18/02: Online success depends on how much you C-A-R-E
Online success depends on how much you C-A-R-E
C - content
A - appearance
R - responsibility
E - exposure
Much has been said and written about the do's and don't's that will help a business or entrepreneur be successful on the internet. Depending upon the venue, type of business, purpose and a host of other variables will determine what has to be done to ensure this success or at least give you an even chance to succeed.
I, along with many others in the management, marketing and consulting fields have written articles alluding to business success on the internet and what is needed or should be done to attain this success. Is it guaranteed? No - but depending on the type of service or product, there are certain aspects of management that must be recognized, then implemented to have any kind of hope to do well.
CARE - is a great keyword to focus on and use as a management tool to help guide your day to day business activities. Each topic related to a letter in CARE is totally dependent and relative to the other letters and without one the others will never accomplish total management control of your online business.
C - content, the importance of what you include, how you use it and where you use it can not be over emphasized. It is the first information that is conveyed to your visitor and they will gain their confidence in you and your service or product from this. Your web site content must be accurate, informative, applicable, brief and to the point. You need to clearly show how and where you can be contacted, where you are located and a brief blurb on who you are. These are things a potential client or customer will want to know before anything else so make it clear and easy to find.
A - appearance is more important than you may think. The appearance of your web site must be professional looking, easy to read, attractive color scheme and designed with your target audience in mind. Is it for youth, seniors, mothers, outdoors related, whatever it is, the web site theme needs to reflect that for the comfort of your visitor.
The content and appearance of your web site is what will set the tone for your online business - Have a professional create it. Your brothers daughter who is in 2nd year of web design at the local community college is not the one to do it. They may have artistic flair and have created a couple of nice looking personal sites - but this is your business that you may need to depend on for your income. If you owned a gift shop in the local mall - would your brothers daughter design it and choose the display stock etc - I doubt it.
R - responsibility is what you owe yourself, your staff, your clients and customers. In your startup phase where you are setting the stage to hopefully attain a successful business, is not the time nor place to cut corners. Bite the bullet and do it right first time. It will save you alot of time, extra effort and even money and embarrassment in the future. By responsibility, I mean such things as; pay attention to your customers suggestions, respond in a timely manner to their questions, make it attractive for them to do business with you by offering specials, discounts, free shipping - whatever it takes to make them feel like you really do want their business. Again, depending on the type of product or service you offer, you should think about what you could offer your visitors to make it easy, helpful and even fun to visit your web site. Such enhancements like; message board for questions and answers, product/service polls, guestbook for comments, photo gallery for their childrens photo's and many, many more.
Check your email constantly, review your web site statistics daily, keep your web site fresh and up to date, add new features whenever possible - it's all part of your responsibility.
E - exposure is arguably the most singular, important function that will help make your online business successful. A professional has designed your web site, a consultant and/or marketeer has written the content and you have done your due diligence, now how do you get potential clients and customers to come to your web site. The three P's now take over: promotion - promotion - promotion, you cannot have enough nor can you overdue promotion. Again have a professional conduct this activity for you - a company who advertises that they will submit your web site to 1000 search engines is not what you want - you need someone, a marketeer, consultant or company who specializes in business promotion not web site submissions.
Yes, web site submissions are a very important part of promotion, but there is right way and a wrong way to do it - search engine submissions must be done by manual methods, submitting to each individual search engine, not automatic batch submissions. They must be monitored and re submitted at select intervals, search engines change their criteria constantly so your web site must be updated to take advantage of this.
Press releases are also important, especially for a new business or a business that has started up a new product line or service. There are numerous resources for this form of advertising that can benefit your business greatly.
What about non internet advertising? This needs to be addressed also - your email address, your web site address can be placed on your business cards, letterhead, brochures and any other hard media that you use - just remember the three P's.
Follow C-A-R-E and your chances for a successful online business could be greatly improved over those who do not - the internet is growing in leaps and bounds with numerous businesses going online daily - your competition is also growing - grab an advantage and show how much you C-A-R-E
C - content
A - appearance
R - responsibility
E - exposure
Much has been said and written about the do's and don't's that will help a business or entrepreneur be successful on the internet. Depending upon the venue, type of business, purpose and a host of other variables will determine what has to be done to ensure this success or at least give you an even chance to succeed.
I, along with many others in the management, marketing and consulting fields have written articles alluding to business success on the internet and what is needed or should be done to attain this success. Is it guaranteed? No - but depending on the type of service or product, there are certain aspects of management that must be recognized, then implemented to have any kind of hope to do well.
CARE - is a great keyword to focus on and use as a management tool to help guide your day to day business activities. Each topic related to a letter in CARE is totally dependent and relative to the other letters and without one the others will never accomplish total management control of your online business.
C - content, the importance of what you include, how you use it and where you use it can not be over emphasized. It is the first information that is conveyed to your visitor and they will gain their confidence in you and your service or product from this. Your web site content must be accurate, informative, applicable, brief and to the point. You need to clearly show how and where you can be contacted, where you are located and a brief blurb on who you are. These are things a potential client or customer will want to know before anything else so make it clear and easy to find.
A - appearance is more important than you may think. The appearance of your web site must be professional looking, easy to read, attractive color scheme and designed with your target audience in mind. Is it for youth, seniors, mothers, outdoors related, whatever it is, the web site theme needs to reflect that for the comfort of your visitor.
The content and appearance of your web site is what will set the tone for your online business - Have a professional create it. Your brothers daughter who is in 2nd year of web design at the local community college is not the one to do it. They may have artistic flair and have created a couple of nice looking personal sites - but this is your business that you may need to depend on for your income. If you owned a gift shop in the local mall - would your brothers daughter design it and choose the display stock etc - I doubt it.
R - responsibility is what you owe yourself, your staff, your clients and customers. In your startup phase where you are setting the stage to hopefully attain a successful business, is not the time nor place to cut corners. Bite the bullet and do it right first time. It will save you alot of time, extra effort and even money and embarrassment in the future. By responsibility, I mean such things as; pay attention to your customers suggestions, respond in a timely manner to their questions, make it attractive for them to do business with you by offering specials, discounts, free shipping - whatever it takes to make them feel like you really do want their business. Again, depending on the type of product or service you offer, you should think about what you could offer your visitors to make it easy, helpful and even fun to visit your web site. Such enhancements like; message board for questions and answers, product/service polls, guestbook for comments, photo gallery for their childrens photo's and many, many more.
Check your email constantly, review your web site statistics daily, keep your web site fresh and up to date, add new features whenever possible - it's all part of your responsibility.
E - exposure is arguably the most singular, important function that will help make your online business successful. A professional has designed your web site, a consultant and/or marketeer has written the content and you have done your due diligence, now how do you get potential clients and customers to come to your web site. The three P's now take over: promotion - promotion - promotion, you cannot have enough nor can you overdue promotion. Again have a professional conduct this activity for you - a company who advertises that they will submit your web site to 1000 search engines is not what you want - you need someone, a marketeer, consultant or company who specializes in business promotion not web site submissions.
Yes, web site submissions are a very important part of promotion, but there is right way and a wrong way to do it - search engine submissions must be done by manual methods, submitting to each individual search engine, not automatic batch submissions. They must be monitored and re submitted at select intervals, search engines change their criteria constantly so your web site must be updated to take advantage of this.
Press releases are also important, especially for a new business or a business that has started up a new product line or service. There are numerous resources for this form of advertising that can benefit your business greatly.
What about non internet advertising? This needs to be addressed also - your email address, your web site address can be placed on your business cards, letterhead, brochures and any other hard media that you use - just remember the three P's.
Follow C-A-R-E and your chances for a successful online business could be greatly improved over those who do not - the internet is growing in leaps and bounds with numerous businesses going online daily - your competition is also growing - grab an advantage and show how much you C-A-R-E
