It’s no secret, web usability is a necessity in order to ensure your business makes the sales you need online. Your website is a 24x7x365 sales machine and it needs to look and function it’s best at all times. Last month I worked on a redesign which was literally only a redesign focused on optimizing user experience. Sure, we’ve done a few new marketing initiatives and spent several thousand more dollars for the client to broaden their reach (which is going to be very promising) but it definitely wasn’t the core of the new 2010 marketing program.
For the time being I’ve decided to not name the business but that doesn’t stop me from sharing the bottom line–numbers. What I’m talking about is a momentous 39% increase in goal conversions. The business went from 72 sales through its website in June 2010 to 100 sales in July 2010 (after I implemented the new redesign). This small business is involved in the travel & tourism industry so those mere 28 sales equates to roughly a new $4,000-5,000+ revenue stream per month. Granted the industry suffers from seasonality, no one is going to complain about more sales in this economy. In addition, the new revenue stream figure only reflects the traceable sales for the one goal that was set in Google Analytics. The analytics goal does not account for increased phone orders, or sales made through third parties such as brokers and agents.
Earlier in the year we set an internal goal for the business which was to make sure we hit the same gross sales from last year. That won’t be the case this year because we’re going to blow that number out of the water. I’m very proud to be involved with a project that’s making real strides in a down economy.
So what’s the takeaway from this? Selecting a web designer is not just about who can make things look the nicest. You need to work with a company who can deliver both form and function in order to make real sales. There’s a reason why a website costs $10,000 through one person and only $1,200 through another. In this example, a $10,000 investment can easily be recouped in a few months leaving the rest of the year (as well as subsequent years) as pure profit. How’s that for an investment?
P.S. I forgot to mention that during the process of the redesign, I actually removed some content pages of the website that probably weren’t needed (still working on adding new content). To further emphasize the ROI of a good web design, I can share that the website’s page views actually decreased yet conversions increased.
by Prashant on June 23, 2010
in Business
I think spraying and praying has to be one of the worst mistakes new entrepreneurs can make. You know the story… Dale, new business extraordinaire, builds a new widget designed for the real estate industry but soon after sees applications in all sorts of industries ranging from janitorial to precision manufacturing. While it’s always nice for John to think big and outside the box, entrepreneurs trying to serve the masses can easily walk right into failure.
If you can’t keep that ego in check, sorry… you’re screwed
I believe the problem at the core root of things is simply, our ego. Thoughts of financial freedom, living a self-sufficient life, being known, being “the man”, etc. are all are all areas that newbies need to keep in check. You can write up all the business plans you want, have as many advisors around you as possible, but if you can’t keep that ego in check, sorry… you’re screwed.
You need to keep a leash on yourself
What entrepreneurs need to understand is that it’s ok to dream and think of different ways to apply product/service to different industries, but at the same time, you need to keep a leash on yourself. When I have the spare time, I am personally always thinking of new industries that I’d love to be involved with. I have an excel file that I keep these kinds of notes within and when I get close to learning one industry, I move to the next.
Yes, this is a slow approach and in the past 3-4 years, I’ve personally only moved to my second major industry (from automotive to wine). I take things step by step because I have a small business and I don’t have the financial and talent resources to invest into a dedicated R&D team. Not to mention being the sole decision maker at the end of the day means I just want things to run smoothly with as little headache as possible.
[ Why you need to unlock the power of the niche... ]
If you use Photoshop to create designs, here’s a quick tip—spell check! It’s a lot easier than you might think and it could save you some headache down the road.
There are two ways I can think of to ensure you have correct copy:
- Type your text in a word processor such as Word and once you’re sure that spelling and grammar are correct, paste the text into Photoshop and style as needed.
- Or type the copy directly into Photoshop (generally works best if you don’t have a lot of text) and go to the Edit menu and select Check Spelling…
I have known people to get into major issues in terms of this seemingly simple oversight. Years ago, a friend had a typo in some invitations he had made for a client and of course it wasn’t noticed until the customer came into the store to pickup his final product. Granted the client had approved the artwork by signing a proof, I’m sure you can imagine the turmoil when he came to pickup his product.
The takeaway: Save yourself and your clients the headache and dignity by simply spell checking your graphic designs!
Now, this might be a touchy subject for some of you, but just hear me out before you start firing back. In my opinion, freelancers are NOT entrepreneurs. Well actually, I believe that freelancers are for the most part people who are on their way to entrepreneurship but are still figuring their situation out—a “half entrepreneur” if you will. I’ve polled a few people on this subject a few weeks ago and overwhelmingly it seems like the majority of you disagree. That’s fine by me, but let me explain my thought process.
To me, a freelancer is someone whose income is directly correlated to their work output. In other words, if a freelancer stops working, their income comes to a halt. On the other hand, entrepreneurs build sustainability. They can leave the business, take a nap, go on vacation, and expand their skills while STILL making money in the process. Just looking at this one comparison of freelancers vs. entrepreneurs, who do you think is more likely to be stable in the long run?
[see my breakdown of freelancers vs. entrepreneurs in an easy-to-read table format...]
Have you ever gotten a free razor in the mail? You know, when Gillete or Schick releases a new razor, does one magically appear in your mailbox? I’ve gotten several free razors over the years. Have you ever wondered why they gave you a razor for free? The razor is just the way that you get hooked into buying the company’s more profitable products (the blades). The concept of giving something away at a loss in hopes to hook them is nothing new and this scenario is known as a loss leader. Sometimes it takes guts to run with a loss leader campaign but at the end of the day, it’s smart business… sell the razor blades, not the razor.
This has to be one of the best stories and concepts I’ve heard in a while…sell the razor blades, not the razor. It’s one of those common sense type stories that you might not think about on a day-to-day basis, but when it hits you, you get the ah-hah moment complete with the brightly lit bulb.
I can’t remember where exactly I read about the razor vs. razor blade concept but I do know that the article involved Robert Mondavi, and him teaching his son the concept. Think about all the industries that take advantage of this scenario. For example, Expedia takes guest rooms provided by hotels at a discount, marks them up, and sells them for a profit. Generally speaking, their markups are usually around $20+ a night. Hotels sell them rooms simply because of their large distribution channels and guests book through them because they generally end up with a cheaper rate than booking directly with hotels. $20 gross profit per room + thousands of properties, thousands of interested guests, multiple night stays, you’re beginning to see the power of the model. They don’t have to deal with guest check-ins, housekeeping, room maintenance, etc. because that would be the razor. Instead, they use their distribution services to sell the blades and let the hotels do the work. Granted their net operating margin declined in 2010 something like 8.5%, their high volume of sales produces quite a bit of money. Quite an effective example of being a middle man if you ask me.
Do you have any other examples you want to share about selling razor blades instead of razors?
by Prashant on May 8, 2010
in Success
I have no idea where I read/heard this quote from but I had this written down in one of my notebooks from a couple years ago so I thought I’d share with you. Garrison Keillor says, “Be well, do good work, keep in touch” which I think is a truly epic quote because it hits three major areas of being a successful.
Be well
Being well has to deal with staying healthy. If you are sick all the time, you can’t be as useful as if you weren’t sick…pretty straight forward right? Hit the gym, up your vitamin-c intake, whatever you need to do to stay healthy and productive. It’s also important that you don’t get burnt out because you try to take on more things than you can handle. Reduce your work load, learn the art of delegation, set a schedule and stick to it. Reducing stress is vital to long-term health for you and your business’s success.
Do good work
This is an area that I can’t stress enough…do good work. I’m a big believer in the concept of if you’re going to do something, you better do it right or not do it at all. Granted, sometimes there may be special situations where you have constraints such as the luxury of time. But besides those instances, don’t involve yourself with monkey business, half-assery, or BS. If you need me to put it another way: stop chasing every opportunity… quality over quantity.
Keep in touch
Stay in touch with your customers. Learn what their problems are and try to solve them. I think this is an area that a lot of people don’t take advantage of (myself to some degree) but it really is important to stay in touch. An example of a contact schedule of this for web designers might look something like something like this:
- During the initial contract process, keep your client updated about revisions, the status of the project, any potential delays, etc.
- After the project has been completed, make sure you get feedback about the project, how they liked working with you, how you could improve, etc.
- A few months down the road, make sure you do an audit on the website and let the client know about any trends you notice, revisions that could be made, etc. I personally search through client’s analytics data and browse the long-tail for new content creation suggestions on a quarterly basis.
The bottom line is that by being well, doing good work, and keeping in touch, you will keeps your clients happy, build creditability, and make clients feel reassured that they made the right decision in working with you. Unless you’re only after a short-term relationship with your client, keeping in touch will allow you to build long-lasting relationships for future work and referral business. After all, we all know how powerful word-of-mouth can be!
Foursquare is one the hot new social networking applications based on geosocial/geolocation/location based technology. The particular space they’re in is a very hot topic and given that smart phone demand has been on the rise like crazy recently, the potential is huge. Business owners should definitely keep tabs on this sector (location based services) because we’re talking about another way that can help make or break your company. I’m talking the potential to be as impactful on businesses as online business reviews on traditional websites such as Yelp, Citysearch, BOTW Local, etc. With that in mind, here are some fast facts about the hot new startup:
[show me the 7.5 facts that i need to know...]
by Prashant on April 15, 2010
in Gadgets
Apple previewed iPhone OS 4.0 on April 8, 2010. A developer beta was also released at the same time as the preview. It is expected to be available to the public in summer 2010 (northern hemisphere) for iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (3rd Generation), and fall for iPad. The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd Generation) will also get a limited update which will include most, but not all, of the new features. For example, multitasking will not be included. This is due to the limited hardware of the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G. Other devices, such as the original iPhone and iPod touch 1G, are not expected to be supported at all. In the preview, along with 1500 new APIs for app developers, seven most significant “tentpole” headline groups of user features were highlighted out of the around 100 changes to to the new OS feature set. Listed in the order announced, these were titled: multitasking; folders; mail; iBooks; enterprise; game center; iAd.
[see the big list of iPhone OS 4.0 changes...]
