Optimization has become one of those buzz words that is used so frequently that we start to wonder if it actually means what we think it means. In general, to optimize something means to make it as effective as possible. That’s true when we’re talking about websites, but to really understand how to make a website effective, we need to look at the different factors that work together to do that. Here are three.

Visibility

The first and most important function of optimization is getting visitors to your website. If they don’t land on your site, everything else is pointless. Since even regular customers aren’t likely to remember your web address, making your site more visible in search engines is key. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of tactics that improve ranking and ideally put you on the first page of results.

Engagement

Website engagement is the visitor consuming or interacting with your content. A high level of engagement means that they are interested in what you have to say or sell. They stay on a page long enough to view the content. They navigate from one page or product to the next, click on the items to learn more about them, add items to their shopping cart, and continue looking around. There are many tactics for increasing customer engagement, but the basics are an appealing design, trustworthiness, great navigation, and meaningful content. There is no one-size-fits-all method here. Your site needs to be tailored to your target audience in order to capture and retain their interest.

Conversion

Conversion is the point where the consumer takes action. They make a purchase, fill out your request for a quote form, or place a phone call to you. This is the ultimate goal, but you can’t get your visitor here without visibility and engagement. So, conversion tactics are in addition to others that ensure that shoppers don’t abandon their carts or leave your site without contacting you. Streamlining is one of the most important factors. Once the visitor makes the decision to take action, you need to make it as quick and easy as possible.

So, an optimized website brings more visitors to your site; it immediately captures their attention and keeps them interested; and, it supports the customer in taking action.

 

 

Summer isn’t officially over yet, but there’s a coolness in the air to remind us that fall will soon be here. We know you don’t want to think about it yet, but it is time to get to work on your fall and winter marketing plans. Take a deep breath and give us a call to find out what you need to think about, and what you don’t. There are lots of ways we can help.

Thanksgiving – In Canada, Thanksgiving this year is Monday, October 11^th, and the USA, Thursday November 25^th. This first official holiday of the fall season is a great time to sell home décor, specialty foods, women’s and men’s fashions, as well as lighter home improvement items like paint. Even if you’re in a different industry though, we can help you find a creative way to promote your products or services around the theme of family, friends, and giving thanks.

Halloween – Although not actually a holiday, Halloween is a big deal for many people, and in recent years, particularly for young adults, rather than little kids. We’re not sure what the rules will be on parties by then, but you can still bet that costumes, yard decorations, and tasty treats will all be sought after items.

Christmas – Christmas shopping is going to be interesting this year, and we encourage you to prepare for both online and in person customers. If you’re bringing in unique, seasonal items, you’ll want to start advertising even sooner than usual. We’re also thinking that direct to receiver shipping will be more popular than ever this year, so consider offering gift wrapping and card enclosures. Also consider the mood of the nation and your company’s values in planning your promotions. Giving a little to charity can mean a lot to your customers.

Boxing Day – As we’ve all learned, every business can get in on the Boxing Day extravaganza. Customers are looking for deep discounts, early bird specials, and deals on everything from baby clothes to major appliances. If you’re business is usually slow January to March, this is also a great opportunity to offer gift certificates for services.

Think about your existing target market, other market segments you’d like to attract, and the products or services you have that are new or will be popular in coming months. Let us know what you’re thinking and we’ll help you put that plan together.

 

 

It’s summertime in beautiful BC and we should be talking about fun in the sun. With fires raging, high temperatures, drought, and a resurgence of COVID, we’ve instead got contingency planning on our minds. Every business should have a plan to guide them through an emergency, and the current state of affairs is a good reminder to make sure it’s up to date. As the saying goes, hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

Prepared BC has a number of resources on their website. For small businesses, there’s this guide as well as a plan template. Reading through it, we realized that there are several ways that we can help our clients manage and recover from a crisis.

1. If you host your website with us, it’s automatically backed up every two weeks to an off-site location. That means that we can keep your site online even if your operations are disrupted. If you have back-end info stored, like customer email addresses that might be added to frequently, we also offer a daily back-up service.
2. We can help you communicate with your customers by quickly changing your website. Changing the contact phone number from your office to your cell, for example, or redirecting the message form to a different email address, will allow customers to continue ordering products or making appointments for services. If your site includes a database of customers or suppliers, we can also email them directly to keep them up to date on your situation.
3. You may also want to pause your regular advertising campaign, or start a new one to quickly boost revenue. Perhaps you were able to escape a wildfire with a truck load of products and are prepared to sell them at a discount in your new location. Or maybe you have a mobile business and want to find customers in a different community. A search engine marketing (SEM) campaign could keep you going.
4. When you are back to business as usual, an ad blitz, say SEM, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, will let all of your customers know, and maybe even attract some new ones.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who hasn’t been impacted and you see opportunities to give back, we can also help you make the most of your goodwill. If you’re donating a product, service, or your time, we can help you get the word out. Sharing your good deeds can inspire others to help out too.

 

 

 

If you haven’t planned your summer holiday yet, it’s time. Everyone needs to get away from work once in a while to rest and re-energize. You may think of vacations as folly, but there are definite benefits. Your physical and mental health will improve. So will your family relationships. Plus, you’ll be more creative and more productive when you return.

If your concern about losing business is what is making you hesitant, we have a solution for you. Let your website do the work for those few weeks. A combo SEO-SEM campaign will set you up for months after you get back. Here’s how it works.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) takes a while to kick in and needs monitoring to keep improving. It’s a long-term strategy that every business should invest in because the payoff is so much greater than the cost. Despite what you may have read elsewhere, SEO is not something you only do when you’re building a new website. It’s not just about key words, and it’s not something you can have done and then leave alone.

Search engines like Google change their ranking formulas. Competitors come and go. New buzz words get created. Trends change, like the move from typing to voice-based search, which is emerging right now. Optimizing means keeping an eye on those factors and more, and making adjustments as needed to keep you on the first page of results.

Search Engine Marketing, on the other hand, starts to work much sooner. These pay-per-click ads may still need to be refined in the early days, but there’s really no delay in getting results. Search advertisements are also more visible, displaying above and often below the organic listings stemming from SEO.

So, here’s your get-away plan. Call us a few weeks before your vacation. We’ll ask you some questions about your products and services, your geographic market, your main competitors, and your customer profile. Then all you have to do is make sure there’s someone to answer the phone or process orders while you’re away. Leave the rest to us.

We’ll set up that Search Engine Marketing campaign that will start showing results while you’re in your laying on the beach. Then we’ll optimize your website, so those results will magnify in the weeks after you return. Then, we can reduce or even stop your SEM campaign, while the SEO feeds you a steady stream of business.

I hear you. Now you’re worried about taking a vacation AND spending on SEM and SEO. Think of it as an investment that pays big dividends. When Mr. Lawn hired us they weren’t getting any inquiries from their website about lawn installations. After we started their SEM campaign, they got 604 inquiries in one month. That led to 29 quote requests, 11 sales, and more than $20,000 in revenue.

Our SEO program for Mountain Ridge Log homes increased their number of monthly site visitors from 63 to 466 in six months. Wholesale Hydroponics went from 216 site visitors to 1,647 in nine months, and was up at 2,565 a year after that.

 

So, you don’t need to sweat – well, not from worry anyway. Give us a call, or fill out our Discovery form, and then start packing.

 

 

Recent statistics show that 75% of BC residents, 60% of all Canadians and 44% of United States citizens have had at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Restrictions are easing and many of us are very much looking forward to long-awaited visits with family and friends. While the pandemic situation is abating, pretty much all prognosticators agree that there is no going back to what we used to call “normal.”

Big events in our lives change us. Big global events change us all. While we expect a lot of social activity over the summer months, and with that a boost to those who cater to road-trippers and outdoor enthusiasts, by fall the “new normal” is going to set in. What does that look like? Here’s what we predict.

Convenience will Rule

While no one was very happy about being basically under house arrest, the conveniences we discovered are going to stick. Particularly in the fall and winter, consumers are going to continue to take advantage of conveniences like ordering groceries online and having medical appointments by phone. If you started offering a more convenient way to buy your products or services, you’re going to want to plan for that to become long-term. If you haven’t yet changed your ways, you might want to consider doing so soon.

Bubbles will Include “Go-To” Businesses

The notion of “bubbles” of people initiated as a safety measure against spreading the virus will stay in people’s minds. This is a great opportunity to build the kind of customer loyalty that pays off time and time again, over years to come. Stay in touch with any clients or customers you’ve had over the past year like they were your mother. Send them birthday cards, great discount offers, a newsletter, or whatever else is appropriate for your company – but stay in touch, and stay top of mind. This is particularly important if you provide a service or deliver directly to someone’s home.

Volume Sales will Trump Price Hikes

A lot of businesses have been significantly set-back by the pandemic and now that folks are out and about again, it’s tempting to raise prices to offset those losses. Our advice is don’t. The cost of living has risen for all of the basics and things like rent increases that have been put off are going to hit hard. Take a look at your financial situation to see if you can avoid charging more by attracting more customers instead. Then get your existing customers involved in adding to your base. Use your email and social platforms to “make a deal” with them; e.g., help you gain a 20% increase in customers and you won’t raise prices for at least a year.

Local will Work, if…

The shop-local sentiment will remain valuable, but you’ll have to offer value to take advantage of it. If I can buy it on Amazon cheaper and have it delivered to my door for free, I’m not going to buy it locally. But, if I know who you are; know that you support the community; know that you offer quality products for only a few cents more, then I will buy from you. Get yourself into the local newspaper. Tell your story on social media. Post pictures of your staff (and if they’re family, all the better!) Sponsor a popular fundraiser for a local charity. Advertise as a locally owned and operated business.

Remote and Flexible Work Hours are Here to Stay

There are benefits to embracing work-from-home and flexible work schedules, so don’t be too anxious to get everyone back around the same table. Once a week in-person meetings might be beneficial to keep everyone moving in the same direction, but being too stringent about when and where work gets done may well decrease productivity and morale.

If you need help to offer more online services, stay in touch with customers, or design and implement a promotional campaign, just give us a call!

 

 

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, you just want to get through the tunnel as fast as you can. Yes folks, things are looking up. In BC, it’s expected that by early July, everyone over 12 years of age who wants one, will have received at least one shot of the COVID 19 vaccine. If we all do our part, restrictions will start to ease, and we’ll be able to look forward to more in-person activities.

So, to get you through that tunnel and into the light, here are four pretty quick ways to start boosting sales.

An email campaign – Sending offers directly to customers who already know your brand is an effective way to spark sales. Compile a list of your customers’ email addresses, think about a great deal you can offer, and give us a call. Letting your existing customers know that you’re still in business and thanking them for their support with an exclusive discount is a great way to bring them back into the fold.

A local marketing campaign – A marketing campaign targeting your local area can work wonders whether you are offering in-store or pickup/delivery sales. A localized advertising blitz combined with a good offer and an appeal to support local businesses is a sure-fire marketing trifecta. We’ll help you pick the best advertising platforms, create appealing ad copy, and manage the campaign for you.

A BOGO sale – Buy one get one sales remain very popular, and are particularly effective for any summer products for families because no one wants to spend time listening to the kids fight over stuff. So, what have you got that’s sure to start a fight? Let us know and we’ll get word out.

Short expiry coupons – Every time you make a purchase at Michaels, your receipt is a discount coupon on your next purchase, if it’s made within a certain period of time. This is a fabulous way to bring shoppers back into the store or online shop within weeks of their initial purchase.

Refer a friend deals – Sharing is caring! Offer your existing customers a deal they can’t refuse in exchange for the email address of a friend. To make sure the friend is real, be sure to offer them a deal as well. With the new email addresses, you can do another email campaign.

Need more ideas? Just give us a call. Our creatives are ready for a challenge!

 

 

Targeted online advertising has been so effective for so long that it’s no wonder that other forms of marketing have fallen by the wayside. But, like many things in life, 2020 changed the landscape for advertising.

Privacy concerns have risen so high that even Google is backing off tracking your every online move. That means that it’s not going to be so easy to target your preferred audiences, or have an ad show up during a potential customer’s buying cycle. You know how when you look at shoes at the Nike store, suddenly there are shoe ads on every page you visit? Ya, that’s not going to be so easy for advertisers anymore.

Of course, Google and others are looking at ways to work around the privacy issue – things like consent and opting in to “a more personalized experience.” Still, privacy wasn’t the only issue of 2020, so it’s time to rethink your ad mix anyway.

While some are predicting that out-of-home advertising will see a big boost in return on investment later this year and next (as more people get vaccinated and spend more time out and about), that return is really hard to track. So, the other prediction that we’re more excited about is the use of direct marketing.

Direct marketing is delivering marketing material directly to your audience, rather than placing ads on other platforms. It takes the form of emails, blog or product subscriptions, postal mail, loyalty programs, and the like. But to make it work in 2021, your content has to be more than a typical “we’re great” ad; and, if you can personalize that content, you’ll get a much better return on investment.

Tim Horton’s recently made a pivot that will no doubt payoff big time. Their iconic “Roll up the Rim” promotion went totally digital this year AND everybody was a winner. That’s the perfect combination of strategy and appeal. You can bet that more people than ever now have the rewards app on their smartphone, and that means that Timmy has a lot more information about them. Yes, there have been concerns with how much info Tim is collecting, and they may well have to back off a bit themselves. But still, a great tactic for increasing their direct contact with consumers.

So, how can you set up a direct mail campaign? Start with your existing customers. Take a look at the information that you routinely collect, and whether or not you can easily query and analyze that data. Think about ways to use that information for direct marketing. For example, if you have postal addresses, you could send out notices for advanced shopping on upcoming sales, announcing new products, or even a simple thank you to reinforce your brand.

If you can use your data to personalize direct mail, even better. Like an email saying, “We noticed you’ve purchased 12 air filters in the past year. Use this code to get a pack of 12 for 25% less.”

Letting customers know that you see them as individuals and appreciate their business will not only spark sales sooner, but also build long-term loyalty.

 

 

Give people a reason to share. Create a reason for users to tell you about themselves by offering them better experiences and new ways to engage with your content. Explore offers and products, like subscriptions, trials, memberships, loyalty programs, newsletters, and more to increase engagement and add value.

Direct mail is growing exponentially. People are spending more time than ever at home, and businesses are tapping into this with physical touchpoints, such as postcards. As the founder and CEO of a direct mail tech company, I’ve seen this firsthand. Our 2020 numbers are record-setting. Expect to see more ads in your mailbox in 2021.

Some brands promoted environmental awareness, while others focused on human rights,  poverty, race, and gender inequalities.

Businesses that pursued and publicly defined a clear and consistent purpose did better in 2020 than brands that did not articulate a clear purpose.

That’s not surprising. A recent study by the Zeno Group found that consumers are four times more likely to purchase from the brand when a brand follows and articulates a strong purpose.

They are also 4.5 times more likely to recommend your brand.

In mid-2020, Google announced a new ranking factor called “Core Web Vitals,” set to debut in May 2021.

Core Web Vitals are designed to measure how users experience a web page’s speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. They measure the time it takes for the main content to load (ideal is 2.5 seconds or faster), the time it takes for a page to become interactive (less than 100 ms is ideal), and the amount of unexpected layout shift in the visual content of the page (ideal is less than 0.1).

Google believes that when a web page loads quickly, is interactive quickly, and the layout doesn’t shift much, people will generally be happy, improving peoples’ search experience.

Page speed times have always been important. But they’re becoming even more important in 2021.

If you want to compete with established businesses in your target market, you’ll have to focus some of your efforts on ensuring that your website design is optimized and performs well.

 

 

In the past, creating a feasible action plan based on our business knowledge and the information available to us might only need a few minor adjustments along the way to remain relevant and viable. What we learned in 2020 was that sometimes things change radically and very quickly. Scenario planning is a way to generate “if this, then that” backup plans.

Typically in scenario planning, you generate one better-than-expected scenario and one worse-than-expected scenario. That is helpful, but it may be of greater benefit to create additional scenarios that you think or even feel, could throw a wrench into your original plan.

So, back to our example of your high-priced shampoo (Part 3, Part 4), one scenario might be that not only does your marketing tactic succeed in expanding your customer base, with most people working again, but saving money by working from home, many of your other higher-priced items also get very popular. What would you need to do to increase production, order processing, and delivery to take advantage of this boom in business?

Now, what if the ad campaign didn’t work? What if people stopped buying all of your higher-priced items? Could you create a slightly different “new and improved” product at a lower price? Could you find a new market selling to salons instead of direct to consumer?

Scenarios are not meant to cover highly unlikely total disasters. That’s a waste of your time and energy. A scenario-based backup plan can really help though to create a more creative mindset and prepare you for necessary pivots. For example, perhaps you’ve started to become concerned about a supplier. There’s nothing concrete, but you just have a feeling that a problem could be brewing. Having a strategy to deal with that if something does go wrong, will allow you to quickly resolve the issue and take the worry off your mind.

So, think about potential better-than-expected-scenarios, as well as two or three negative developments that you wouldn’t be too surprised by. You don’t need to create detailed plans for scenarios at this point, but have a strategy in place so you can start to implement it quickly if need be.

 

Continued:
Planning Part 1 – Setting Goals and Objectives
Planning Part 2 – Environmental Scanning
Planning Part 3 – Consider Your Customers
Planning Part 4 – Timing Strategies and Tactics
Planning Part 5 – Scenarios

 

You’ve set your goal and objectives and looked at the world around you. Now we need to zoom in on your customers. Who are they? What is influencing their lives? And, more importantly, their buying decisions?

How has the pandemic affected them? How has it changed their thinking? Are they older adults, moving into retirement? Are they teens that will be off to college soon? Are they a new homeowner? Where will they be in three to five years?

Think about global influences as well as what’s happening in your region or community, depending on your market. What did your customers move away from over the past year? Perhaps higher priced items? What did they embrace? Are these changes likely to continue? Consider historical influences as well. When the economy tanked in 2008, how did that affect your business? What happened in the years after?

The chances of life as we knew it getting back to “normal” are slim. What can you incorporate into a new normal that will build loyal customers and an expanded base?

Yes, those are a lot of questions but don’t just throw up your hands. You know more than anyone else about your business and your customers, so set aside some time to ponder and make your own predictions.

Now, organize those thoughts beside each of your objectives to start thinking about timing. Here’s an example:

When the economy crashed in 2008, customers avoided a popular but pricey shampoo you sell. Within two years though, most started ordering again. In 2019, that same item was among your most profitable, but in 2020, orders were minimal.

Your objectives include increasing sales and profitability, so although you figure the item will become popular again by 2021, you don’t want to lose any customers this time. What tactics can you use to make sure they all come back? Or even to expand your customers for this item?

How about a deal for your past customers that includes a free shampoo delivered to a friend? Yes, that will cut into your profits for 2020, but remember you are working on a ten-year plan.

Look at each of your objectives along with global and customer predictions. Consider what to do first, last, in the middle.

 

Continued:
Planning Part 1 – Setting Goals and Objectives
Planning Part 2 – Environmental Scanning
Planning Part 3 – Consider Your Customers
Planning Part 4 – Timing Strategies and Tactics
Planning Part 5 – Scenarios

 

Our first series of the year is about planning. After the year that was 2020, that may seem pointless, but it really isn’t. Plans can always be adjusted but if you don’t have any plans, well – you’re just free-floating in a world controlled by others.

So, let’s start with setting goals. People often use the terms “goals” and “objectives” interchangeably. For this exercise, it’s important to make a distinction between the two. Make goals your end game. For most entrepreneurs that will be when you no longer own or manage the company. Maybe your goal is to have a child take over the business. Maybe you want to sell and retire. How about turning the business into a social enterprise? You could provide guidance as a board member while others do the day to day work.

Thinking about your personal goals first will help you determine appropriate business goals.

Let’s say you want to retire in 10 years, selling the company to boost your savings. Your business goal then is to create as much value in the business as you can over the next decade. Do some research. What creates value in a business? Profitability is one factor. An infrastructure that supports profitability is another. Infrastructure includes technology, policies and procedures, perhaps facilities or equipment. Talk to someone who evaluates businesses or a broker. Find out what is important to buyers.

Take some time (days, not months) to think about what you want as the end result. Talk to your significant others, including those in your company. Your partner or employee may be interested in buying the company. Talk to your kids, who may or may not, share your vision. Your goal needs to be specific and feasible; e.g. sell the company in 2031 for $150,000.

Now write it all down. Your end goal, the objectives you need to realize to reach your goal; e.g. profitability at 10% of sales, up to date tech for your online sales and order processing, etc.

It takes a bit of time and effort, but even if you only do this, you’ll have taken a huge step towards succeeding.

 

Continued:
Planning Part 1 – Setting Goals and Objectives
Planning Part 2 – Environmental Scanning
Planning Part 3 – Consider Your Customers
Planning Part 4 – Timing Strategies and Tactics
Planning Part 5 – Scenarios

 

 

Let’s skip to the bottom line, because it’s a shocker: the higher of $25 M or 5% of gross revenue. Yes, folks that is the potential fine for any of several offenses under a new bill currently making its way through the Canadian legislative process. (In second reading at the time of writing.)

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains, introduced Bill C-11 earlier this month. Officially called “An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts,” (whew!) it is intended to put big shark teeth into Canada’s privacy protection laws.

In a nutshell, it enacts the Consumer Privacy Protection Act; enacts the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and amends what will now be called the Electronic Documents Act. To strengthen and ensure consistency with myriad other laws, it also makes related changes to nine other acts. (List below.)

The Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act establishes an administrative body to hear appeals of certain decisions made by the Privacy Commissioner under the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and it allows penalties for the contravention of certain provisions of that Act.

Of note, the tribunal is “not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence and must deal with all matters as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and considerations of fairness and natural justice permit.” The hearings and decisions will be public, with few exceptions. The takeaway here is that even if you don’t get a huge fine, your blunder and its consequences will be very public.

A few other highlights:

• The Act prescribes reporting requirements (to the Commissioner and individuals) for any breach of security safeguards involving personal information under its control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual, and it provides guidance on defining “significant harm.”
• It requires organizations to maintain a record of every breach of security safeguards involving personal information under its control.
• It prohibits the deletion of information that is the subject of a request by an individual.
• It prohibits re-compiling of information to identify an individual.
• It protects whistleblowers and those who comply with the law against the wishes of an employer or refuse to take a non-compliant action.
• It allows the Privacy Commissioner to order organizations to:

(a) take measures to comply with the Act;

(b) stop doing something that is in contravention of the Act;

(c) comply with the terms of a compliance agreement that has been entered into by the organization; or

(d) make public any measures taken or proposed to be taken to correct the policies, practices, or procedures that the organization has put in place to fulfill its obligations under the Act.

Here’s the potentially costly bit: every organization that knowingly contravenes key sections of the legislation, an order from the Commissioner, or that obstructs the investigation of a complaint, an inquiry, or an audit can be fined up to the higher of $25 M or 5% of gross revenue.

So, if the only privacy policy you have is the one we put on your website; or if you don’t really know if your company’s data safeguards are being adhered to, or are perhaps insufficient, now is the time to get on it.

Here are links to Canada’s Privacy Act and BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

For those interested, here are the Acts being amended:

• Access to Information Act
• Aeronautics Act
• Canada Evidence Act
• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act
• Competition Act
• Canada Business Corporations Act
• Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
• Chapter 23 of the Statutes of Canada, 2010
• Transportation Modernization Act

 

 

Updating your website on a regular basis is essential if you want it to continue to do its job. Just like your employees need ongoing training to keep up with new tech and trends, your website needs to keep up with what is going on around it too. Here are five signs that are telling you it’s time for a refresh.

1. Lack of sales: Your website is the core of all of your marketing efforts. If your sales have plateaued or dropped off, chances are you can get back on a growth track with some web work. Google knows when you update your site, and when you don’t. If it’s been the same for quite a while, Google suspects it is no longer relevant. To stay relevant to search engines, and to your customers, regular updating is really crucial.
2. Bounce rate: If your analytics are showing that visitors are leaving your site within seconds of arriving there, there is definitely a problem. Some common issues are poor search engine descriptions, slow page loading, or an immediate feeling of mistrust. All of these issues are fixable and trackable; and, these have to be fixed to keep visitors on your site longer, in order to find out what other aspects of the site can be improved.
3. Ranking: Is your site still showing up on the first page of search results? If not, competitors have made moves to bump you off. A little research will be needed to find out who and how; and, you’ll need to ensure that your target market is clearly defined. Our SEO team will work with you to get back on page one.
4. Reviews: Your customers seem happy enough, and you even get the occasional email of thanks, BUT, potential customers are only seeing a few bad reviews from three years ago. Current, positive reviews provide a big boost in sending customers your way. You need to set up a “review funnel” to make it easier for customers to give you a positive review, and that will increase the likelihood that they will.
5. Google Maps: Does your business show up as pin on the Google Map in search results? If not, you are losing a lot of business to the companies who do. You’ll note that Google Reviews show up here too, and the combination of a “map listing” and positive reviews will give a definite boost to your customer inquiries and visits to your website.

Any of these signs is a good reason to give us a call. The return on investment for these types of improvements are often evident within weeks.

 

We’ve been working on a new website for a client who sells to professionals who know exactly what they want, as well as to laypeople who only know what they want the product to do for them. It’s a common issue that makes search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) challenging.

Here’s an example of the problem. Let’s say you sell water. When someone asks for water for their steam iron, you think “demineralized” and make the transaction. When someone asks for water for their CPAP machine, you think “distilled.” You’ve done your job by providing your customer with exactly what they need. At the end of the year, you see that 75% of your business is distilled water, and focus your website and marketing on that product. Your sales should go up, but they don’t. Why?

Because you haven’t paid enough attention to what your customers are actually asking for. They asked for water for their CPAP machine and that’s also what they are going to search for. Your larger clients, like the local hospital, are going to continue ordering distilled water from you, but you are going to lose hundreds of potentially new customers by not using “CPAP machine” as a key phrase.

It will take some effort to change your mindset as an expert in whatever it is you sell, but the onus is on you to make note of the exact language your customers use. Even though they will try to remember the technical term, most of them won’t. And, by keeping your own list and tally, you’ll also know which terms are used most frequently.

If you’re a relatively small operation, you can probably keep track with a notebook. If you’re a larger business and have an automated system to process sales, you may be able to use it to track keywords. What matters is that you end up with a list that looks something like this:

Distilled water: 210
Demineralized water: 108
Water for CPAP machine: 220
Special water for CPAP: 81
Water for steam iron: 20
Iron water: 10

A list like this makes our job easier, which translates into savings for you; and, the results of our collective efforts will mean more customers and profits for you.

Now we know that we need to dedicate a page to “water for CPAP machine” and include that term in our SEM campaign. We know that we need to include “special water for CPAP” on that page. And, from the research we’ll do, we’ll know that educating your customers to try to get them to remember “distilled” will NOT be a good strategy, because none of your competitors are marketing to the CPAP users. Now, your return on investment for optimization and marketing is going to be huge.

So, start tracking! And remember, if you know the customers you have, we can find many more just like them.

 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has given online shopping a big boost, and we know that means there’s been a rise in pre-shopping research as well. While we may have thought, and hoped, that this crisis would be short-lived, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, as well as Canada’s top public health officials, are warning otherwise.

Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said, “People might think that if we get a vaccine then everything goes back to normal the way it was before. That’s not the case… All of the measures we’ve put in place now will still have to continue with the new reality for quite some time.”

The impact of the pandemic has already taken a huge toll on retailers who rely on in-person shopping, but e-commerce is on the rise. eMarketer is now forecasting that online sales will be up 21% in Canada and 18% in the United States. That’s great news if your website is up to the task.

If the products or services that you provide can be delivered without face-to-face contact, you need to make an investment in your website now. Any delay at this point is just giving money away to your competitors.

So, what makes a great online shopping site? Beyond the basics, you need:

Intuitive categories

Think about your target audience and speak to them in terms they use every day. Don’t force them to choose between blouses and shirts, or couplings and fittings. People are even more impatient than usual right now.

Detailed descriptions

Returning items is also more difficult these days, so help out your customers and your bottom line by clearly and precisely describing each product or service. Remember that colours look different on different devices, so “blue” isn’t enough. Include as many descriptors as you can: dimensions, thickness, material, etc. For services, tell visitors the intended outcome; e.g. A Representation Agreement allows the named representative to make personal care and health care decisions on behalf of the signatory.

Prices

Pricing is one of the most critical decision-making criteria for shoppers of any product or service. The old excuse about not wanting to let competitors know what you charge isn’t valid. Believe me, they already know. So help your customers make an informed decision before they leave your site and never return.

Purchasing options

Simplicity is key here, but give it some thought. Obviously, a product needs to get into the hands of the customer, so they either have to pick it up or have it delivered, but there are still options. Can you offer curbside pickup? Perhaps you could if you had a cordless POS unit. So, get one. Can you offer a low cost vs fast home delivery option? Great. For services, it’s a bit trickier but ponder on it. What options are there for signing a will?

It’s time to get creative folks! The pandemic has accelerated the use of all sorts of technologies, and the world is never going to be the same. Give us a call to get your business ready to do business in a new world.

 

 

We end our celebration of the past 25 years in business with our vision for the future.

The year 2020 turned out to be a pivotal one in history. The worldwide protests against discrimination and the devastation that resulted from a lack of a global strategy to deal with COVID 19 were the impetus for both new policy and new technology.

The vast majority of employees around the world no longer congregate at a central location. Those who are comfortable and productive working from home, do so. Others go to shared office locations near their homes, significantly reducing the energy used for transportation. To facilitate this, governments got involved to ensure reliable, high speed, internet services at greatly reduced rates. New laws also required Internet Service Providers to take an active role in reducing scams and spam by reviewing complaints and removing service from known offenders.

Holographic technology was greatly advanced, with meetings occurring via projection and VR glasses, seemingly putting everyone around the same table.

Social media platforms that were unable to moderate, or actually promoted misinformation, discrimination and hate speech, floundered, then failed. Platforms that allowed for decentralized identity (protecting personal info) and community based reputation ranking of content creators became popular. Individuals were then able to moderate and approve messages based on community reputation score as well as content and settings in their decentralized identity systems. Many online communities were created around a single common interest.

Brands were forced to make outright statements about their values and how they promote and sustain action that supports those values. Brand loyalty communities became popular and resulted in customers volunteering their time to do good works funded by the brand. This changed marketing and advertising a great deal, with outgoing messaging focusing first on a cause, and only second on a product or service.

CCOs – Chief Communication Officers – became the second-highest-ranking executives in most companies. For years now, they have posted weekly, if not daily, bulletins to the front pages of their websites, providing updates on their progress as companies and advocates for change.

Which brings us to news of our team members from 2020. Most of those CCO updates are done with a content management system developed by James. Our problem-solving wizard developed the first website using blockchain technology, which made it impossible to hack, and created a very simple content management system for text editing. James retired at the age of 55, bought a sailboat with his accumulated bitcoin, and spends his time traveling among the world’s most beautiful beaches.

Joanne was actually the first to retire from the team though. She became a professional poker player for a few years, and now spends summers in both Canada and Australia, avoiding winter altogether.

Andrew left the team when his digital art became a must-have acquisition for the rich and famous. Like most art in the home nowadays, it is displayed on mounted screens and can be switched to a different image with a simple voice command.

Paul began writing music again and retired when one of his songs went platinum. He moved to BC to enjoy the milder weather.

Mike and Angela found a house on an even higher mountain than they used to live, and enjoy life completely off the grid. Mike goes into the office every once in a while to check on his bitcoin.

Nick and Keara have been very successfully running the business for several years now. They still argue about everything initially, but their debates end in agreement on truly amazing strategies to the benefit of their many happy clients.

Thank you to all of our clients for your continuing support. You make us strive for excellence every single day.

 

Continued:
The Story of Us 1980s
The Story of Us 1991-1995
The Story of Us 1996-1999
The Story of Us 2000
The Story of Us Early 2000s
The Story of Us – More on the Early 2000s
The story of Us – mid-2000s
The Story of Us – The Interlude
The Story of Us – 2007-2015
The Story of Us – The last five years
The Story of Us – 2045