Don't simply make a website because every other company has one. Build one around a purpose and you will achieve much greater impact to your customers.
1. Know the purpose of your website
2. Know your target audience
3. Have a clear picture of design choice
4. Think ahead about how you want your customers to navigate through it
5. Determine the extent to which you may want account login requirements
6. Determine whether you will want to integrate video or audio
7. Determine whether you will have e-commerce
8. Think ahead about optimizing your site for search engines
9. Know what your hosting and maintenance requirements will be
10. Determine a realistic not-to-exceed cost
11. Timeline a development schedule and milestone a launch date
12. Know how you will need to manage it
With the above in mind, it will help organize one of the more important parts of your business.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Customer Referral Offers to Boost Sales
Use some of these ideas to stay on top of the minds of your customers for referrals:
1. Plant a seed - Let them know that you know they will be so satisfied with your product that in 2 months you will check in with them. When you do - and they agree - use that as a way to ask them to suggest 3 others who would also benefit from your product. This works more than you would think.
2. Gift Certificates - Send a quarterly mail out to your best customers offering a gift certificate for your products/services that they can give to someone they know who could benefit from your services.
3. Charity partner - find a charity, propose a variety of ways you can create a deep partnership, benefiting them by a dollar-amount for each product you sell. In return the charity will introduce you to their constituency.
4. 100% Money Back Barter - Refer 4 friends who purchase and they get a full refund of their purchase price - 25% for each customer. Take photos of the refunded customers to use as support to get others to try the program.
5. Special Pricing - Once they agree to a price, give them an even lower price if they give you referrals right at that moment.
1. Plant a seed - Let them know that you know they will be so satisfied with your product that in 2 months you will check in with them. When you do - and they agree - use that as a way to ask them to suggest 3 others who would also benefit from your product. This works more than you would think.
2. Gift Certificates - Send a quarterly mail out to your best customers offering a gift certificate for your products/services that they can give to someone they know who could benefit from your services.
3. Charity partner - find a charity, propose a variety of ways you can create a deep partnership, benefiting them by a dollar-amount for each product you sell. In return the charity will introduce you to their constituency.
4. 100% Money Back Barter - Refer 4 friends who purchase and they get a full refund of their purchase price - 25% for each customer. Take photos of the refunded customers to use as support to get others to try the program.
5. Special Pricing - Once they agree to a price, give them an even lower price if they give you referrals right at that moment.
Get Free Help With Your PR Pitches
YourPitchSucks.com is a free service that promises to get those annoying buzz words out of your pitch. Set up a free account and upload your pitch; they will unleash it to its community of PR professionals who will proofread and edit it.
Recognizing Cash Flow Problems
Cash flow problems are common with small businesses, and although many time people have a hard time figuring out the cause, there are really only just a few ways they come about:
1. Too much cash tied up in receivables ( or for products-oriented companies in inventory);
2. Too many customers who aren't paying you on time (or are bad debts);
3. You are spending too much on overhead;
4. Weak gross margins (i.e. your prices are too low).
Understanding the cause of your cash flow problems is the first step to solving that problem.
1. Too much cash tied up in receivables ( or for products-oriented companies in inventory);
2. Too many customers who aren't paying you on time (or are bad debts);
3. You are spending too much on overhead;
4. Weak gross margins (i.e. your prices are too low).
Understanding the cause of your cash flow problems is the first step to solving that problem.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Branding A Business - Your Exit Strategy
Back in the 90's the exit strategy for most start-ups was 1) go public, and 2) as a fallback, be acquired.
In today's climate, this may now be reversed. Think about the challenge of regulation and liability, and stock prices aren't what they used to be. Acquisitions are almost always a significantly easier than the process of an IPO. Liquidity is often immediate, presuming buyers are paying in cash.
IPO's also aren't the financing strategy they used to be, as it isn't sustainable, since public markets aren't a particularly good source of long-term, stable investment capital in speculative high-growth companies.
Investors are constantly changing their needs in search for short-term profits.
Essentially - work hard to build somthing valuable and the exite will take care of itself at the right time.
In today's climate, this may now be reversed. Think about the challenge of regulation and liability, and stock prices aren't what they used to be. Acquisitions are almost always a significantly easier than the process of an IPO. Liquidity is often immediate, presuming buyers are paying in cash.
IPO's also aren't the financing strategy they used to be, as it isn't sustainable, since public markets aren't a particularly good source of long-term, stable investment capital in speculative high-growth companies.
Investors are constantly changing their needs in search for short-term profits.
Essentially - work hard to build somthing valuable and the exite will take care of itself at the right time.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Metro Moms selects The Plush Pad® as it's Best and Hottest Product for 2007
Selected Product in the 2007 Metro Moms Best and Hottest Products from Pregnancy to Preschool. The name says it all - the Plush Pad® is luxury at its best. This portable and plush diaper changing station has body-contouring memory foam for baby's comfort. Its patented rolling system makes it perfect for on-the-go parents.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Summer 2007 Edition of My Child Magazine - The Plush Pad® by Ah Goo Baby®
The Plush Pad® by Ah Goo Baby® expands into Australia as seen in the Summer 2007 edition of My Child Magazine and sold through Mint & Lilac.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
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