its customization. You can freely drag them to arrange in required order. With new Facebook application standards in effect, almost every new application (internal or 3rd party) can be integrated with Facebook tabs. This opens endless opportunities to create customizable tabs with your choice of third party applications.
5.	PROMOTE – PROMOTE – PROMOTE Know the Six Best Ways to Promote Your Page Draw on your existing network. Start promoting your page to your own customer list. Although Facebook is a do-it-yourself type of endeavor, have your webmaster make sure your pages are indexed just like your website pages. The results are amazing with this little fix. Create Events, Discussion Boards and/or News Flashes about your business and community. Join the various networks of people who would have an interest to buy from you. Buy a Facebook Ad. For some reason this is not as widespread. Every quarter, create a poll to get your fans’ feedback about their views on various pages or page elements.
6.	Schedule a block of Facebook time (15 min?) each day to monitor your account/keep up with things/add new content.
7.	Go to http://Facebook.Grader.com to grade your profile or page for free. This is another free service from a company I love and I am an account of. HubSpot. You will be hearing lots more from this company in the months ahead.

I would like to thank all of the people who helped in forming this list. Especially my friends at HubSpot, a web marketing company like none other, Interactive Insights Group, and my chief researcher, Cindy Potts.

 

NOW… FOR THE WINNERS!

There were so many great responses to decide on just one winner, so after arguing back and forth, here is the Grand Prize winner who will receive a 2-month subscription to The Retailer’s Advantage, plus the choice of any of any Rick Segel book. The other 3 winners will receive the 2-month subscription to The Retailer’s Advantage.

Grand Prize Winner ~

Chistine Joyner
Diamonds Direct • St. Petersburg, FL

Website: www.DiamondsDirect.us
Facebook: Click Here

We are using Facebook with great success. I set it up at the end of May and it has exploded. We have over 400 fans and nearly as many friends. I have integrated a Facebook widget on the homepage of our website so that a viewer can become a fan, read the thread, etc. We have gained two known sales from this vehicle. Clients coming in the store that haven’t bought yet are asking us about products they have seen us talk about on facebook.

We used it to introduce a new commercial and get viewer’s response and comments before it aired. In the next few days we will be setting up advertising to coincide with a commercial that we are launching in the next week. I have posted comments to entice viewers to visit our website and sign up to win a $50 gift card to a local high end restaurant… we drove more traffic to our site and gained more entries for the contest, but most importantly, we are using it to grow our client base.

Overall, Facebook seems to be helping with top-of-mind awareness. Plus, if we are already their “friend” before they even walk into the store, the barrier to gain a rapport with the client is reduced.

Check out our website, and become our friend on Facebook!!

Runner-up Winners ~

Ann Burlingham
Burlingham Books • Perry, NY

Website: www.BurlinghamBooks.com
Facebook: Click Here

I expected to blog more — I come from a Usenet background, where I wrote daily in a number of modes on different subjects, easily — but I haven’t. I set up my Facebook page for the bookstore and had a number of people become fans. What I’ve started doing lately, in addition to posting event notices, is to write a quick daily (or so) note about a book, item in the store, things going on in town, etc.

Not a lot of feedback from it, except some positive comments and encouragement, but I think it’s a good way to go – easy to do on part, easy to read for the customers/fans. I know from the store that my personality is one of my strongest sales tools; since I find writing easy, Facebook is another way to let my personality, sense of humor, community involvement, and the like shine out.

One more way of reminding people that there’s a Real Live Local Bookstore with Real Live People in it, locally involved and so much better than *blech* Amazon. Just as we see new customers in the store daily, I seem to see a few new fans on Facebook everyday.

Shawnda McGinnis
Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, NJ

Website: www.OceanCityVacation.com
Facebook: Click Here

Hi, Rick. Not on Facebook? Is that even an option anymore? We had almost 2,000 fans before we even announced that we had a page.

We use FB for just about everything! We announce events, put up teaser photos from the event from the previous year, announce new businesses with photos from their ribbon cuttings, attach a link to our website with “What’s Happening” each week, link all press releases from our website, we ask and answer questions, send event notices, traffic updates if there is an issue with one of the bridges coming onto the island, last minute info or changes for events, and much more.

People write into us and tell us how much they LOVE Ocean City, NJ, send us pictures, and taut their favorite businesses. We even have a farm that is located “on the way to the shore” who posts notices to our page saying, “stop here on your way to the beach.” A local fundraiser also used our page as a way to get their info out to raise money to stop childhood hunger.

We direct people to our website for more detailed information about things we are posting. Once they are on our site, they stay and look around which is great for our local businesses that are on our site. AND… we can track it all!

Through FB, we can also get a glimpse at the demographics of our “fans” and from which areas they are coming.

We can check and update information 24/7 from just about anywhere. The best part? It’s FREE! We love Facebook for promoting Ocean City, NJ.

Sarah Deveau
Cater Tot Consignment • Airdrie, AB Canada

Website: www.CaterTot.ca
Facebook: Click Here

How do I love thee, Facebook? Let me count the ways.

I created a Facebook presence for my children’s consignment boutique over a year ago, and it has been phenomenal for my business. We have a Page, with more than 900 ‘fans’ who are seeing our status updates in their news feed or receiving longer Updates from us as well. On our Page, we offer links to articles featuring our store or the products we carry, we link to like-minded businesses, we offer contests and coupons, and encourage our fans to post their photos of their kids using products they bought at our store. We announce special sales and latest arrivals exclusively on our Facebook page.

Since introducing Facebook into our marketing mix, my revenues have increased by more than 10% – in a recession. Where stores around me are closing their doors, we’re flourishing, in part due to this new form of advertising and marketing. I have slashed our advertising budget in half and funneled it nearly completely into Facebook. Previously, customers might come in occasionally and say they had visited our website and decided to drive out and give us a try (we’re 15 minutes away from a city of 1 million). Now, many times a week customers come in with a list of items they found on our Facebook page that they want to buy. When we ask new customers where they heard about us, it is always Facebook. Often we’ll announce new products on our Facebook page and the cash register will start ringing within an hour as moms log on, see the update, and head for the store.

Though I rave about the power of Facebook, many stores still don’t appreciate the immediate results they can see from this incredible new marketing tool. Yet, I do understand their hesitation. I think Facebook is really only fantastic if your customers and potential customers are also on Facebook, and you’re executing it well. I have tried Twitter, to no success. Only a tiny fraction of our customers use Twitter, and even those that were on, were not checking it often enough to see our “tweets.” Thanks for the emails Rick!