5 Tips for Marketing Your Website

As a woman in business, you should have a website. A website allows potential customers to learn more about your and your business. Here are some tips on how to market your business through your site:

Think strategically. Your Web site should be a part of your overall marketing plan.

Choose a Web site address (URL) that’s intuitive and easy to remember. Your company’s name (if it’s short) or the name of your main product might work well.

Put your Web address on all your printed material, including business cards, letterhead, press releases and invoices. Include it in all your advertising.

Don’t forget offline media and traditional publicity techniques. Send news releases promoting your site to newspapers, broadcasters, and magazines.

Speak at conferences and trade shows, and write informative articles for trade publications. When you do, mention your Web address.

Brought to you by SCORE, America’s small business mentors, at www.score.org.

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8 Tips to Stimulate Your Small Business

Guest Post by: Lyve Alexis Pleshette

Is your business in the doldrums? Are sales slow? Reinvigorate your small business with these tips:

1. Learn from the past experiences, including your mistakes.

Before you can move forward, it is always helpful to review the past year and analyze what worked and what did not work for your business. What strategies worked for your business before, and what do you think can work again this time? What were the mistakes you did and need to avoid? Now ask yourself: what could you do better this time?

2. Look at everything with a fresh new perspective.

Shaking up your business starts by looking at the world in new ways. It is so easy to continue doing what you have been doing for years, because of its familiarity and safety. The downside is that you can gradually lose your focus, take things for granted or just assume you know how things are.

A fresh perspective can get you out of your comfort zone, kick start your thinking, and help you find better solutions to your problems — especially during hard economic times.

To do this, start by examining the assumptions you’ve made. Get fresh ideas by reading new books or magazines about your business. Get out and talk to other business owners. Check out forums or even social networking sites to see what your target customers need and other business owners are doing. If it will work for you, take time off and visit new places or experience new things. It can help take your mind off your business and infuse you with new ways of looking at things.

3. Set your goals.

Think of what you want to accomplish this time. Make a list of your objectives for your business, and then list the specific activities that can help you achieve the objectives. Keep your objectives as detailed and measurable as possible. Even better, make a note of what you need to achieve every single day. Sometimes, putting a specific deadline on tasks or goals can spur you more into action.

For a blogger who earns primarily from serving ads, an example of a goal and its activities maybe:

Goal: Increase traffic to blog by 20 percent before the year ends.

?Write at least 5 new posts per week, carefully analyzing the traffic statistics of each post to determine the types of posts preferred by the audience.
?Participate in blog carnivals at least once a month.
?Submit content to social bookmarking sites (even strive to develop content most likely to get to the front page of Digg, for example).
?Connect with at least 3 bloggers per month, whether in terms of commenting on their blogs or requesting for blog roll link exchanges
4. Create your calendar of activities.

It is important to break down your goals and activities into smaller and doable lists of tasks that you can do. To help you keep track of what you want to accomplish for your business, prepare specific timelines for your goals and activities – and stick to it. Whether you are using a planner, PDA or any other scheduling systems, be sure to incorporate your activities into your planning system. Create specific targets for each month – e.g. make a list of what you want to be accomplished each month.

And using whatever system works best for you, set up reminders that can help you keep your eye back to your objectives. Reminders can be in the form of popups in your Outlook calendar, a paper listing the activities that needs to be done pinned to your corkboard, or daily entry into your planner.

5. Do the work!

What good is all the planning if you are not going to implement any of it? Firm up your plans for the first quarter, and then start the work. It feels mighty good to cross off from your list the first thing that you need to do.

Using the blogger as an example, you may want to gear up for the work ahead of you by analyzing your blog statistics. What posts get the most traffic? What posts get the most links? And what posts give you large number of links and clicks from sites such as Digg and other social bookmarking sites?

6. Pump up your networking.

Networking is important for any business. For many things, “who you know” is very important. Having the right contacts can help open doors for you – new opportunities, new customers, new suppliers, new funding sources, new mentors, even someone just to talk to and bounce off ideas. If you’re a home-based business owner, just having a meeting to attend and a chance to interact with other people can bring about a beneficial change of scenery and pace.

Check out professional business networking groups in your area such as BNI http://www.bni.com/ and investigate whether participating in such a network can be beneficial to your business and yourself. Check if using sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or even MySpace can benefit your business. Or join your local Chamber of Commerce and be active in your local business scene.

7. Try to learn something new.

As they say, the only thing constant is change. Hence it is important to learn to adapt to new ways of doing things, including reaching your target market.

Five years ago, you wouldn’t have thought of promoting your business via online videos, but now the wide reach of online video sites such as YouTube has made it a very appealing way of reaching customers. Consider how having a video can help your business grow and get more buzz. Look at how a presence in social networking sites such as MySpace can grow your business. Or whether direct mail can work wonders for your business.

Be on a lookout for ways you can improve your business, even if that means venturing into unknown territories. Study how others are improving their business processes, doing their marketing and promoting, or creating new revenue streams – and see how these new trends can work for your business.

8. Keep your momentum going.

The difficult part of setting goals to reinvigorate your business is keeping the interest and momentum going. It is so easy to lose track of what you need to accomplish.

To encourage yourself to keep working on the goals you’ve set up, celebrate after every task you have accomplished. Reward yourself, even if that only means taking a day off away from work (meaning no Blackberries, no checking of emails or making phone calls). It may be helpful to put a visible reminder of why you are doing this business. Having a visual reminder can prop you up on days when you feel you’ve lost interest in the business or when you start questioning why are you doing all this hard work.

For more info on women in business go to: www.womenhomebusiness.com

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7 Work At Home Guidelines for the New Economy

With unemployment in the US reaching almost 10 percent, many people are transitioning from employee to entrepreneur.

According to business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, author of When The Little Things Count…And They Always Count, “Out of necessity people are establishing their own businesses. Many of these new entrepreneurs are working from home and having to be professional when interacting with potential customers, clients, venders, former colleagues and bosses”

Pachter suggests these 7 guidelines to help people maintain a business image no matter where their offices are located:

1. Have a separate space for your office. You need an area or room that is private and where you won’t hear dogs barking and/or children screaming. And if you have children, establish a closed-door policy. Your children need to know that you are working and unless it’s an emergency or really important, they are not to disturb you.

2. Answer your phone or cell phone professionally Invest in a separate line for work calls. When you answer, give a greeting and your name: “Good morning, Barbara Pachter speaking” When you are not able to answer the phone, have your callers hear a business message–no little kids talking or music blasting. Tell them who they have reached and when you will return the call.

3. Have a website You can start with a basic site that explains what you do and how to contact you. Use an appropriate business domain name for your website and use that domain name for your email address. (i.e. www.pachter.com and bpachter@pachter.com).

4. Be organized Most people can’t function in chaos. Have file cabinets. Use a contact management system, like ACT, to keep good records of your business contacts and activities. Develop good quality business cards, stationery and any company materials.

5. Create a professional internet presence In addition to having a website, use social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to let people know about your business. And remember anything you post becomes part of your professional image. Google yourself to find out what your customers will discover about you. Blog about your work. But don’t get so wrapped up in social media that you neglect other parts of your business.

6. Dress up if you need to. Many people tell me that it helps them feel professional if they put themselves together before they start working. However, if you can work well in your PJs, as long as you don’t videoconference, go for it!

7. Have the appropriate space if you are meeting with people If you don’t have the space, arrange the use of a meeting room or meet in a restaurant.

Barbara Pachter is a speaker, trainer, coach and author of numerous business books, including The Power of Positive Confrontation and NewRules@Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead.  For a free copy of her communication e-newsletter, “Competitive Edge,” you can call (856) 751-6141 (NJ) or go to www.pachter.com.

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Save Your Business During Flu Season

No one likes to get sick.  Depending on how bad you feel, you could be out of commission for awhile.  That’s definitely not good if you’re a woman in business who is responsible for paying bills and feeding the family.

While the official flu season doesn’t start for a few months, the H1N1 flu is already hitting offices and classrooms. Although there isn’t an official flu-fighting diet, there are specific healthy nutrition recommendations that promote good health and wellnessand can help ward off infection. According to Dr. ReneMassengale, “There are specific foods and vitamins that work to boost the immune system and heal the body suchas vitamins C, B6 and B12, folic acid, and flavenoids. Glutathione is an antioxidant compound found in fruits such as watermelon, broccoli, collar greens and cabbage. Vitamins B6 and B12 are found in spinach,high-protein foods, and enriched cereal grains and minerals like selenium and zinc found in poultry, meat, beans, and peanuts.”

Save your business during flu season by eating healthy.

Rene Masengale, Ph.D. is professor of biotechnology at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. She holds degrees in microbiology and immunology and biology.

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Non Verbal Communication

Guest post by:  Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D

A recent study from the University of Chicago found that the more gestures babies used at 14 months (shaking a head “no,” raising arms to be picked up, pointing at an object of interest, etc.), the more words they had in their vocabulary at 31/2 years old.

Which is no surprise to those of us who study body language. Here’ are a few facts I found while researching my book, “The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work”

Gesture and speech are so tightly connected that we can’t do one without the other. Brain imaging has shown that a region called Broca’s area, which is important for speech production, is active not only when we’re talking, but when we wave our hands. And as we grow into adulthood, gesturing becomes more complex, more nuanced, and more interesting.

Did you know . . .

?  A blind person talking to another blind person will use gestures.

?  All of us use gestures when talking on the telephone.

?  When people are passionate about what they’re saying, their gestures become more animated.

?  Studies have found that when you communicate through active gesturing, you tend to be evaluated as warm, agreeable, and energetic, while remaining still makes you be seen as logical, cold, and analytic.

?  On the other hand, over-gesturing with flailing arms (especially when hands are raised above the shoulders) can make you appear out of control, less believable and less powerful.

?  Some gestures have an agree-upon meaning to a group and are consciously used instead of words. (The “thumbs up” gesture in North America is one example). These gestures very by culture – and what is acceptable in one culture can be rude or insulting in another.

?  Many deception cues are subconscious gestures – like the hand to mouth or nose gestures which are typically use when lying. (And, by the way, those same gestures are often displayed when listening to someone you don’t believe.)

?  Pacifying gestures are used to help us deal with stress: Any self touching can be calming. You may rub your legs, pull at your collar, play with your hair, rub your neck, or even cross your arms in a kind of “self-hug”

?  Open palm gestures indicate candor, while hidden hands (or hands in pockets) signals that the person has something to hide or doesn’t want to participate in a conversation.

?  Low confidence is often shown by wringing hands and interlacing fingers.

?  High confidence can be displayed by a steepling gesture (palms separated and fingers touching). You’ll see this used most often by politicians, executives and professors.

So, remember, it’s okay to talk with your hands – as long as you know what they’re saying!

Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.

President

Kinsey Consulting Services

Berkeley, CA

CGoman@CKG.com

510-526-1727

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Is Your Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed?

Article by Lahle Wolfe, About.com

Attracting new customers is obviously important to all businesses. But businesses also need to focus on developing strategies to retain customers for repeat sales and referral customers.

Here are two main types of customers businesses can lose, and how they can lose them:

1. Potential Customers: You can lose potential customers when you fail to attract new business or entice leads into a sale.

Customers who shun your business based on “bad” word of mouth advertising from other people or businesses are also lost potential customers.

1. Repeat and Loyal Customers: The customer is “king” is a simple but important business principle to follow. If you treat your customers badly, use dishonest business practices, or do not have reasonable customer service policies, you are likely to lose out on repeat business.

When you lose loyal customers you not only lose their future business but you also lose any possible referrals they may have given your business.

Losing Potential Customers

Every person that interacts with you or your business or hears about your business from another source is a potential customer.

Internet surfers that visit your website or browse a catalog in the mail are potential customers. If you do not hold their interest because your website or material is unprofessional, boring, or hard to navigate, or does not “speak” to your targeted market, you are losing potential customers.

Reaching potential customers is no guarantee that they will want to do business with you. A driving force behind all forms of direct marketing is to provide a “call to action.”

Depending upon the nature of your business, many of your first-time customers may have the potential to be repeat customers. Do not just consider how to make a one-time sale, think of ways to get customers to come back again and again!

The Principle of Reciprocity and How it Applies to Business

Anyone that knows about your business – whether or not they have actually done business with you – has the power to attract or deter new customers for you either by recommending your company or by sharing their own bad experiences. You can lose customers simply based on the word-of-mouth advertising of others.

Losing Repeat and Loyal Customers

Successful businesses are built one customer at a time. Never undervalue your customers if you want them to refer your business, or come back for repeat business.

The worst business mistakes you can make are ones that lead to customer dissatisfaction. Unhappy customers not only take their business somewhere else, they may also discourage other people from doing business with you.

The following are just a few of the ways you can lose repeat customers:

• Overcharge for your products and services.
• Offer substandard products and services.
• Take advance or back orders for products and then fail to keep customers updated about any delays or troubles in processing their orders.
• Offer poor, or no customer service, and do not respond to inquiries or keep customers, investors, and stakeholders updated.
• Lie. In the world of advertising, many companies consider it acceptable to “embellish” or “emphasize a point in the best light possible.” But to consumers, misrepresentation of a product or service will be seen for what it is – a lie – not as a creative license.

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