Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can sometimes be an after-thought for some marketers. It is difficult to find the time to devote to something that isn’t seen or read by a user. It’s not a Flash presentation that demonstrates how a product works or graphics that support the brand. It is, in my view, much more powerful than that. Read the rest of this entry »
As if it weren’t already enough the constantly struggle we experience to find balance in our everyday lives, now with the advent of the new social networking sites, we have to find balance in our online worlds as well?! Read the rest of this entry »
Google Analytics (GA, www.google.com/analytics/) is a great web analytics package to help small businesses learn exactly what is happening on their websites. Not only is free, it is also flexible and customizable (unlike most free web analytic software). To get better results, however, you’ll need to invest a little time setting it up. Here are 10 things that will help. Read the rest of this entry »
Developing a website takes a great deal of planning and preparation. Part of that process is making sure that you put together the right tools to support all of your efforts. Whether you’re looking for something to survey your users or to keep all of your project documents in one place – odds are you’ll be find a number of different options. Here’s a list of some of the tools that we use on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t take it from me. Take it from the hundreds of Canadians I have spoken to in every corner of the country, young and old, urban and rural, from every walk of life you can imagine. In more than a decade of leading focus groups, surveys and interviews on the topic of websites, I have gotten an earful from Canadians on what they want to see in a website. I’ve heard even more about what they don’t want to see. Read the rest of this entry »
Blogging or the idea of providing commentary on a particular subject is not a new concept on the web, in fact – that’s how the internet started. What has changed is that tools now exist that enable anyone with an internet connection to start a blog within a matter of minutes. Over the last few years corporate blogs have become more popular, popping up everywhere. So you have the tools but does it make sense to start and maintain a corporate blog? Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve probably heard about how email marketing is an effective marketing channel. It’s low cost with a high return on investment ($57.5 for every dollar spent, according to the Direct Marketing Association). In addition to being a valuable relationship tool for both retention and acquisition, email also provides real-time measurable results. And email is a great vehicle for driving traffic to any web site. It’s all about being front of mind. If you’re not sending emails to your customers or members, someone else is. Read the rest of this entry »
This last Saturday I attended Bar Camp3. For those of you who haven’t heard of Bar Camp it is an international network of unconferences where the content is created by participants. The one day event, hosted at Carleton University, consisted of sessions on topics ranging from usability to Ruby on Rails.
This was my first Bar Camp but based on my experience Saturday – it won’t be my last. The set up was excellent and I really enjoy the open format. Every room was filled and the speakers were excellent. It was also a great opportunity to meet people who are doing new an innovating things in web application, open source technologies, communities and social protocols.
Definitely a must attend next time it comes together.
Any web technology company worth its salt understands the importance of website analytics. Without analytics you can’t know if your website is doing what you need and want it to do. Web site analytics applications are often underutilized by small and medium size businesses. For many businesses lack of internal resources and confusion over the data received becomes a barrier to really taking advantage of the value that website analytics have to offer. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s face the facts, the cost of maintaining an existing customer is significantly less than the cost to acquire a new one. It’s a fact that will never change.
Building loyal long-term relationships with customers is a process that develops over time and the main ingredients to the process are really simple… trust and value. The trust you build with your customers by delivering hi-value products & services and the value your communications carry for those customers.
Sounds like a plan, but as a Marketing pro you can’t really control the delivery of your product or services, but you can do something about your company’s communications. The more relevant your email communications, the faster you’ll be able to gain readership, increase customer loyalty and keep them coming back for more.
Here are some simple ways to do just that… Read the rest of this entry »
