Wyoming Entrepreneur Blog

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.

 

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.

Why Use Social Media?

Increasingly, many consumers are using social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to discuss companies, products and experiences with their friends and peers.  Monitoring what people say about your company, your service and your products is an excellent way to find out what you’re doing right or wrong. 

Consumers are also using these sites to research buying decisions.  If you are being discussed, it’s probably a good idea if you are part of the discussion.  A recent survey by ROI Research asked social network users the reasons they use social media to discuss products and services.  The table below shows some of the results:

View this photo

The study points out that when consumer voice complaints using social media channels, they tend to be in the areas of household products, telecommunications and healthcare.  Sports-related brands, magazines and newspapers and alcoholic beverages tend to receive relatively low levels of complaints. 
Would you refuse to discuss your products and services with a customer who came into your store?  If the answer is “yes”, then social media is probably not for you.  However, if you refuse to talk to your customers when they are trying to tell you what they like and dislike, then you may find it very challenging to be successful.  However, if you are interested in understanding how your and your products or services are perceived by the people who pay your bills, then social media can be a valuable tool and a way to connect with your customers.

No matter the industry, your customers are using social media and the web to research and discuss you.  If you want to be part of the discussion, you have to enter the conversation.

What have been your experiences with social media and your business?

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Survey)

Sometimes it feels like we're inundated with customer satisfaction surveys: Tell us what you think! We need your feedback! Even with the promise of taking only a "few minutes" of our time, they always seem like a hassle and are ignored more often than not. But when you're on the other side of the exchange and rely on the feedback to improve your customers' experience, you get a new perspective on the importance of these surveys and are frustrated when you can't get any responses. What can you do to change this?

One possibility is the use of a one question survey. Essentially, customer satisfaction surveys all strive to answer one simple question: Are we doing a good job? Even though multiple areas of your business can impact a customer's experience, their satisfaction ultimately boils down to their response to that question.

A free online survey tool like Survey Monkey can make these surveys easy to set up and monitor. The format of the question can be flexible, but should provide a yes or no answer to a question similar to one of these:

• Did we do a good job?
• Were you happy with your experience?
• Would you recommend us?

After a simple set up on Survey Monkey, you'll get a URL that you can include with every email to a customer. "Please take 20 seconds to answer one question about your experience with us." You can also ask them to leave an email address when they answer the question and have a monthly drawing for some sort of prize. This increases their incentive to take the survey and only increases their time commitment by perhaps ten seconds.

The biggest advantage of one question surveys is customers are more likely to answer a single yes/no question than multiple questions that they have to think about ("Rate your experience in the following categories on a scale of 1-10"). Instead of a few minutes, they can be done with the survey in 30 seconds.

However, one question surveys also have some obvious limitations. Unless you ask customers to leave their names (and many still won't), you won't be able to specifically address a negative response. Also, they don't allow you to delve into specific areas of your business (timeliness, pricing, responsiveness, etc.). They're a great way to get a general idea of how happy your customers are, but don't provide exact details about what you do or don't do well.

In addition to Survey Monkey (which is more of a standalone tool), there are also free resources for adding a one question poll to your website. For example, BooRoo allows you to create a quick poll and copy its code into your website's source code. Visitors to your website then have the opportunity to tell you how you're doing by answering a single question while they're browsing your site.

One question surveys have their limitations, but can be a quick way to increase customer feedback and monitor how well your business is serving them.

 

 

Website Linking Strategies

 

Website linking strategies require attention if you are trying to increase your visibility on the internet.  They are often misunderstood so some clarification is needed.  

There are two types of linking strategies, internal and external.  Internal links are the navigation links that allow users to navigate through your site.  They are also the live links to your site map, articles and tables that are within your site.  The often neglected internal links are picked up by search engines (as are external links) and will help to increase your visibility.

External links are of two kinds.  They are the links from your site to other sites and they are also the links leading back to your website from other sites.  Links from your site to other sites are not so important.  What is important is having links to your website on other sites.  This is what drives traffic to your site.  Link popularity is critical because it gives searchers different ways of getting to your site.  It is like having several “back doors” to your web pages instead of relying just on your URL and business name to get people to your site.  Having your URL on other websites also gives search engines different ways of indexing you, thus increasing your visibility. 

The quality of these links is more important than the quantity.  When selecting sites to which you want to be linked, choose ones that not only get lots of traffic, but are credible sites.  The stronger these “backlinks” to your site are, the better your site will look to indexing bots. 

One way to increase your link popularity is to put your site on reputable search engine and business directories.  Another is to have organizations or associations that are related to your business link to you.  Many associations have member lists that are live links so think about joining associations to get traffic.  Does your large national supplier have live links to distributors on their website?  How about your local chamber or tourist bureau?  Organizations like these generally get lots of traffic so if you were listed on their websites, it could increase your traffic.  As an aside, most chamber websites have business directories but not all have live links to member businesses.  If your chamber does not provide live links, suggest it to them.
Here is the link to a free online link popularity checker so you can see which websites Google, Bing and Yahoo are picking up as backlinks to your site.
http://www.linkpopularity.com/

 

Is Exporting For You?



Have you been thinking about starting to export your products outside of the state?  Many Wyoming companies look at exporting as selling to Colorado or Utah.  However, many of our products may well find a market outside the US.  The question is how do you know whether or not an opportunity is right for you?

If you already sell to Canada, then adding Mexico or Chile would probably be good places to expand because their import regulations are very friendly to US products.  The key to exporting is knowledge about the market and one thing that many companies don’t realize is that there is a great source of detailed information on over 100 countries available for free from the US Commercial Service.  The USCS Country Commercial Guides are a updated annually and contain information on market conditions, purchasing power, consumer trends, distribution channels, navigation of the country’s import rules, best sectors, key contacts and more.  To view the guides, go to http://www.export.gov/mrktresearch/index.asp.
This site offers great advice about how to evaluate each country you are interested and can help guide you in making your plans to enter the international field. 

Things to consider include:

• Use historical value and volume data to determine market demand and trends.  Statistical data on exports are available from the FAS, Department of Commerce and the National Trade Data Bank.
• Identify several markets that are large and growing.  Also look for smaller market that may provide “ground-floor” opportunities.
• Decide which markets have the most potential and the strongest supporting data. 

Once you’ve screened your potential markets, assess each by looking at:

• Product Trends: consumption, value of imports, demographics, etc.
• Competition: who are they and are they domestic or imported.
• Marketing: what channels of distribution are used, what are the cultural differences, prices.
• Trade Barriers: tariffs and non-tariff barriers, packaging, certification, labeling.
• Promotion opportunities: trade shows, missions, leads, industry partners.

Once you’ve evaluated each market, chances are that one will pop out as being the best opportunity.  For additional assistance in starting up your international marketing journey, contact Wyoming Entrepreneur as shown below.

Are you exporting now?  Have you in the past?  What have been your experiences?

You've Opened Your Business and There Are No Customers. Now What?

Day one of any business can be the most challenging.  You’ve envisioned helping people, selling them products they want, making your customers happy and bringing in money and there you are by yourself.  Here is what to do:

Open up your business plan and look at your marketing plan.  What were your strategies?  If you haven’t already, get to work on them.  Maybe this is a good time to revisit the plan and brainstorm with a friend or Business Advisor for more ideas on methods to let your customers know you are ready to help or sell to them. 

If you don’t have a marketing plan, and you are already in business, you NEED a marketing plan for your business.  Assuming you’ve evaluated your industry, location, market, competition and other aspects, you can focus on the following to put a very basic marketing plan together to help you grow your business:

1)    What is the purpose of your marketing? Common goals are keeping customers loyal, attracting new customers and developing your brand(s). 

2)    Who is your customer?  For consumer sales, think of everything you can from demographics to hobbies and interests.  When selling to businesses, not only do you need to know exactly what kind and what size business, but who the individuals within that business are who decide to purchase your product or service. 

3)    What is your competitive advantage?  What benefit (not features) do you offer that your competitors do not?  To understand the difference between benefits and features, see Janet Beatrice’s Ezine article for help. Keep in mind indirect competition, such as people choosing to eat at home rather than at restaurants.

4)    Who are you?  What are the values that drive your organization and products?  These are the greatest ingredients that build your brand.  Branding is not logos and images, but rather trust.  The best brands are the identities we associate with companies, products or even political parties we trust.

5)    How will you promote your products and services?  Now that you know who you are, what benefits your product offers that your competitors’ don’t, who your customers are and where they are likely to find you, now it is time to communicate to them with purpose. 

Let us look at the different actions you can look at to get your word out.  In each scenario, keep in mind the following:

• How will you get your customers attention?
• Are you being genuine?
• What is your call to action?
• It is about the customer; what do they get out of it?

As you develop action plans, keep in mind how you position yourself among competitors’ products, the consistency of your message, frequency and expected ROI.  That investment is not only money, but your valuable time.  There are many marketing methods from social media to speaking events and of course advertising, the most expensive and elusive form of marketing.  Consider out of the box methods, especially networking, public relations, events and online marketing.

If you need assistance, please contact Wyoming Entrepreneur for free consulting help and someone can help you figure out your marketing plan and you can also use resources at their disposal, like the Market Research Center.  With an effective plan in place that you can act on, you can realize your business’ true potential.

Know Thy Self and Thy Customer: Part Two

Part Two: Knowing Thy Self (Continued from previous post)

 Knowing your organization may seem obvious at first glance.  With some introspection, you can take advantage of what you know about yourself.

It may seem obvious to many at first: “our organization is X and we do Y”.  Then with this in mind approach that statement through the eyes of others outside of your organization.  How are you positioned in comparison to direct and indirect competition?  Perhaps you are “the only business that does Y in Wyoming”.  Or perhaps your customers perceive you as “the business that sells Y for the lowest prices in town”.  Perhaps you excel in service, quality, expertise or some other attributes.

Sometimes there is a significant difference between what an organization perceives itself as when compared to what customers perceive it as.  Discovering this gap is important both in that it may reveal important unique selling positions that can be leveraged, but also because it can reveal weaknesses that need to be addressed and certainly not used when competing against other organizations.

Bringing self-identity and market understanding together allows firms to capitalize on their products/services and their reputation.  Toyota and other Japanese car manufacturers were known since the 1970’s for producing reliable and affordable compact cars.  In the 1990’s, nearly simultaneously, they realized the market desire for quality luxury cars, which at the time Jaguar, a number of German manufacturers and others were known for luxury, not reliability.  Knowing how customers perceived them, the Japanese manufacturers recognized they could not use their existing brand names as it was not perceived by customers for luxury.  So they developed new brands, such as Lexus, Infinity and Acura.  With these new brands the Japanese manufacturers successfully entered the luxury car market with quality products customers demanded and with new identities the customers could perceive with quality and reliability.

Honestly recognizing yourself through your own and others eyes and understanding unbiased market potential can help your business focus on reaching new heights.

Know Thy Self and Thy Customer: Part One

Part 1: Know Thyself

Many businesses often focus so much on their products and day-to-day running of their business that they lose sight of the customers they wish to serve with their products/services. 

Sometimes, a business with the best intentions makes assumptions of what their customers want without actually knowing.  This haphazard approach omitting market research is a gamble businesses don’t need to be making.

Twice in the last half century we’ve seen the American auto industry struggle for survival because they have lost focus on what really is important to their identified market and instead focused on what American car makers perceived as product qualities important to their customers.  The auto industry as a whole is very good at understanding who their customers are and targeting them, but when it blunders, those blunders are obvious to many stakeholders, including investors and even tax payers if they end up supporting businesses.

Taking the time to learn what your customers’ problems/needs are is an important first step.  There are many methods, each more appropriate to certain markets/customers.  These may range from surveys to focus groups or simply talking to existing and potential clients.

Probably the next natural step is prioritizing customers’ needs in terms of both perceived value and your ability to economically meet those needs to make a profit.  If it will draw important resources and the customer will only casually notice the benefit (and thus not substantially pay for the benefit) it may not be worth your while.  On the other hand, you might recognize that with only a slight modification to your product/service, you can substantially impact a customer’s life or business.   As you discover opportunities, remember to keep your eyes on the horizon for other new opportunities as well as threats, such as a competitor being able to imitate or even improve upon what you were able to provide to your customers.

This brings us to the next and equally important focus of this post: knowing yourself whicontinued as part two in the next blog.

Guest Blogger: Lauree Ostrofsky "Understand Your Customers to Target Them More Effectively"

Today's guest blogger is Lauree Ostrofsky, CPC. Lauree helps individuals to negotiate milestones from launching a new business to marriage and motherhood. Combining marketing with life coaching, she connects clients to who they are in order to express themselves more clearly. Says Lauree, "They articulate what's important and remove obstacles to go after what they really want – the sky's the limit." http://www.simplyleap.com/

Understand Your Customers to Target Them More Effectively

Market research sounds corporate and expensive, but at its most basic it allows entrepreneurs to understand why customers choose them in order to reach them better.

When you think about it, you already know a lot about your customers even if you don't have any yet. With the right questions, you'll gather enough information to use in conversation, on your business card, or on your website and brochures.

Some ideas:

- Go with what you know - think about everything you already know about your customers, even things seemingly unrelated to your business. Jot down what customers like best about your business, what they do for a living, and where you would likely find them on a Saturday afternoon. Keep coming up with things you know they have in common - demographics, marital status, interests.

Once you get going the ideas will flow. You'll also start to put together a profile or profiles of your typical customer(s) based on what all of them have in common. Consider naming the profiles as if they are real customers you want to serve. That way it's easier to create advertising or a new sales promotion because you have 'someone' in mind.

- Use their words - the most effective way to reach a customer is to use words or pictures that speak to them directly. If they think you understand them and their unique needs, they will choose you.

Creating customer profiles are the first step. Next, find current customers or friends who match these profiles. Depending on the size of your business, three to five people are a good start.

Ask them questions like: what do you like about my business? What made you choose my business over others? If you were going to recommend my business to someone else, what would you say? The last one is really important.

Write down exactly what they say. You may begin to hear some of the same words used by more than one customer/friend. The more you can use these words in how you speak and write about your business, the more likely these type of customers will know you are speaking to them.

With these ideas in place, you'll have simple, effective market research for your business -- without the expensive marketing budget to go with it. This information is useful in a number of ways, including written materials, logo design, brand and product naming, and even explaining a return policy change.

Understanding your customers takes a commitment from you, and creates commitment from them. A successful combination no matter the economy.

What are YOU doing to understand your customers?