Wyoming Entrepreneur Blog

Am I relating to customers on my website?

When we think about communicating with customers on a website, we have to think about different learning styles. Does your website take into consideration different types of customers? There are usually three kinds of learners; visual people learn by seeing, auditory folks learn by hearing and kinesthetic types learn by doing.

Websites should be able to relate to all three types of learners because visitors to your website will gravitate to the parts of your site that match their learning style. Visual learners will like to see things like color coding, charts, photos, maps or video clips. Auditory learners will lean towards audio clips, oral instructions, sound bites or even live phone support. Kinesthetic folks are enticed by interactive maps or games.

If you have an e-commerce site, this means addressing these different kinds of learners by doing things like using detailed pictures or diagrams of your products for visual learners. Include a video for a product overview for auditory folks. For the hands on types, have lots of options that allow them to interact with product like choosing sizes or colors.

Your images are also an important part of communicating with your customers. They should relate to the content on the page, but more importantly, they should reinforce your marketing message. As you think about adding images to your pages, ask yourself what is in the image for the customer? What did it help the customer do? If the answer is not very much, then rethink having it on your website.

Personalize your site by using real images of your business. This means avoiding the use of stock art for your graphics. Also, rethink using flash as it is often annoying and slows loading speeds.

As an alternative to images, think about adding some short videos that show your product in action. Explain to customers how it works and how it will benefit them. Oftentimes, videos can do a better job of connecting with customers than static images.

The goal of your site is to build relationships with people so try to integrate learning styles and images into your website to that end. Your website can either help or hurt your business. It can be an asset or a liability. Use it to the max to communicate with your customers and grow your business.

Website Drudergy; Are you willing to change?

Websites are a real hot topic these days because they are your word of mouth, your advertising and your customer service all rolled into one. They are really a new model for management. The trouble is they are always changing. We used to build things to last, now we build things to change. We have to listen to customers and be willing to change to meet their needs. Google Gerry McGovern and read his Web Experience: From Built to Last to Built to Change article. Gerry is an international author and consultant on the subject of content management.

The old style of reading from left to right on a webpage is not how people view web pages anymore. Customers don’t read; they scan. They look at headings and subheadings first; they scan for hyperlinks, numerals, and keywords. They jump around, scrolling and clicking and their fingers never far from the browser’s “Back” button. Customers are very impatient these days.

The number one design principle for websites is simplicity. A website should be designed to make life easier for the reader to find content and then make it easy for them to read that content. The goal is to get the right content to the customer as quickly as possible.

If the content on your pages is scattered and poorly formatted, you have poorly named headings or if your content contains lots of fluff that makes it hard for customers to find information, they might just pass you by.

I talk to a lot of people about their websites, both businesses and web developers. The underlying problem I see from talking to business people is that they don’t really understand that they are ultimately responsible for the content on their website. Web developers really don’t know your business and will most likely not know how to market it for you. They don’t usually don’t have time to study up on the keywords, content and backlinks specifically related to your site. They will design a site for you, but YOU are responsible for giving them the content. You are responsible to provide them with keywords, titles and descriptions for your pages. Your images, videos, links and social media are all included in your marketing strategy. You need to take a proactive approach to site and tell them how you want to be represented on the web. So, if customers can’t find you, take a good hard look at your website and see where it could be improved. The Wyoming Market Research Center is here to help you with that process.

 

Developing Cash Flow Projections

Have you applied for a business loan and been asked for projections or a cash flow?  Most lenders will want this information but entrepreneurs often don’t know where to start.

If you are an existing business you can use your historical financial information to project out what the next 12 to 24 months will look, including the debt service on the new loan you are applying for, any new sales or revenue that investment will create, and what might go away (for instance rent if you are buying your own building versus leasing). The purpose is to demonstrate that you understand how your income and expenses will flow in and out (cash flow) of the business, and that you can repay the amount borrowed.  Include some margin for error since nobody ever projects perfectly.

If you are just starting a new business, this is a little trickier.  Estimating the expense side is usually easier than the revenue.  You can negotiate rent, find out what utilities cost, price insurance, set a marketing budget, and so on.  Sales are another matter.  How many people will by your product or take advantage of your service depends on what it is, competition, how much marketing you plan to do or can afford to do, and a whole host of other factors.  Since you will have some of your hard-earned money and time invested in the deal as well, you want this estimate to be as accurate as possible so as not to enter into this venture only to have it fail.  Remember to account for how much, if any, money you need to generate from this business to sustain your lifestyle.  If you have personal bills and living expenses that must be paid, that needs to be factored in.

I usually recommend to my clients that they generate projections for at least two years (some lenders will want three).  Wyoming Entrepreneur has a very good template on the web site, www.wyen.biz, under the Start a Business tab.  It includes a loan calculator to assist in determining what that new debt will cost you.  This template generally satisfies the format a lender wants to see.

Remember, it usually takes more money and more time than you think to get the business to the point where it is operating at a profit on a monthly basis.  Be especially careful with highly seasonal businesses and recognize that when you start can make or break the deal.  For assistance in developing these projections contact the Wyoming Small Business Development Center office in your area, or call 1-800-348-5194.

Financial Literacy

I recently had someone tell me that after receiving their tax information back from the accountant, they realized that they need to have a better understanding of the financial side of the business. This is a fairly common theme this time of year.  Perhaps you received the news that you owe some tax to the IRS because you made a profit, yet you don’t have the cash to actually be able to write that check.  How can this be?

There are a number of reasons why this could happen and many business owners don’t truly understand all of the financial relationships that take place.  The income statement is fairly familiar to most as it tells you whether or not you made a profit, but the balance sheet is typically not as well understood (if they even know what that is), yet it is on the balance sheet that cash is managed.  And we pay bills with cash, not profit!  Do you have money tied up in accounts receivable, excess inventory, have loan principal payments to make, is debt structured properly, and so on?  All of these could be part of the answer.

Until September of 2012, Wyoming Entrepreneur – Small Business Development Center has made available to every business in Wyoming a program called Profit Mastery.  It is FREE, and is a great resource to help business owners obtain a better understanding of the financial side of their business.  To learn more about this program visit our web site at www.wyen.biz and click on the Profit Mastery button at the bottom of the home page.  This is an on-line course that you can take at your convenience, with great tools to assist you in implementing the concepts in your own business.  If you have questions about the program, contact the Wyoming Small Business Development Center office in your area, or call 1-800-348-5194.

Amazon's Top 10 Leadership Lessons

I just read an article the April 23, 2012 issue of  Forbes article, George Anders talks about Jeff Bezos’s “Top 10 Leadership Lessons.”  The article is well worth reading, but to summarize here they are.  Jeff Bezos, the founder, president, chief executive officer (CEO), and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.   This is a guy who walks the walk and has created one of the most innovative and game changing companies ever. 

1)       “Base your strategy on things that won’t change.”  In Amazon’s case this means that to sell more things, offer wider selection, lower prices and fast and reliable delivery.

2)      “Obsess over customers”.  When you have a meeting of the important people in your company who’s missing?  At most companies the answer is “the customer”.  At Amazon, the customer is always the  prime consideration.

3)      “We are willing to be misunderstood for long  periods of time”.  Most companies expect success in short order.  Bezos is willing to stick with a plan for a long time if it makes strategic sense and if there is a good long term payoff.

4)      “There are two kinds of companies: those that try to charge more and those that work to charge less.  We will be the second.”  Most companies talk about holding down costs, but Amazon lives for frugality.

5)      “Determine what your customers need, and work backwards.”  At many companies products flow from the engineers and reflect their tastes.  At Amazon, the desires of the customer are considered first.  If the customer doesn’t like something, then Amazon gets rid of it.

6)      “Our culture is friendly and intense, but if push comes to shove we’ll settle for intense.”  At Amazon results and data count more than building a friendly culture.  I’m not sure I agree 100% with this idea, because I think a friendly, cooperative culture has huge dividends, but it is hard to argue with Amazon’s results.

7)      “If you want to be inventive, you have to be willing to fail.”  Lots of books and experts say this, but Amazon has lived it.  They have had numerous failed initiatives, but they learn from them and move on.

8)      “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.”  In this age of viral videos, social media and consumers who talk about their experiences, the old way of advertising is dropping away. Instead you need to work with your customers and get them involved in your company.  Word of mouth (or keyboard) really is key in today’s world.

9)      “Everyone has to be able to work in a call center.”  Amazon managers, including Bezos, work at least two days a year in the call center handling complaints.  Does your company president?

10)  “This is Day 1 for the Internet. We still have so much to learn.” Bezos said this in 1997.  It is still true today.  Just look at the number of companies that have come and gone since 1997.  Amazon is still here.

The lessons of Amazon and its success have bearing on us here in Wyoming.  After all, JC Penney started in Kemmerer.  Who’s to say some Wyoming company won’t be the next Amazon?  What do you think? Are these a good set of rules for today’s company?

Your Company’s Name – It’s Where It All Starts

I’ve had a number of clients over the years ask me why their company never shows up on search engine results.  There can be any number of reasons why search engines aren’t “seeing” your website.  However, I’d like to discuss one that often times is missed in the rush to “optimize” a web site.  A key reason for search engine invisibility can simply be the name of your company.

When Google looks at a search term, it tends to first think of it as a brand before anything else.  Ann Smartly, writing on the MarketingProfs website (www.marketingprofs.com) gives an example of the results for the term “Armstrong”.  She indicates that most people would think of “moon”, “space” or “Tour de France”.  Most people would be wrong.  Google shows “Armstrong Flooring”, “Armstrong World Industries” and “Armstrong One Wire (an internet service).  The astronaut and the bicyclist follow these “brands”. ; As Ms. Smartly says, “Google seems to favor brands and is likelier to suspect that your intent is navigational instead of informational (go instead of know).”

One way of winning the war is to instead of fighting a battle against multiple opponents; try to make your brand name unique.  This can be challenging if you have a common name.  “Jones Consulting” would be a pretty poor choice.  There are a lot of companies with that name out there.   Renee Jones Engineering Consulting would be better, but with such a common name, you might need to look for a more unique usage.  “Rock Springs Engineering Consultants” would, as I write this, probably come up first in Google as there are no companies showing up with that name. 

The idea is to become the dominant interpretation of the combination of words in your company name. Google suggests that if you can make your name and brand stick together, you instantly become a dominant interpretation.  Using this concept, a company called Renee Jones Mining Engineering would likely rank number one on Google.

So there you have it.  Before you worry about optimization of your site, and certainly before you sign incorporation papers, spend some time searching names on the internet.  A unique business name can be an important first step in achieving online visibility.

Have you had problems naming your company?   Do you have a great name?

I am a graphic designer who is considering joining a “coworking” space. Why should someone choose this, instead of just working from home? - Cindy in Lander, WY

Coworking spaces attempt to capture the best of different workspaces where freelancers and independent workers get things done— the flexibility of a home office and vibe of a café— and bring them together with an emphasis on collaboration and building community.

The benefits:

Greater motivation. Productivity spikes when you’re working alongside other entrepreneurs. Coworkers join their coworking spaces because they find that the environment, in one form or another, satiates their own psychological craving for a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

For many, it’s about the energy boost of being around other people. Alan Pinstein, who runs his real estate software service Neybor out of Ignition Alley, tells us, “We can all learn from each other and meet new people. It’s great, especially for people coming from a work-at-home situation where they need the social interaction and need to see people around to feel some energy in the room.” Alan compares the experience to the energy of being in a large metropolis. “I used to live in New York City and [coworking] brings that energy you find in the streets of New York to your office environment. To me, being here you get to feel everybody’s energy everyday.”

Graphic designer Judi Oyama’s experience at NextSpace told us that one of the core attractions of coworking for small businesses is that it enables you to get things done by filling in any gaps in skills and needs. When you aren’t stymied and stonewalled by things you can’t do, you feel motivated to launch new projects and try new business ventures.

Quality social encounters. Coworking gives you more social interaction. Join a space and get out of your pajamas and out of the house. Industrial and graphic design expert Anthony Grieder exchanged his home office where he had run Alloy Design, Inc. for over a decade for coworking space Boulder Digital Arts after coming to a realization that he wanted more people around him. “I had been in a home office for the past 12 years, and needed to get back into a more social situation.”

For others, being around people is a necessity for their business, especially for those in the creative field. Graphic designer Johnny Bilotta says that he turned to coworking at Indy Hall to test ideas and get immediate feedback. “One of the things I lost by working at home was the social aspect of going to an office. I couldn’t bounce an idea off of somebody, and being a designer, I need people’s opinions on things. I like to get people’s opinions on colors, for example. Even if it’s just waxing philosophical over a cup of coffee about a different design philosophy or something— I missed that from working at home.”

A professional venue— and outlook. Going to a coworking space disciplines your approach to your independent work or business. Franchise business consultant Kyle de Haas, a member of Cospace, likes how coworking puts him in a professional, ready-to-work frame of mind. “There are too many distractions at home that deter me from being as efficient as I’d like when I work,” he tells us. “I’ve learned over time that I respond well to getting dressed and going someplace to get work done. It promotes a healthy work-life balance.”

Instructional designer Lisa Van Damme marvels at how coworking at Boulder Digital Arts provides the right incentives to do her work in a more professional and balanced way. “There’s something to be said about getting dressed in the morning and leaving the house versus working in pajamas ten steps away from the bed.”

‘Accelerated serendipity’ galore. With coworking, communities can be very diverse, and you never know whom you’ll bump into in an encounter that could change your business forever. Freelance writer Kevin Purdy tells us, “I gained at least ten successful Lifehacker post ideas from working at Coworking Rochester, if not more. Personally, I’ve picked up post ideas and topics galore from Coworking Rochester for my freelance writing projects.” He also says that “problems I’ve had with my personal website, or even my out-loud ‘I wish I could…’ queries, have been tackled with enthusiasm whenever I’ve coworked.”

Action Alliance for Children’s Lisa Shulman Malul, a member of The Hub Bay Area, explains how crucial this exchange of ideas is in keeping their organization relevant, their ideas fresh, and their energy levels charged. “I think in any field you can get used to talking about your issues or the things that you cover within a narrow spectrum. The idea of interacting with [different audiences] on an ongoing basis gave us opportunities to hear more about how other people understand our work.”

Shared resources (from equipment to expertise). If you need to get things done on the cheap, coworking spaces are the place to do it. Instead of shouldering the cost of office space, Wi-Fi, the coffee machine, copier and printer, you split the cost with the other members of your space. You can also leverage better prices for other equipment or subscriptions with group deals.

And then there are the human resources— the people that can be sourced for team projects and group ideas. Members benefit from classes and lectures given by fellow members at many coworking spaces. Alongside being able to seek out your neighbor by dropping by for a chat at his or her desk, you can also seek out formal channels of skills exchange at hosted events where members take turns giving classes.

Companies hiring from the available pool of freelancers is commonplace at Gangplank. “In Silicon Valley, the joke is that you can change your job without changing your parking space. We say at Gangplank that you can change your job without changing your desk,” says co-founder Jade Meskill. “We've had people who wanted to get out of the consulting business and work for a product company, and be hired directly by one of the other companies inside of Gangplank.”

The price is right. Jason Richelson, a former member of Hive at 55 says that coworking makes it easy to save money, especially for the entrepreneur just starting out his or her business and trying to reach a sustainable operational level. “You just don’t want to commit to a lease in the initial stages of a new company, so going month-to-month is the only way for startups. And with coworking you don’t need to think about furniture, Internet, printer, etc. because it is all there.”

Expansion opportunities and an impressive ROI. The expenses incurred (monthly dues and commuting expenses) are generally outweighed by the gains. In the first Global Coworking Survey held by Deskmag, 42 percent of coworkers said that their incomes increased since joining a coworking space— probably from having access to wider social and professional networks and securing better job opportunities.

The downsides:

Little privacy and too many distractions. Sometimes the nature of your work is not compatible with the openness needed to make coworking work. Lawyers or accountants with secretive clients, for example, may need their own private offices that can be secured at all times. Even coworking advocates are not immune to the distraction that comes with the free flow of people in a coworking space. Software developer and cloud computing expert Adam Lindsay, a member of Coworking Rochester, tells us that prospective members should be warned about potential distractions when considering a space, which can affect productivity or be stressful when you have too much on your plate on a certain day. “If a person is easily distracted, coworking might not always be good. Make sure the coworking environment has quiet spaces you can escape to.”

Not the right crowd. Sometimes the chemistry really doesn’t work out, between you and the rest of the coworkers in the space. You may have different expectations, and the coworking space just didn’t meet them.

::::: Genevieve DeGuzman is the co-author of ‘Working in the UnOffice: A Guide to Coworking for Indie Workers, Small Businesses, and Nonprofits’ (Night Owls Press, August 2011).

Reprinted with permission from an article by Genevieve DeGuzman The entire article originally appeared in Deskmag http://bit.ly/r34StT on 2011-10-21.

For more information about the services of Wyoming Entrepreneur, or to ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, e-mail wsbdc@uwyo.edu or write 1000 East University Avenue, Department 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922. Additional help is available on our website www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz. The Wyoming Entrepreneur partnership program is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additional support is provided by the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming.

Is your sustainability message a bit stale? Spice it up and make it memorable!

Even though we are heading into warmer months of spring and summer, here’s proof that your sustainability messaging doesn’t have to be boring: In late January, the World Wildlife Fund launched a website (sweaterday.ca) for National Sweater Day (February 9). The premise? Canadians were encouraged to lower their thermostats a few degrees and put on a sweater to stay warm – thereby making grandmothers happier all over the country.

We spend a lot of time in the Shelton creative department discussing creative strategy and the best way to make things “stick” with customers – what makes a campaign memorable and what makes people act sustainably. Some of you might recall former President Jimmy Carter’s famous “sweater speech,” in which he encouraged everyone to minimize their energy consumption and break out the cardigans. Thirty-two years later, the same request was made of Canadians through a completely different approach – and without political agenda. Let’s take a look at what this new sweater campaign did right.

First, “The Granny Call Centre” took a request for sacrificing one’s personal comfort (which we know is a huge motivator for consumers) and put a fun, positive spin on it. Its approach was human and universal  – most of us have a beloved grandmother, and most of us have received an overdone/overblown/oversized sweater from her at least once. It even made the sacrifice seem downright cozy, if not a bit tongue-in-cheek: as one Scottish granny says, “Don’t be ornery – just put on your sweater!” By taking an age-old, grandmotherly adage and marrying it with an accepted societal joke, the campaign became a prescriptive instrument of engagement and awareness.

Secondly, the campaign has the potential to create change by going viral. This fun, buzz-worthy campaign can be passed along to friends and family to create change through subtle peer pressure – people wearing sweaters and lowering the thermostat not because of kind, rosy-cheeked grannies, but because their hipster Canuck friend Dan found a fun, slightly loopy campaign online and decided to play along.

Regardless of how folks get there, the end result is positive. Wonder if any of those grannies are familiar with the term ‘win-win’?

Guest article by Stephanie Alexander, Senior Copywriter for Shelton Group, LLC

Cloning Your Best Customers - Can it Be Done?

If you keep good customer records - name, address, how much they've spent with you over a period of time - you can use simple GIS analysis to determine what your best customers have in common and where you can find more of them. Basically, GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis means utilizing maps to display and analyze various types of data.

A simple spreadsheet with the information I mentioned above can be used to create a map showing where your customers are located. After that, there are various tools that can be applied to learn more about these customers - the average household income for their neighborhood or how much they spend annually on the types of goods and services you provide, for example. There are also ways to find other areas of town that share similar characteristics with your best customers.

Think about it this way: if you run an auto repair shop, wouldn't you like to know if there is a neighborhood in town that spends an unusually high amount on vehicle maintenance every year? Wouldn't it be advantageous to be able to target a direct mail campaign to this neighborhood since you already know they're more likely to use your shop?

GIS Analysis can help you make these decisions. The process, at its core, is quite simple. First, your raw customer data (name, address, amount spent with your business) is represented geographically on a map. This gives you a basic idea of where your customers are. Next, there are a number of "layers" that can be placed on top of the map. Think of it like placing a sheet of tracing paper over a picture - you still see the picture, but you can add more to it by drawing on the tracing paper. These layers can contain a variety of data, but let's use annual expenditures on vehicle maintenance as an example. When this layer is applied to your customer map, let's say you notice a high concentration of customers in a "hot" area (one with above average expenditures on vehicle maintenance) and then notice another neighborhood in town with similar expenditures but very few of your customers. You've just found your next target for a direct mail campaign.

GIS analysis can be a powerful tool and can help you make informed decisions about your business instead of just guessing. Contact the Market Research Center at mrc@uwyo.edu to learn more.

Website Usability: Keep it Simple

One of the most common problems on websites, and one of the most easily avoidable, is usability. Usability encompasses many aspects of a site: organization, ease of navigation, visibility of important information, loading speed, etc. Basically, anything that affects how somebody interacts with your site (and how easy that interaction is) can fall under the "usability" umbrella.

There are many ways to improve a site's usability, but I've included three basic tips below that will give you a good foundation on which to build each page on your site.

• Don't try to fit too much information on a single page. A lot of times, you'll have so much great information to share that your first instint will be to put as much as possible on each page. Resist this urge. Limit the textual content on each page to a few short paragraphs at most (pages that require too much scrolling actually get abandoned pretty quickly). Highlight the most important points about that page's topic and don't oversaturate the page with a large amount of text that people won't read anyway. If people spend more than 30 seconds reading text on a page, you're lucky. Keep that in mind when creating content on your pages.
• Keep the navigation bars on every page consistent. Make sure that your navigation bar always stays in the same spot on each page and contains the same links. It will only serve to confuse your customers if they visit a page and try to navigate elsewhere only to find that the navigation bar has moved or has new links in a different order.
• Keep images to a minimum whenever possible. It's no secret that alluring images and graphics can enhance a website's aesthetics, but too many of them can have a negative impact on a site's loading speed. Above all other usability issues, a slow loading speed can be the quickest way to get somebody to leave your site. Images are fine, but make sure their file sizes aren't too large and they aren't causing your site to load slowly. Finally, avoid Flash animation as much as you can.

In addition to these three basic tips, you can always find checklists to use to make sure your site's usability is functioning smoothly. A simple Google search for "website usability checklist" will get you started with plenty of options.