Oct05
eBay, it’s not a very pretty site, or, the most obvious like Amazon. They are not “pretty” sites. In fact, I would say they are too busy and unfocused but they are functional which is the most important component of any website. Make it easy for your customers to find what they want, buy it or call you and move on.
Sometimes it’s not the design but the trust you evoke. Some ugly website scream, “Hey, I am a small business and couldn’t afford a big marketing firm. So I built it myself.” But if you are conveying that you are trustworthy by including phone numbers, addresses, your policies and make sure you site is easy to use, you can be sure that your customers will appreciate it and respond with loyalty.
Google understood this. It can barely call it self a web designed site as it is primarily made up of a logo, search box, and some small text. That’s it. It’s fast, easy, simple.
Lesson learned, don’t assume your website has to be filled with high-end graphics and animation. Just be sure it conveys your business in the best possible light and that your customers can quickly get what they need.
October 05, 2009
Tags: Business, ecommerce, google, redesign, web design
Sep01
Just a bit of a plug for
eFax. I’ve used them for several years. It’s a great tool for small businesses as your faxes are sent directly to your e-mail account. You simply open the attachment to view your fax using their software that resides on your computer.
They’ve recently improved their software to allow you to create PDFs from the fax on the fly. This is wonderful! Now you can e-mail this fax to another recipient who might not have the eFax software or you can save it your computer for future reference.
The future is paperless!
September 01, 2009
Tags: Business, computer, fax, PDFs, software, tool
May24
I recently joined the local Houston Memorial Chapter of BNI,
Business Networking International. There are about 23 members right now. It is a great group of dedicated business people focused on customer service and referrals for each other. It is a great way of increasing your sphere of business without taking on employees or going outside a your expertise.
We meet once per week in the morning, which for me is a great way to get the day started. We meet and discuss our businesses then move on to the referrals. As each industry is only represented once time per chapter, you are not competing with others in your industry. For example, I am the only web designer in my chapter. There is only one realtor and one mortgage broker and one accountant. The screening is rigorous as the chapter reviews your application, contacts your referrals, and makes sure you are serious business person who runs it ethically and properly.
We all want to be able to refer the best to our customers. So if any of my customers has need I might be able to refer them someone in my group that I know will give them the best service.
So if you are in the Houston area, checkout the group for any work you might need. I highly recommend each of them.
http://www.bnihouston.com/cgi-bin/viewmember.cgi?chapter_id=25
May 24, 2007
Tags: advertising, BNI, Business, customer, houston, Networking, office
Jun01
I know it can be a great tool for novice users, but AOL should not be used for your business e-mail for the following reasons:
- if you have an e-commerce website, you could be missing out on customer orders. The last round of spam related limits placed by AOL has disallowed many emails with generic email headers, for example, info@yourcompany.com
- Potential customers may be trying to reach you using their e-mail server but AOL may be blocking their ISP ip address.
What can you do?
- Create an e-mail using your company domain, info@yourcompany.com, and use the POP3 accounts that come with your web host. You can download these emails to your computer, save, and archive.
- If you don’t want to switch, make sure your phone number is quite prominent on every page of your website. This should just be prerequisite for having a website though.
June 01, 2006
Tags: AOL, Business, email, spam, website
