Marketers and business owners seem to forget this fact with the web. They fall into the trap of knowing they can provide as much information as they want (with the only limitation being their web hosting storage space and bandwidth limitations) on their websites. You can’t forget that the prospects visiting your website (all those “visitors” you love looking at in your website analytics software) are actually people. They are people there with a specific purpose in mind, whether that is to get information, make a purchase decision, or simply make contact with the site owner. Your website should function much like your elevator-pitch: it should provide the necessary information quickly, up-front. Don’t bury it in an “About Us” or other page.

People that want to learn more about your product or service will click the appropriate (assuming you have them in the right place) links to take them there. You have to provide this information to them in an easy-to-find manner, though, or they will instantly go elsewhere to try and find it.

Many times, we have clients ask us if it makes sense to put information behind a registration page, so that we can use that registration to “capture leads.” If you take the time to realize that those “leads,” again, are actually people, and then you look at the term “capture,” you realize, what you are asking for is to capture people. The last time I checked, capturing people wasn’t exactly legal. No one likes being forced into providing information about themselves simply to get information about something they are trying to make a decision on, like your product or service. A great way to think about it: when you are first introduced to someone, do you instantly go into, “Hey, may I have your name, phone number, email, company name, address, and any comments you may have?” Instead, you take the time to get to know the person, then, when the conversation moves in the appropriate direction, you ask for that information.

Building a relationship with people online as a business doesn’t have to be a daunting task. It simply takes time, which any company that wants to keep its customers should be taking time to keep them happy anyway. A great example of a company building relationships with its customers is Zappos (http://www.zappos.com). Zappos’ CEO, Tony Hsieh, has built his organization around customer service, and his website/online presence is no different. He utilizes tools like Twitter to have conversations with customers. He encourages his employees to do the same. If you want to proof, just look at Zappos’ growth.

So, What’s Next?

Reading this far, you may have had the realization (or maybe you’ve always known) that you want to use the power of the web to build relationships with the people you call customers, but you don’t know where to start. Here is a quick checklist of things to do right now to make sure you are doing what you can.

1. Does your website provide all of the information people are looking for when they visit your site?

If you say yes, ask yourself if you have based this on your own opinion, or that of your customers. Just because you think you have all the information on your website, doesn’t mean that your customers would necessarily agree with that opinion. Make it easy for your customers to give you feedback on your website, whether on the website itself (the best place) or via email or phone call. Make sure you are giving them the information they are looking for.

2. Have you established a relationship-building strategy with your online presence?

Do you utilize online tools like email (at minimum), Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc to have conversations with your customers? Do you take the time to reach out to them instead of simply waiting on them to contact you? People will not give you feedback unless you openly ask for it. As silly as it may sound, unless you plan your strategy on building relationships online, your efforts will be wasted. Plan out your strategy, then put it into action. If you have to, plan out how many customers you will personally respond to/reach out to in a given day. Make the number reasonable, and attainable, and then make sure you do it.

3. Have you worked with a professional copywriter to make sure your website doesn’t fall into the trap of being full of jargon and sleazy sales talk?

You may be one of those people that feel that you are the best person to write the content for your website. That is fine, and I would encourage it. I would also strongly recommend that even if you do write your own content, that you hire a professional copywriter/copyeditor to make sure that you have worded everything the best possible way; not only for the sake of not sounding sleazy, but also to make sure that you present the information about your products and services in the most easy-to-understand manner. Connecting with people is an emotional process, and what your website says to them affects them on an emotional level (a simple example: they either like your website and they stick around, or they don’t and they leave).

4. If you have information hidden behind registration forms, does it provide your customers with information that is so valuable to them that they are willing to register to get it?

People don’t like to give out their personal information for nothing. Give them some incentive, let them know that there is a good reason for them to provide their information. Think of it this way, when a salesperson schedules an appointment with a decision-maker, they have to provide some reason to the prospective buyer that proves it is worth their time. If you must use a registration form, make it as short and simple as possible. You can always ask for more information about that person after they have registered.

5. Do you analyze what people are doing when they visit your website? Are you asking them to provide you with feedback?

If you don’t have an analytics software tool installed on your website, you are literally lost. Google Analytics is free, takes 5 minutes to setup, and gives you an mountain of useful information. Using the tool can be overwhelming, so it may make sense for you to hire a marketing agency like ours to help you learn how to use all the information that can be found in the analytics tool.

A simple “How are we doing?” link to a simple survey form on your website can provide limitless information about whether or not your website is providing the information that your customers are looking for. If you ask them, it’s a pretty sure thing that they will tell you. People like to have their opinions heard, let them speak them to you. An important note here: when you ask for feedback, be ready to receive some that you may not like. Don’t argue with your customers, just listen.

6. Does your website look like it was built in the 70’s?

I know, the web didn’t exactly exist in the 70’s, especially not in the form it has become today. But your website can still have that impression on people when they visit it. Take a long look at your site and determine if you should freshen up the aesthetics. Need help knowing what to look for? Read “Does your website need re-designing?”

7. Do you have time to do this stuff yourself? Should you hire some outside help? (If for nothing more than an outside perspective?)

Many business owners simply take on too much to do the things they are good at the best they possibly can. Sometimes, the easiest way to increase profits for your business is to hire someone else to help you with the things you don’t have time/skill for. Additionally, having the fresh perspective from a marketing and/or design agency can help provide clarity to your marketing initiatives. It is well known that the most successful people are considered those people because they bring in help from experts in their field. Even if you know how to do the task, many times it simply makes more sense to let someone else do it. Whether you hire them in-house, or bring in an outside consultant, it can help your relationship-building efforts actually be a success.

Twitter in the last 2 weeks has become the focus of our new and current client meetings. What is it? How does it work? And more importantly, how can we make it a successful marketing tool for our business? I recently found a video that really puts twitter into easy to understand terms.

This video should at least help you gain an understanding of what Twitter is, and how it can be used.  However, there is no one answer fits all for how it can be used to successfully market your company.  In fact, since twitter is so new, the possibilities are limit less.  Comcast successfully uses it as a customer service application.  Whole Foods successfully uses a call to action approach with coupons to Twitter followers.  So the question is, how will your company benefit from this new marketing vehicle?

1. Have you updated your website with new material in the last 3 months?  Remember that your website is a reflection of your business.  If the website looks amateur and out-of-date, they will make the same assumptions about you.
2. Does your website match your current marketing and branding efforts?  I was amazed at how many websites I visited that did not even seem as though they belonged to the same company that published the phone book ad.  It is very important for brand awareness purposes that your website match your marketing collateral, so that you do not confuse your customers.
3. Are you able to measure your website visitors and conversion rates?  I read somewhere once that the only thing worse than working hard and not getting anywhere is getting results and not knowing how you got them.  This is true of your website, too.  One of the many great things about a website, if built correctly, is that it can be changed often.  However, if you don’t know what is working or not, how will you know what to change?
4. Does your website stand out (in a good way) compared to your competitors?   Internet users are impatient and usually make up their mind about a site within a few seconds.  So if your website does not make a good impression or give them what they are looking for, you can bet that they will look at your competitions websites as well.
5. Is your website listed on the 1st page of the search engine results for relevant keywords?  Remember just because you build something doesn’t mean that people are going to know its there.  Sometimes it is easier to increase your search engine traffic by re-designing your website vs. trying to build it into an already built website.

If you answered “no” to one or more of the above questions, then it is time to consider re-designing your website.  Remember that on average 81% of people will look at your website before picking up the phone to call you.  So, if you want to grow your business, you need to make sure that you are the company that they are calling.

The two brands have been successful in developing value-based services for their customers with a goal of building long-term relationships.  While always functioning together, the combination of the resources will allow for a seamless transition.  As one brand, our customers will benefit from the expanded service offerings and additional staff expertise.

“We are excited about the many opportunities that a Simple Web Works and Accade combination will provide for our clients; the combined brand will be better positioned to provide a full-service, one-stop resource for all of our clients’ marketing needs,” said M. Lee Cook, CEO of Accade.

Accade will help companies get the most from their marketing, helping them transition from only using traditional marketing to incorporating digital marketing effectively.  Accade has helped numerous businesses establish an effective online brand presence while incorporating existing advertising and marketing vehicles.  For a full list of services that Accade will offer, please visit their website.

www.accade.com

Please contact Lynne Perry, Director of Marketing, with any questions regarding this announcement.

Lynne.Perry@accade.com

1. Who will write the posts or articles? When we first started our Twitter account, our CEO was the only one who was “tweeting” for the company.  However, as time went by we decided that it made more sense to have multiple viewpoints to reach a larger audience.  So we now have myself (Director of Marketing), our CTO, and CEO posting new “tweets”.   This also was a good move on our part because it keeps our posts both diverse and fresh.
2. How will you represent yourself? Will you post mainly personal or professional messages?  Or will you do a little of both?  We decided that for our purposes it makes most sense for us to be an industry resource, but that adding a little personality gives us a much needed edge.
3. How often will you be maintaining your profiles? If you plan on being successful with social media, it is imperative that you are consistent with posting new and useful information.  As well as, interacting with your audience.  After all, the main difference between traditional media and social media is the interaction and relationships that social media provides, vs. the traditional content and ads.
4. How will you be successful with your target audience? I am going to reference an article by Eric Karofsky that will give you 5 very different examples of successful social media campaigns.
   1. Whole Foods
   2. Blendtec
   3. Social Media for Social Change
   4. World Without Oil
   5. Reebok

With social media being one of the newest and fastest growing ways to market your business, remember that this new medium will require not only new and creative ideas, but more importantly, preparation, to work for you and your business.

You can view ADC’s website at www.adc-group.com.

We have launched a new website for Architects Developers and Contractors. ADC is located in Lubbock, TX, and they provide architectural, engineering, and construction services all over the state of Texas. They are also home builders in the Lubbock and Possum Kingdom areas.

Their previous website was built a couple of years prior, and was presenting a couple of usability issues for both their customers and internal staff. The first problem was that the website was built completely in Flash, and was not able to be updated internally. So they were not able to make any content changes, or add any completed projects to their portfolio. The second issue was that the website was not being found by search engines. Anyone that knows about Search Engine Optimization, knows that it is a science and this could have been caused by a combination of things. However, since Search Engines rely heavily on content and fresh content at that, we believe that this was also largely because the website was built in Flash. Search Engines view a complete Flash website as one file, instead of being able to read and recognize the content on a website.

Our solution was to build a website using a Content Management System, which allowed for ADC to update and expand the website as needed internally. They also wanted a modern design and features without using any flash. So we designed a custom design based on their specifications, and then implemented some modern functionality with the use of JavaScript. We have also implemented initial Search Engine Optimization features, and optimized their keywords to match up with their target audience’s searches.

Here is what ADC had to say about working with us:

“Choosing Accade was the perfect decision for us here at ADC, Inc. The level of service and professionalism was top notch. We appreciate how they took the time to listen to our needs and develop a product that was a fit for us. We couldn’t be more pleased with the professional look of our site and the ease of updating it on the backend.”

Michelle Steuber - Director of Marketing

Social media isn’t simply a new fad, or the latest catch phrase, it is the future, now. Don’t be blind to its reality. The video is about 5 eye-opening minutes; you’ll be glad you took the time to watch it.

About the video:

The video above was found on Michael Gass’ blog found here.

Did You Know? was initially created as a PowerPoint presentation for a faculty meeting in August 2006 at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, United States. The presentation “went viral” on the Web in February 2007 and, as of June 2007, had been seen by at least 5 million online viewers. Today the old and new versions of the online presentation have been seen by at least 15 million people, not including the countless others who have seen it at conferences, workshops, training institutes, and other venues.

Additional “Did You Know?” Resources:

• History of the Presentation
• Various versions of the presentation
• For the large screen URL Click Here
• Downloadable Text version of Did You Know?

Video Credits

“3.0 for 2008 - Newly Revised Edition Created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod; Globalization & The Information Age. Adapted by Sony BMG at an executive meeting they held in Rome this year. Credits are also given to Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman.”

You can view Hydromatic’s website at www.submatic.com.

We first began working with Hydromatic in July of 2008. At the time they were heavily depending on their website for its catalog, but their website was lacking in design and functionality. The shopping cart functionality had stopped working, and customers had to look at the website and then phone in their orders. This caused many frustrations for customers and for Hydromatic employees. To make matters worse, their existing web developer had gone out of business and was no where to be found.

Our solution was a complete rebuild on a new E-Commerce platform, Magento, that easily allowed for Hydromatic to manage and maintain their products, and orders. This also allowed them to integrate with their existing shipping provider, and merchant services account. Which will no longer require their customers to have to phone in their orders. They can now easily order online in a matter of minutes, and track their shipment by logging into the website.

To view the Lowery website go to www.trustlowery.com.

Lowery was referred to us by one of our first clients, Brian Waller Custom Homes, back in August of last year. The owner wanted Lowery Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning to stand out when compared to his local competitors. He wanted to show the attractive side of the plumbing, heating, and air conditioning business. As opposed to the standard technician in a uniform. He referred back to a commercial that he had done a several years ago, in a luxury kitchen that received a very good response from his customers. Building on that ad, we built a custom web design that captured the professional, clean image he portrayed in that commercial and that he wanted to continue to portray on his website.

In addition to providing a professional design and after extensively researching his local competitors, we wanted to make sure that we built a website that was both warm and inviting, as well as educational. Convenience was a top objective of the website project, so we built several quick and easy ways for potential and current customers to set-up a service call without even having to pick up the phone. Lowery takes customer service extremely seriously - providing “red carpet service” to every one; so we built an online customer survey to ensure customers could provide Lowery with feedback.

2009 provided diminutive reactions amongst party-goers, with most elicited reactions coming from the ads that had a strong base in foundational humor. According to ADBOWL 2009, the Bridgestone “Potato Heads” ad won this year, undoubtedly because of the instant connection it made with everyone that has ever been in a long-term relationship. But did the ad really make you want to buy tires? Do you think you’ll remember the name “Bridgestone” when you are making a $500 purchase on those new treads? If so, then great, applaud Bridgestone on its effectiveness with you.

However, in this recessive economy companies cannot afford to spend $100,000 per second of air time (and don’t forget about the added cost of production expenses and royalties) and not be certain that investment is going to generate a profitable return. Though “branding campaigns” have proven themselves effective in the past, it should be noted that they were rooted in long-term spending to continually capture the desired market. The success of past branding campaigns have proven that a company cannot effectively create top-of-mind awareness by simply running a cool commercial that makes people laugh during one Super Bowl.

Bridgestone should have overcome this shortfall by providing their audience with a means to continue the already enjoyable experience provided by an amusing commercial. They should have built a website that commanded an ongoing audience, educating its customer while it provided an interactive experience that guaranteed Bridgestone’s brand top-of-mind awareness when that customer went to their neighborhood tire store to invest in their safety while driving.

This interactive experience, though, brings up another point. Vizio’s ad was nothing special, they undoubtedly didn’t spend millions of dollars on production, and they stayed true to the always successful marketing tactic of giving something away for free. They even provided for the interactive experience by encouraging the viewing audience to visit their website: vizio.com. Everything seemed to be going in the direction of a well-played, intelligent marketing approach that could have directly trackable responses; until you visited the site only to find that you couldn’t get to it because they (more specifically, their IT personnel) failed to appropriately load-test their web infrastructure. Let this be a lesson to the inexperienced: before you spend millions of dollars on a TV ad that is going to be broadcast to millions (or even thousands for that matter) of viewers, test, test, test your systems to ensure they can handle the load.

Another crowd-pleaser was Career Builder’s “repetition” ad as it reminded millions of workers of the many annoyances of doing the same thing day-in and day-out over and over and over and over. From a marketing standpoint, this is quite the home run. Everyone that is asked that watched the full Super Bowl remembers this specific ad, and the vast majority of them remember who the ad was for (among those that didn’t, most were able to make a guess that it was one of the big employment sites). Though they all found it incredibly annoying, they were able to relate to its meaning and therefore connected with the message that Career Builder was conveying. Extra marks for actually including a call-to-action by stating the obvious point that if you have a job you hate, then it’s time to look on CareerBuilder.com for a new one.

Other obvious notables are the first Bud Light commercial (meeting attendee makes bad suggestion and is hurtled out of the 5th story office), the Hulu commercial (glorifying the “brain-mushing” effects of watching too much TV), the Coke “heist,” the Coke Zero “re-make,” and Monster’s Moose’s rear (which generated this response from a Twitter follower: “better to have a moose’s a** in your face than be unemployed”).

With our economy in the shape it is in, consumers and businesses alike will all be thinking more and more with their wallet than with their impulses. Marketer’s need to realize this early and adjust their efforts accordingly, increasing their focus on marketing that generates the one thing that will help everyone in this economy: sales. Marketing without sales is synonymous with taking a flame to a pile of cash (think of the Joker in The Dark Knight), it’s just wasteful.