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Winners and Losers - life is full of them!
There are two kinds of website owners in this world. There are winners and there are losers - What makes the difference? Let me use a couple of fictitious stories to explain; John Smith owns a website which sells what could be described as leisure products, he keeps his ear to the ground and knows what is good for gardening and he does his best to provide it for his customers. The website is around 5 years old, it's not prettiest website in the world, but it's functional. John says he will spend money on the website if it starts taking serious money for him! He looks at the trade magazines and tries to understand patterns and trends. He uses a mail order catalogue for direct mail order selling but it can often be out of date and it does not mention his web address. He does his best to keep up with pricing and changes in customer demand. He thinks he does very well from his website as it turns over in excess of £100,000 per annum. Not bad, he thinks for a small business! He occasionally goes onto his web pages and puts new information on there about products and services and edits the content from time to time. He changes things in his on-line catalogue with about the same regularity. Sometimes he gets caught out with price changes and does not react quickly enough so he loses the odd sale or lets it go at too low a price because he is not up to speed with things. His hard copy catalogue is two years old and he does not want to pay for a new one. His website is not easy for his customers to navigate - find what they want - and he does not want to pay for having the pages and catalogue optimised to make them easier for clients to buy from and to make multiple purchases. Whilst John listens to the advice of his web developers' he never seems to take it, and does not want to pay for the additional services that could transform his business. It is almost as if he knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing! John is silly! The net effect of his toying around with his online shopping facility is that he never realises the potential of the website and that is actually costing him pots of money. Because he is not paying a specialist to do what needs to be done and to train him how to do it there after, he sees this as saving money. Yet by investing in the additional knowledge and applying it to his business....... He could be increasing sales by a factor of 10, but he just won't bother to learn how to use the content management system! He could be bringing in £ millions in online sales but does not want to lay out cash for the correct kind of marketing, advertising and promotions He does not understand marketing himself, but won't invest in getting someone who is good at marketing to do that for him John sees everything as a COST and wants his website to bring in £1,000,000 this year before he will spend any more on it; as a result he continues to take in what he considers is a nice little earner for his business and makes do with that though secretly envying those who have successful websites. John is an Internet Loser! Jim Brown is in a similar business but he takes a different approach... He keeps his web pages and his catalogue up to date and clean by using our content management system, so that his customers can find what they want easily. He gives them many chances to add to their purchases with special offers and seasonal promotions and hints that "people who bought this also bought that, suggestions". Jim works closely "with" his web developers and uses their skills to drive sales to his website. This helps Jim to keep his clients well informed about the things he is doing in his business, what's coming and with any benefits he can pass on to clients. Jim knows that getting visitors to your website is critical if you want to make sales and he wants to give them a rewarding experience when they visit. He understands that doing this keeps customers loyal and satisfied. He provides all sorts of advice and often gives visitors a "freebie" for registering for his newsletters or answering marketing questionnaires. Jim's website is fairly new but is already taking five times more than John's because he knows what his customers expect from his website and he provides it in a way that makes it all so easy for them. He responds quickly to orders He acknowledges their purchase and tells them when it will be despatched He follows up their visit with information on a regular basis about new products, product enhancements and seasonal offers He tells them what other people are buying of a similar nature He keeps them up to date He provides free advice and a forum for them to share their ideas on how to use his products, how his customers have overcome problems etc., Jim has almost created "a family" of his customers and they are happy with his service and are loyal to him. Jim knows it would be too easy for them to go to a competitor so he makes sure he looks after them and always keeps in touch. That does not mean that he sends them loads of Spam emails, Jim uses technology to ease his workload and he sets times for email marketing to keep the customer informed every so many days or weeks. And they appreciate that. Jim is an Internet winner! Jim sees marketing his website as being essential for the life of his business and he knows that he is competing with many thousands if not millions of other websites selling similar products and services. Jim knows that he has to Be on page one of search engines and Have an interesting website that people want to revisit for advice, information and to buy goods or services Invest in technology and marketing to win business and be a major player on the Internet Make all his clients feel valued and know that they can expect the odd "present" now and then for remaining loyal to him Jim knows that doing anything less is simply playing around and will do little more than waste hard earned money; he is also aware that his website generates around 25% to 50% more calls to his sales lines than he would have if he did not have a website. You see he has realised that a considerable number of individuals want to speak to someone about the product they have seen on a website and so call the firm and ask questions, though they don't buy online they do buy by phone, so Jim wins both ways. His advice line and newsletters have made his customers feel that Jim is an acknowledged expert in his field and that makes them comfortable with him, his products and services and his business. That is why Jim's website is much more profitable that John's. Jim is a winner! What can we learn from the differences between John and Jim? Costs John clearly sees adding features and facilities to his website that make the experience rewarding for clients as an unwarranted cost, time consuming and unproductive. Jim on the other hand sees the additional facilities as an investment and a simple but effective way to win business and stop clients going elsewhere. Jim may be paying more than John for all his facilities and support from his web developer, but he considers that this is worth it and clearly it is paying for itself by bringing in more revenue and profit than John's website does. The Learning bit: Quality and consistency is worth paying for. Never skimp on providing a rewarding experience for your customers. Marketing: John has the attitude that says - "here I am on the World Wide Web, so everyone can see me and they will beat a path to my door to buy my goods and services". If only it worked that way! Jim on the other hand understands that a website is just like having a shop on the high street. You may "be" there, but you have to give people a reason for coming to your shop rather than going somewhere else, don't you? He also knows that he does not have the skills in-house to market his website effectively - so he buys in those skills from his web developer who is also an Internet Marketer. John sees this as an additional cost and either wants them for nothing or something close to that. He therefore plods along with what he knows and understands (or doesn't understand). His website is adequate, not outstanding but functional and he updates it whenever he can get round to it. Jim is much more proactive. He knows that regularly making even minor changes to his web page content can help attract more visitors and keep them coming back. He does not change page content for the sake of it though, he does it to enhance his products and services and provide valuable information for his customers. The Learning Bit: Always be aware that - Your website is for your customers, not you! Think how they would want to make use of your website and how you can make things interesting and rewarding for them. Ask them what they would like to see on your website - you may be surprised how beneficial that can be... Using Technology John just uses his website almost as a leaflet or brochure.....he does not subscribe to his web developers marketing facilities, some of which are freely incorporated in with his hosting costs. He can't take the trouble to get to learn the simple processes of certain aspects of online marketing but wants his web site to earn him a fortune. Jim on the other hand has used the tools that come with the hosting package and has expanded them so that he is maximising sales. Yes it does cost him a little more than what John pays, but the return is significantly better and he loves it. It brings in more sales and makes him more profit. The learning bit: Don't be afraid of new technologies. They can be very simple to use and even if you don't have the time you can always pay someone else a fee to do that for you. Let's face it - when you decide to put an advert in a paper or magazine you don't go along and print it as well do you? No, of course you don't, you leave it up to the people who know how to do that. It's the same with technology, for a modest cost you could be making best advantage of what is available and reaping in the benefits in £££'s profit. If you would like to know more about benefiting from marketing skills and using new technologies then send me an email and I'll get back to you and we can have a chat in confidence about your own particular circumstances. Do you need to improve your website's performance? Then perhaps you should be talking to us. If your existing website is not performing, then it probably isn't worth the price you paid for it. If you don't do something about it then things are unlikely to change much are they? Take the plunge now - give me a call on 015395 31338 and we'll listen to what your concerns are then talk about how you can change what's going on. And that will be a chat without obligation on your part. If its something simple then we will tell you how to fix it, if it isn't then we can talk about what you need to invest to get things right. Our work is guaranteed, and if after 3 months you don't like our hosting and content management system, we'll refund your first year's hosting costs and transfer your website free to another host. You too can have a website like Jim, click here to find out more

Winners and Losers - life is full of them!

There are two kinds of website owners in this world. There are winners and there are losers - What makes the difference?

Let me use a couple of fictitious stories to explain;

John Smith owns a website which sells what could be described as leisure products, he keeps his ear to the ground and knows what is good for gardening and he does his best to provide it for his customers. The website is around 5 years old, it's not prettiest website in the world, but it's functional. John says he will spend money on the website if it starts taking serious money for him! He looks at the trade magazines and tries to understand patterns and trends. He uses a mail order catalogue for direct mail order selling but it can often be out of date and it does not mention his web address. He does his best to keep up with pricing and changes in customer demand. He thinks he does very well from his website as it turns over in excess of £100,000 per annum.

Not bad, he thinks for a small business!

He occasionally goes onto his web pages and puts new information on there about products and services and edits the content from time to time. He changes things in his on-line catalogue with about the same regularity. Sometimes he gets caught out with price changes and does not react quickly enough so he loses the odd sale or lets it go at too low a price because he is not up to speed with things. His hard copy catalogue is two years old and he does not want to pay for a new one. His website is not easy for his customers to navigate - find what they want - and he does not want to pay for having the pages and catalogue optimised to make them easier for clients to buy from and to make multiple purchases.
Whilst John listens to the advice of his web developers' he never seems to take it, and does not want to pay for the additional services that could transform his business. It is almost as if he knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing!

John is silly!

The net effect of his toying around with his online shopping facility is that he never realises the potential of the website and that is actually costing him pots of money. Because he is not paying a specialist to do what needs to be done and to train him how to do it there after, he sees this as saving money.

Yet by investing in the additional knowledge and applying it to his business.......

He could be increasing sales by a factor of 10, but he just won't bother to learn how to use the content management system!
He could be bringing in £ millions in online sales but does not want to lay out cash for the correct kind of marketing, advertising and promotions
He does not understand marketing himself, but won't invest in getting someone who is good at marketing to do that for him

John sees everything as a COST and wants his website to bring in £1,000,000 this year before he will spend any more on it; as a result he continues to take in what he considers is a nice little earner for his business and makes do with that though secretly envying those who have successful websites.

John is an Internet Loser!

Jim Brown is in a similar business but he takes a different approach...

He keeps his web pages and his catalogue up to date and clean by using our content management system, so that his customers can find what they want easily. He gives them many chances to add to their purchases with special offers and seasonal promotions and hints that "people who bought this also bought that, suggestions".

Jim works closely "with" his web developers and uses their skills to drive sales to his website. This helps Jim to keep his clients well informed about the things he is doing in his business, what's coming and with any benefits he can pass on to clients. Jim knows that getting visitors to your website is critical if you want to make sales and he wants to give them a rewarding experience when they visit.

He understands that doing this keeps customers loyal and satisfied. He provides all sorts of advice and often gives visitors a "freebie" for registering for his newsletters or answering marketing questionnaires. Jim's website is fairly new but is already taking five times more than John's because he knows what his customers expect from his website and he provides it in a way that makes it all so easy for them.

He responds quickly to orders
He acknowledges their purchase and tells them when it will be despatched
He follows up their visit with information on a regular basis about new products, product enhancements and seasonal offers
He tells them what other people are buying of a similar nature
He keeps them up to date
He provides free advice and a forum for them to share their ideas on how to use his products, how his customers have overcome problems etc.,

Jim has almost created "a family" of his customers and they are happy with his service and are loyal to him. Jim knows it would be too easy for them to go to a competitor so he makes sure he looks after them and always keeps in touch. That does not mean that he sends them loads of Spam emails, Jim uses technology to ease his workload and he sets times for email marketing to keep the customer informed every so many days or weeks. And they appreciate that.

Jim is an Internet winner!

Jim sees marketing his website as being essential for the life of his business and he knows that he is competing with many thousands if not millions of other websites selling similar products and services. Jim knows that he has to

Be on page one of search engines and
Have an interesting website that people want to revisit for advice, information and to buy goods or services
Invest in technology and marketing to win business and be a major player on the Internet
Make all his clients feel valued and know that they can expect the odd "present" now and then for remaining loyal to him

Jim knows that doing anything less is simply playing around and will do little more than waste hard earned money; he is also aware that his website generates around 25% to 50% more calls to his sales lines than he would have if he did not have a website. You see he has realised that a considerable number of individuals want to speak to someone about the product they have seen on a website and so call the firm and ask questions, though they don't buy online they do buy by phone, so Jim wins both ways.

His advice line and newsletters have made his customers feel that Jim is an acknowledged expert in his field and that makes them comfortable with him, his products and services and his business.

That is why Jim's website is much more profitable that John's.

Jim is a winner!

What can we learn from the differences between John and Jim?

Costs

John clearly sees adding features and facilities to his website that make the experience rewarding for clients as an unwarranted cost, time consuming and unproductive.

Jim on the other hand sees the additional facilities as an investment and a simple but effective way to win business and stop clients going elsewhere.

Jim may be paying more than John for all his facilities and support from his web developer, but he considers that this is worth it and clearly it is paying for itself by bringing in more revenue and profit than John's website does.

The Learning bit:

Quality and consistency is worth paying for. Never skimp on providing a rewarding experience for your customers.

Marketing:

John has the attitude that says - "here I am on the World Wide Web, so everyone can see me and they will beat a path to my door to buy my goods and services".

If only it worked that way!

Jim on the other hand understands that a website is just like having a shop on the high street.

You may "be" there, but you have to give people a reason for coming to your shop rather than going somewhere else, don't you? He also knows that he does not have the skills in-house to market his website effectively - so he buys in those skills from his web developer who is also an Internet Marketer.

John sees this as an additional cost and either wants them for nothing or something close to that. He therefore plods along with what he knows and understands (or doesn't understand). His website is adequate, not outstanding but functional and he updates it whenever he can get round to it.

Jim is much more proactive. He knows that regularly making even minor changes to his web page content can help attract more visitors and keep them coming back. He does not change page content for the sake of it though, he does it to enhance his products and services and provide valuable information for his customers.

The Learning Bit:

Always be aware that - Your website is for your customers, not you!

Think how they would want to make use of your website and how you can make things interesting and rewarding for them. Ask them what they would like to see on your website - you may be surprised how beneficial that can be...

Using Technology

John just uses his website almost as a leaflet or brochure.....he does not subscribe to his web developers marketing facilities, some of which are freely incorporated in with his hosting costs. He can't take the trouble to get to learn the simple processes of certain aspects of online marketing but wants his web site to earn him a fortune.

Jim on the other hand has used the tools that come with the hosting package and has expanded them so that he is maximising sales. Yes it does cost him a little more than what John pays, but the return is significantly better and he loves it. It brings in more sales and makes him more profit.

The learning bit:

Don't be afraid of new technologies. They can be very simple to use and even if you don't have the time you can always pay someone else a fee to do that for you. Let's face it - when you decide to put an advert in a paper or magazine you don't go along and print it as well do you?

No, of course you don't, you leave it up to the people who know how to do that.

It's the same with technology, for a modest cost you could be making best advantage of what is available and reaping in the benefits in £££'s profit.

If you would like to know more about benefiting from marketing skills and using new technologies then send me an email and I'll get back to you and we can have a chat in confidence about your own particular circumstances.

Do you need to improve your website's performance?

Then perhaps you should be talking to us. If your existing website is not performing, then it probably isn't worth the price you paid for it.

If you don't do something about it then things are unlikely to change much are they?

Take the plunge now - give me a call on 015395 31338 and we'll listen to what your concerns are then talk about how you can change what's going on. And that will be a chat without obligation on your part.

If its something simple then we will tell you how to fix it, if it isn't then we can talk about what you need to invest to get things right.

Our work is guaranteed, and if after 3 months you don't like our hosting and content management system, we'll refund your first year's hosting costs and transfer your website free to another host.

You too can have a website like Jim, click here to find out more

Artemis Media (Cumbria Business Portal) is not and does not take responsibility for the content that is put on to a web site by the owner of the site and the owner of the domain name of that site. All disputes are with the owner of the site and not the host.

Article - Winners and Losers - life is full of them!