for many of my small business clients, the alphabet soup that is part of my daily vocabulary is completely foreign to them. for that reason, i thought i'd take a quick moment and explain some of the terms that you should be aware of if you have a business that uses a website to market your company...
SEO
what it stands for: "Search Engine Optimization"
what it means: this refers to the process of making your site 'friendly' to the spiders sent out by Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other search engines to find web content for search results. your site is 'friendly' when it presents information in a way the spiders can easily find and categorize the data and site into its databases.
why you should care: every company wants their website to show up in the top of the search results for relevant keyword phrases. SEO works to make this happen by determining which keyword phrases your company and products are most relevant for and optimizing your site for those phrases.
SEM
what it stands for: "Search Engine Marketing"
what it means: marketing your company, services and products via search engines. this is usually done through keyword phrase advertising (i.e. the search results that appear in the right hand column of a Google search).
why you should care:
if you are looking for ways to reach new audiences, especially if your products are not limited by geography, search engine marketing can offer you an affordable way to reach out to new customers. you can advertise with text-only as well as traditional web banners, and campaigns can be targeted by site, geography and search engine.
CPC
what it stands for: cost - per - click
what it means: this refers to a type of online advertising campaign. with a 'cost per click' campaign, your ad may appear many times before it is clicked but you only pay for the number of times a website visitor clicks on your ad.
why you should care: most internet advertising (especially with search engines) is cost-per-click based. the cost of a click depends on a variety of factors, including the site you are advertising on, the quality of traffic that site receives and (in the case of search engines) the popularity of keywords you are choosing to advertise on.
CPM
what it stands for: cost - per - thousand
what it means: similar to the CPC, this is a type of advertising campaign, but this type is based on the number of VIEWS of your ad on the site where you are advertising.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
experience is a mighty teacher...
just because a business is small, it doesn't need to be naive.
but sometimes, as small business owners/operators, we choose this path on our own. it's not a lack of experience, usually, that causes this. more often than not, i find that my fellow small business owners, and clients run their businesses as if every client was a friend.
truly, we want it to be that way. we want each and every customer who comes to us to trust us to take good care of them/their projects. and so we, unwittingly, trust them to do the same for us. we trust that they will respect the time we invest in their projects, and the resources that we invest into serving their needs.
and most of the time it works out just fine. most of the time.
but then there comes a day for each of us where experience must be the mighty teacher that puts our ideals and priorities where they belong. it could be the client that kept asking for a little more, and a little more and a little more, until finally you realize you have lost money on the project. it could be a customer who repeatedly takes your time for initial meetings for projects that never materialize. or sometimes, it comes from a client with all the best intentions, who has a rug pulled out from underneath them, taking the project away from you after you have invested yourself in it.
whatever the cause, eventually it seems we all come around to realizing the reality...while our clients and customers are good people at heart, they do not work for us. WE work for us. WE are the ones who have to make our businesses produce at a profit. WE are the ones who have to take the steps to ensure that we DO MAKE a profit.
sometimes, in order to meet that goal, we need to safeguard ourselves from the potential losses. we can do this by running our businesses as BUSINESSES. with every interaction, remember to weigh out your investment in a new deal with the potential outcome, and try to get the return that justifies it... charge for meetings that run over an hour, or warn that you will so that they can be kept brief; ask for partial payments up front with new clients; don't give away your product/service without written guarantees of payments/work...depending on your service or product, there are ways for you to ensure that the time and dollars you invest in a customer or project can come back to you.
you must do this, or you won't be able to BE a small business for long.
i realize this isn't exactly a marketing lesson, but it is an important one for all of us who run our own companies to realize. we must look out for each other as small businesses, surely. but at the same time, don't put yourself last on the list.
but sometimes, as small business owners/operators, we choose this path on our own. it's not a lack of experience, usually, that causes this. more often than not, i find that my fellow small business owners, and clients run their businesses as if every client was a friend.
truly, we want it to be that way. we want each and every customer who comes to us to trust us to take good care of them/their projects. and so we, unwittingly, trust them to do the same for us. we trust that they will respect the time we invest in their projects, and the resources that we invest into serving their needs.
and most of the time it works out just fine. most of the time.
but then there comes a day for each of us where experience must be the mighty teacher that puts our ideals and priorities where they belong. it could be the client that kept asking for a little more, and a little more and a little more, until finally you realize you have lost money on the project. it could be a customer who repeatedly takes your time for initial meetings for projects that never materialize. or sometimes, it comes from a client with all the best intentions, who has a rug pulled out from underneath them, taking the project away from you after you have invested yourself in it.
whatever the cause, eventually it seems we all come around to realizing the reality...while our clients and customers are good people at heart, they do not work for us. WE work for us. WE are the ones who have to make our businesses produce at a profit. WE are the ones who have to take the steps to ensure that we DO MAKE a profit.
sometimes, in order to meet that goal, we need to safeguard ourselves from the potential losses. we can do this by running our businesses as BUSINESSES. with every interaction, remember to weigh out your investment in a new deal with the potential outcome, and try to get the return that justifies it... charge for meetings that run over an hour, or warn that you will so that they can be kept brief; ask for partial payments up front with new clients; don't give away your product/service without written guarantees of payments/work...depending on your service or product, there are ways for you to ensure that the time and dollars you invest in a customer or project can come back to you.
you must do this, or you won't be able to BE a small business for long.
i realize this isn't exactly a marketing lesson, but it is an important one for all of us who run our own companies to realize. we must look out for each other as small businesses, surely. but at the same time, don't put yourself last on the list.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
marketing 101 ...it's all about ROI
since my very first consulting gig a few years back, i've made a point to my clients to always think about their ROI (return on investment) with marketing programs. every marketing venture you take on should pay your business back in some way, or you will quickly be out of business.
and all of my clients thus far have agreed with this in principal...but where most small businesses seem to lack is the grand vision of what ROI really means.
for the average small company, be in a hardware store or law firm, the thought of 'return' is either sales in the online store, or leads that can be followed up. but in the grand scheme of marketing, your return is much greater.
here is an example from one of my own clients, a jewelry store. they have a physical store and decided to set up an online store to 'reach out' to new markets and increase revenue. now, their products are not inexpensive, in fact, many of their online store items are in the thousands of dollars. on the web, this is a tough sell, especially for something as delicate as jewelry, where buyers are concerned about quality, craftsmanship and authenticity. if a buyer doesn't know them, they are less inclined to spend large dollars.
what is the likelihood that a random customer with no relationship to their existing business will go out on a limb and buy a thousand dollar pendant from them? well, pretty slim. but that doesn't mean that the store won't have an excellent return.
first of all, my client already has a great customer base from their physical store, and since these customers purchase expensive jewelry, they are already qualified as an audience likely to have computers and use them to research, if not shop online. these are a base of people who know my client's product and their quality, as well as reputation.
the next key element is their existing reputation within a large online shopping community that gives ranking to sellers with a good history. customers who regularly shop in this community may
not know their quality, but will know their reputation and feel more comfortable purchasing large items from them online.
together, these elements combine for a nice segment of the market that my client can reach out to. their online store is a great vehicle for reaching these markets, but that doesn't necessarily mean that someone will buy a product through the store. so, you ask, where is the ROI?
the store, and the items in it are idea generators and a marketing tool unto itself. my client can run specials in the store, advertise them in the shopping community and email their existing customer base about them. while visiting the store to view a sale or promo item, the shopper will find information about their custom jewelry design service as well as other items available.
the initial communication from my client generates conversations with potential customers, some of which end up in a sale. in some cases, the sale may come from someone further down in the chain who received the forwarded email and contact them about a custom jewelery piece.
now, while none of the sales come from the online store, it is the online store that prompted the visits and conversations that resulted in a sale. this is the ROI of the online store, even though it has not processed a single transaction itself.
as small businesses, we need to consider all the sources of where our sales generate from. we also need to realize that some marketing expenses, be it print advertising, online stores/websites or community development projects will never give a measurable ROI if we look at them in a vacuum. we can't be afraid to invest in those projects because we fear that they won't create immediate revenue. think about the bigger picture and remember that the long-term goals of growth require consistent planning and investment in building your brand, reputation and marketing tools.
i hope that helps you to see the value of your marketing investment. if you'd like to see the online store that inspired this discussion, it's at http://www.morganjewlersinc.com. tell them maryann sent you. ;-)
and all of my clients thus far have agreed with this in principal...but where most small businesses seem to lack is the grand vision of what ROI really means.
for the average small company, be in a hardware store or law firm, the thought of 'return' is either sales in the online store, or leads that can be followed up. but in the grand scheme of marketing, your return is much greater.
here is an example from one of my own clients, a jewelry store. they have a physical store and decided to set up an online store to 'reach out' to new markets and increase revenue. now, their products are not inexpensive, in fact, many of their online store items are in the thousands of dollars. on the web, this is a tough sell, especially for something as delicate as jewelry, where buyers are concerned about quality, craftsmanship and authenticity. if a buyer doesn't know them, they are less inclined to spend large dollars.
what is the likelihood that a random customer with no relationship to their existing business will go out on a limb and buy a thousand dollar pendant from them? well, pretty slim. but that doesn't mean that the store won't have an excellent return.
first of all, my client already has a great customer base from their physical store, and since these customers purchase expensive jewelry, they are already qualified as an audience likely to have computers and use them to research, if not shop online. these are a base of people who know my client's product and their quality, as well as reputation.
the next key element is their existing reputation within a large online shopping community that gives ranking to sellers with a good history. customers who regularly shop in this community may
not know their quality, but will know their reputation and feel more comfortable purchasing large items from them online.
together, these elements combine for a nice segment of the market that my client can reach out to. their online store is a great vehicle for reaching these markets, but that doesn't necessarily mean that someone will buy a product through the store. so, you ask, where is the ROI?
the store, and the items in it are idea generators and a marketing tool unto itself. my client can run specials in the store, advertise them in the shopping community and email their existing customer base about them. while visiting the store to view a sale or promo item, the shopper will find information about their custom jewelry design service as well as other items available.
the initial communication from my client generates conversations with potential customers, some of which end up in a sale. in some cases, the sale may come from someone further down in the chain who received the forwarded email and contact them about a custom jewelery piece.
now, while none of the sales come from the online store, it is the online store that prompted the visits and conversations that resulted in a sale. this is the ROI of the online store, even though it has not processed a single transaction itself.
as small businesses, we need to consider all the sources of where our sales generate from. we also need to realize that some marketing expenses, be it print advertising, online stores/websites or community development projects will never give a measurable ROI if we look at them in a vacuum. we can't be afraid to invest in those projects because we fear that they won't create immediate revenue. think about the bigger picture and remember that the long-term goals of growth require consistent planning and investment in building your brand, reputation and marketing tools.
i hope that helps you to see the value of your marketing investment. if you'd like to see the online store that inspired this discussion, it's at http://www.morganjewlersinc.com. tell them maryann sent you. ;-)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
time to eat my own dogfood...
so here i am, a marketing consultant and web designer who spends my day advising my clients on what they need to do to update their websites and reach out to customers. all the while, my own website hasn't seen a page update since 2005, i haven't blogged for myself yet, and i can't tell you the last time i created an email newsletter to reach my OWN potential client base.
but 2008 is a new year, and what better time than 1/08 for 108 degrees to use some 21st century technology to reach out to the world.
so welcome to occam's razor, my own attempt at spreading what marketing knowledge i have to those who care to listen. my intention for this site is to let readers' know what i learn as i go through my days trying to help small businesses grow and prosper.
but this being the web, i'm realistic.
i realize that blogs are a viral beast, a community project, and, if nothing else, an experiment in learning for all of us. i don't expect this site to be made up of just my voice. i hope that small business owners, marketers, designers, copywriters and others will participate in discussions and give their thoughts and feedback regarding the topics discussed here.
who knows, we may all learn something from each other...
but 2008 is a new year, and what better time than 1/08 for 108 degrees to use some 21st century technology to reach out to the world.
so welcome to occam's razor, my own attempt at spreading what marketing knowledge i have to those who care to listen. my intention for this site is to let readers' know what i learn as i go through my days trying to help small businesses grow and prosper.
but this being the web, i'm realistic.
i realize that blogs are a viral beast, a community project, and, if nothing else, an experiment in learning for all of us. i don't expect this site to be made up of just my voice. i hope that small business owners, marketers, designers, copywriters and others will participate in discussions and give their thoughts and feedback regarding the topics discussed here.
who knows, we may all learn something from each other...
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