Small Business Design Resources

Tis the Season for Great Customer Service

The Holiday Season is quickly approaching. Countless people are turning to the internet to handle holiday shopping. With no long lines or stressful heavy traffic, many consider it the only way to buy gifts for loved ones. Get your website ready for the holidays and remember the importance of exceptional customer service. You may have a website that is selling a product or service that can be found elsewhere. If this is the case, you need to have a niche. You need to develop a small business design that will bring people to your business because you’re offering something others are not. Start with great customer care!

Remember to always be friendly when talking to clients on the phone. Train any staff members to do the same because people absorb the vibes you send out over the phone. If you deal with clients through emails, you can send good vibrations through that as well. Even if the customer is disappointed in the service or product, maintain that polite and friendly tone as you both work to resolve the situation. They’ll appreciate your honestly and may even return to your website in the future.

Be prompt with returning phone calls, emails and placing orders. It doesn’t matter how nice you are, if you don’t get back to a client within a reasonable amount of time (3 business days) you may lose the sale. Especially since people are starting their holiday shopping, they’re going to want fast and friendly service now more than ever. Make sure you’re prepared to handle the extra workload in these next hectic months!

One of the most important things you can do to provide excellent customer service is offer a no-fuss return policy. People get discouraged if they cannot find a return policy clearly listed on your website or fear that a return or exchange might be troublesome. Make sure to clearly post a return policy and make it easy for buyers to understand. With up-to-date product descriptions and high-quality photos on your small business website, you’ll make return and exchange scenarios less-likely.

The time is now to get prepared for the upcoming busy shopping season. By making sure you’re offering customers the best service possible, you’re helping your business dramatically. By adding this little touch of kindness to an impersonal website sale, you’re making your customers feel appreciated and more at ease with shopping online.

Sizing Up Your Competition

Most small businesses have competitors in their area or on the web. It is your job as the small business owner to check these businesses out to see what they’re doing right or wrong…then apply their strong points to your own business. Let’s talk about how to locate your competitors.

Use Google Places to find the competition in your location. Take a look at their website and if you can, try to make an “appointment” with them or check out their product if they have a store. You want to absorb the techniques they’re using if it makes them successful. What type of advertising campaign are they running? Can your small business design profit from borrowing a few of these ideas and applying them to your company? If your products are similar, find the differences and see if you need to make changes. Are they offering lower prices or even extras along with the product? How about their service? If it’s service competitors, consider using them and see how they go about it. How did they treat you (the customer) and how well did they do the job?

You may find out that businesses similar to yours may be doing things differently. This can be good or bad, so don’t run out and try all these different techniques all at once. If you know that a company is doing better than you, investigate and find one thing to apply to your business. If they’re taking out an ad in the newspaper and you’re not, maybe you are underestimating how much business you can get from local ad placements.

One thing to remember when you’re trying to improve your small business is the SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Whenever you’re checking out a competitor, just ask yourself the following questions:
• What advantages does your business have?
• What can your small business improve on?
• What opportunities are up and coming in your market?
• Are changes in technology going to hurt your business?

When you answer a simple SWOT analysis, you’ll most likely uncover things about your business that you can make changes on. Once again, don’t make a bunch of changes at once. When you see something that is working well for a competitor, give it a try. When you do too many things at once, when things don’t work out it’s harder to backtrack. While trying out techniques, keep in mind that you do want to have an advantage over your competition and that is to be unique. So take the good ideas from other companies and make them your own! Offer complimentary services the other businesses don’t offer. At the end of the day you want your small business to stand out, not blend in!

Take Advantage of Local Search Marketing

If you did a survey of people walking down the street and asked them “How do you find a business when you need one?” Many of them are going to say they use the internet. More people are looking up services through the web than flipping through the prehistoric yellow pages. The thing is: you can take advantage of local search marketing and apply it to your small business design without being “out of date.”

If you’re familiar with Google Maps, you may already be aware that if you type “Seafood, Miami FL” into Google’s search engine, a map of the Miami area will appear with a list of restaurants or vendors that specialize in seafood. That’s what local marketing can do for you. When you put your company’s information into Google Places, you’re making it easier for people in your area to find you. You can apply this information to not only Google search engines, but the other major ones as well.

Not convinced it will help drive traffic to your site?

Approximately 20% of Google searches are associated with location. Based on reports from Google itself: The Google Place sections are viewed millions of times each day. By not putting your company contact information, website and other miscellaneous data, you’re missing out on potentially millions of people who could stumble across your website. Local search marketing or “optimization” is just as an important small business practice as the SEO you use on your website.

There are features available specifically through Google Places that can help small business improve their search-ability. You can pay for Tags: Tags come with a $25 price tag per month and promote business features your company is offering. These are currently only available in certain cities, but expanding quickly. So if you want to use Google Tags for your company and your location isn’t listed, it may be shortly.

Google also can send a photographer to your business and offer a free, professional photo shoot. You’re not guaranteed to have a session, but you browse the available locations and apply. If you’re not in one of the major US cities that offers these free photo sessions, take your own photos and upload them to Google Places by yourself.

So, when you implement local search marketing strategies to your small business design, you’re helping to increase traffic to your website by at least 20% (according to Google). Besides a good-looking company website and a well-written blog, it’s one of the simplest ideas to apply to your business to get results.

Professional Website Design: Is It Worth The Investment?

For a small business, every dollar counts. You think long and hard before you spend – and that’s the way it should be. But while there are certainly many unnecessary expenses that you should avoid, or cut from your budget, professional Web design is not one of them. Here are the reasons:

You Need A Strong Online Identity

As a long-term strategy, you want to separate yourself from the crowd and have your own online identity. You should have a unique logo, a unique website, and unique business cards. If you use do-it-yourself Web design templates, you may be saving money in the short term, but you are hurting your business’ chances of leaving an impression. Don’t let your business look just like thousands of other businesses. The right design can make the difference between a struggling business and a smashing hit.

Professional Web Design CAN Be Affordable

Many small business owners mistakenly assume that they simply cannot afford small business website design. But this is untrue. You should find a designer who specializes in Web design for small businesses because this type of designer will be more sensitive to your budget constraints than Web designers who typically work with corporations. In addition, you should realize that you can start with a very small website, which would cost considerably less – all you need are a few Web pages and a strong design. You can always add more pages and functions later, as your business grows and your budget expands.

Built-In Search Engine Optimization

I’ve seen countless websites that were built by their owners using a template and that are not optimized for search engines. This means that no one is going to find these websites! Typically, after a few months, they realize that they keep working on their website, adding content and tweaking the design, but it’s all worthless because their website does not appear in search engine results. A good Web designer will make sure that your site is optimized for search engines, and will also make sure that the design elements are light enough that the site loads fast – people on the Web are impatient with slow-loading sites. In fact, Google has recently announced that it now incorporates website load time as part of its ranking system.

Save Time, Save Money

Your time is worth money. The time you spend on fiddling with your website design could be spent doing something else – something more productive, something you know how to do such as growing your business. You may think that you are “saving” money by not hiring a professional to do your Web design. But are you really saving if it means long hours of working on your site design, hours that never translate into the visual image you have in mind, simply because you’re not a professional? In today’s complex world, it makes sense for each of us to do what we specialize in. For you it means growing your business, and letting design professionals take care of your website design.

Small Business Profile: Kisha Kingston, Royale Amethyst Invitations, LLC

(646) 552-7015	contact via email			RoyalAmethystLLC.com

Tell us your story of why and how you decided to start your own business.
It all began in December 2008, when I had the opportunity to plan my sister’s winter themed bridal shower. After unsuccessful attempts to find the right stationery for the occasion, I decided to get creative and design my very own. End result, a satisfied bride-to-be and the birth of a new venture.

Shortly after, I started promoting my services to friends, family and co-workers which resulted in me being the “go-to” person for their event stationery needs. Within months my services were requested for baptisms, baby showers, weddings and small business branding. It was the success of these past orders that led me to continue on the path of event stationery and start my own business. Deciding the name for the business was quite simple and personal. I decided to use her birthstone, Amethyst, and the royalty that the stone represents, hence the name Royale Amethyst Invitations.

How would your customers describe your business?
My clients would describe my business as being full of quality, service and creativity.

Client Comments:

• I have to tell you the first word that comes to mind when I think of “Royale Amethyst Invitations” is…. Wow !! The young lady who is the brains behind this company is Fabulous, she knew exactly where I was going for my Jewelry party invitations it was as if she was in my head thinking what I was thinking…the finished product literally took my breath away….my invitations were simply “FAB” –Kurt W.

• Thanks to ROYALE AMETHYST Invitations! My invitations for my sister’s baby shower were the least of my worries. The service I received was very professional yet friendly. I recommend ROYALE AMETHYST INVITATIONS to anyone wanting the best stationery. Thx – Onica B.

What’s unique about your business, how do you differ from your competitors?
My business is all about service and my clients can attest to receiving personal service from conception to completion of their order. I take into account their vision when designing custom stationery and with strong attention to detail I am capable of bringing their vision to life. When I am designing I always think “outside of the box”.

What’s your most popular product?
I would have to say the Pocket invitation because it is more elegant and looks great with add-ons including ribbons, feathers and embellishments.

How do you market your business?
I market my business through social media. I am very active on Twitter, Facebook and my Blog. I also post my business information on wedding sites such as Wedding Wire, Project Wedding and Bridal Tweet.

What role does your website play in your business?
My website plays as the main source of information for Royale Amethyst Invitations. My clients will find important information such as my biography, frequently asked questions, social media links and photo gallery. My website is my online business card and resume.

What would you say to small businesses who currently don’t have a website or have neglected it?
A website is a necessity for anyone conducting business. It is the main place your clients will go to gain more knowledge about your company and what it has to offer. Similar to how an invitation sets the tone for an event, a website with proper maintenance does the same for your business.

Anything additional you want to tell us about your business that we don’t know yet?
Since the launch of Royale Amethyst Invitations, I was nominated and won the 2010 Twinkie Award for Best Social Media Marketing Campaign. My company is also privileged to have clientele that exclusively uses my custom invitations to send to the offices of local politicians as well as the White House.

Keeping Your Emails Out of Spam Folders

Spam filters are great at keeping unwanted emails from filling up our inboxes. However, sometimes important emails are caught up in the filter, sending them to the spam folder to possibly never be seen by their recipient. You can’t always rely on your patrons to add your email to their “safe” list, but why should your updates and newsletters be unfairly cast to the junk folder? There are ways you can cleverly word your emails to make sure they’re making it through.

The best thing you can do to avoid spam filters is to steer clear of some of the major phrasing that these bots are looking for. These would be things like “click here” or “free offer.” These gimmicky phrases raise red flags. Also, watch your punctuation. You might be really excited about an offer you’re sending to your patrons, but if you use ALL CAPS WITH MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION POINTS…you might just wind up in the spam folder!!!!!!!! What about HTML in your emails? HTML is fine to include, but be sure to do it right. Don’t use too much Red or Green font colors either.

Messy coding often gets confused as spam. Don’t use programs like Microsoft Word to convert text to HTML. Often, large graphics or pictures with very little wording will not pass a spam filter, so make sure you’ve got plenty of text to accompany any visual media. Take a look at your junk inbox. You may notice a lot of online pharmaceutical emails boasting that you can buy online for cheap. Not only are these often scams that end up with identity theft and loss of funds, they’re usually pretty poorly written. Spam bots look for misspellings in the subject line as well as wording in the body of the email. These drug emails usually have a lot of prices listed. The over-mentioning of prices usually marks an email as spam.

Newsletters are a great part of your small business design, so don’t be detoured from creating them as part of your marketing system. Just be smart when you’re sending out newsletters or other promotional emails and you’ll be sure to pass the spam bot’s criteria. An honest email with proper spelling, html and subject lines will most likely make it through to your client’s inbox.

Double Up: Online and Offline Marketing Techniques

We all know how important marketing strategies are to our small business design. Many of us are still learning the best ways to market our businesses without draining our bank accounts. Online marketing has been one of the best ways to get businesses out into the public eye. This is your website, your blog and all your social network accounts that drive that traffic towards your website. It’s fast, cheap and easy to change when necessary. But what about offline marketing techniques? Offline marketing often gets pushed to the back burner because of time constraints, lack of funding or just not knowing what to do. Let’s talk about some offline marketing strategies that are easy on time and finances.

Business Cards are the simplest offline marketing tools you can have for your business. You can get a lot of cards for very little cash. Make them unique and hand them out often. If you frequent a business, ask them if you can leave a couple on their counter and offer to take a few of their cards as well. Consider making your card double as a coupon. The backs of business cards are usually blank, but you can have a coupon for your services printed so the space goes un-wasted. You can also affix a magnet to the back and behold—people will see your logo every time they go to the refrigerator.

Local Fairs can be a great way to meet new clients. If your business is a good fit, consider renting a booth and spend a few hours marketing your small business to people in your community. You’ll get the chance to meet people that may have never known about your business and in return, you might find people providing services you could use as well. You can even talk to others who own small businesses and trade services, while helping promote each other.

Be a walking advertisement. Put your logo on everything. Make company shirts and wear them in public. Get large magnetic bumper stickers with your company information and website address and stick it to your car. Get pens with your company information and website and leave them when you sign in at the gym, sign credit card receipts or fill out paperwork at the doctor’s office. People will always use pens and love to get freebees, so carry a few on you at all times.

Online marketing and offline marketing are equally important for gaining new clients. So, make sure you log onto your social network sites, update your blog and get out there and physically promote your company within your community. Including a healthy mix of marketing strategies into your small business design will bring about the results you’ve been looking for.

The Differences Between a Proofreader and a Copywriter: Who to Hire and When

Many people do not know the difference between a proofreader and a copywriter. It’s no surprise, because their roles in writing are similar and easy to confuse. If your small business needs assistance with writing in any form, whether it be blogging, newsletters, eBooks and so on, it’s best to know which of the two you should contact. Though similar, they both offer very different skills.

A Copywriter is someone you contact during the early stages of your writing project. Their goals are to help you create. If you were writing an eBook or even a novel, they would help you make it publishable. A copywriter would offer creative advice to help you make the best finished product. Think of them as a mentor to lead you towards your goal of a great piece of writing. If you want to incorporate pictures or other visuals into your writing, a copywriter would be able to tell you the best places to put them, as well as help you choose which pictures would look best. They can also be helpful in telling you what content is best left out of a blog, book, newsletter and so on.  You can work with a copywriter, together creating the finished product you’re looking for or you can opt to let them work their magic and create the entire piece for you.

A Proofreader provides the finishing touches to your writing. Their only intentions are to make the product free of spelling and grammatical errors. They have no interest in the style or the flow. So if you need help in the actual creation process, a proofer is not going to be choice for you. They are very important in the world of words, but the skills needed are less than a copywriter, so it is usually considerably cheaper to hire a proofreader.

Does your website’s blog need the creative touch of a copywriter? Does your eNewsletter require a second set of eyes to proof it before sending it to your clients? Outsourcing to experts is a great way to improve your small business design and achieve positive results with your website writings. It’s okay to be too busy with your business to worry about the finishing touches of your blog, let someone else handle the dirty work for you!

The Wrong Website Can Kill Your Business

First impressions are important – I’m sure you’ll agree. And your website is the first impression that people get about your business. The wrong website design can essentially kill your business by driving your web visitors away, causing them to immediately bounce back and go directly to your competition.

Better make a good first impression! But how? Here are a few small business website design tips.

1. Avoid clutter. A cluttered website is confusing to users, who don’t know where to click or what to do and so they tend to click away. This could be good if your goal is to make money from ads on your site, because the path out of a site is often through clicking on an ad, but if your goal is to encourage your visitors to stay and browse, aim for a clean, simple design and make it easy for your visitors to navigate your site.

2. What is your website about? What do you offer? If a visitor can’t answer this question immediately, they will click away. Ask friends and family members to take an objective look at your website and to tell you if they can tell right away what it’s about.

3. Make it fast. A slow-loading website is painful for users. It’s one of the main reasons users give up on a site. Make sure your website doesn’t contain heavy elements that would slow it down, and use a third-party tool to test load time for your site. The fact that it loads fast for you doesn’t necessarily reflect other users’ experience.

4. Content IS king. Yes, this old cliché is true. Your website content needs to offer value to readers. It needs to be well written, free of typos and engaging. Even if your site loads fast and is clean and professional looking, users WILL bounce off if they discover that your content does not offer them any value.

5. Avoid anything that could be annoying or distracting to users, including flash, auto-loading sound or blinking text. Even if you’re trying to make people click on ads, remember that being assaulted by blinking, moving, loud ads will most likely cause people to close the page rather than click on those annoying ads. Ads actually work best if they blend into your content and offer value to your readers, just like your main content does.

6. Minimize clicking. Make navigating your site and getting to the important pages easy. If people have to click through 6 pages to get to what they were looking for, they will likely just abandon your site.

7. Make it readable. Even if your text is great, people won’t read it unless it’s easy to read. Make sure your font is large enough, web-friendly, and space your lines. It’s also important to keep your lines short and to avoid using dark text on a dark background, or light text on a light background.

8. Link correctly: include internal links whenever they’re relevant, so visitors can discover more parts of your site. Make sure internal links, unlike external links, open in the same browser window – users will resent having several browser windows open, all of them from your site. When you link to other sites, do make sure they open in a new window.

If you’re not sure how user friendly your site is, it’s always a good idea to ask friends and family members to take a look and give you an honest feedback. If you’re planning, or hoping to earn money from your site, using the services of a professional web designer is one of the most important investments you will ever make in your business.

Bloggers for Hire: When to Let Others do the Writing for You

When you add a blog to your website, you’re not just giving people additional information. A well-made blog increases your search engine potential. Sometimes, business owners may not feel they have the time or the skills to create and maintain a blog for their company. That’s perfectly acceptable, as there are plenty of writers out there who are more than happy to help you.

You can always find a willing writer over the internet to help you out. There are several reputable websites available that can help put you in touch with a writer that has blogging experience. Try websites like iFreelance.com or eLance.com. You can work with these people through the writing website or just hire them direct. If you’re worried about the financial aspect of hiring a writer, know that blogging is usually a reasonably-priced task. The more years experience the writer has, the more you will likely pay per blog. You can usually get away with writer that has only a year or two of experience though, as blogging is a pretty straight forward assignment.

When you hire out for your blogging needs, make sure you make your content wishes known. You can place the blog on the website yourself after you’ve proofed it, or you can request that the writer posts the blogs for you. It all depends on your comfort level for giving a writer your password to access the website. Give your writer a list of keywords and topics to write about. That way, they’ll include a few of those keywords in each blog and even do some linking for Search Engine Optimization. If you’re unfamiliar with that terminology, it would be a great idea to hire a writer with SEO experience to help walk you through making your blog more than just an informative article.

There is no shame in feeling unable to maintain a blog. If your small business design doesn’t include a blog, consider starting one. Blogs are one of the easiest things you can apply to your website to increase your web traffic. Hire a freelance writer who has blogging experience to help you with this extra effort to maximize your website’s appeal.