Don’t assume people WANT to be on your website. In fact, they are only there because they are seeking information—and they want it fast.

Predictive behavior. Navigation links should be on the top and or left side. That’s where people expect them.

9-second rule. If a web page can’t deliver the intended message in 9 seconds, it won’t be effective.

People read images before they read text. Make sure your pages are graphically pleasing and aren’t overloaded with content.

View your website as a 1:1 conversation with your best customer. Too many sites read like an owner’s manual.

Make it personal. People do business with people. Name names and avoid using generic email addresses as your company contact (sales@, info@, etc.)

Build trust and credibility. Add testimonials, company history, and community involvement. These things matter.

Consider a “Customer Bill of Rights” that is attributed to your company’s president and includes their contact info. People are always impressed when they have the ability to contact the president of a company. It’s extremely reassuring.

Make customer resources, newsletters, and other content available. Relevant content not only makes your site engaging, but it’s critical for SEO.

I’m happy to offer a free phone consultation to any printer regarding their website and marketing challenges for 2012. Give me a call!

Patrick Whelan
pat@greatreachinc.com
978.332.5555

Company website: This is the FIRST place prospects go to evaluate you. How does your site compare to those of your competitors? Are you putting your company at a competitive disadvantage right from the start? Consider your website as a one-on-one conversation with your best customer.

Company marketing/customer engagement: How often do you tap into your database to keep your brand top of mind? How often to you send out relevant communications to engage your target audience and foster relationships? Do you do these things as often as your competitors? Have you perhaps cut back on these initiatives hoping their absence wouldn’t be noticed? (hint: it will be)

Social media: Simply put, if your company is not socially engaged, in the eyes of many clients and prospects you’re not staying abreast of the latest marketing trends and technologies. Customers want to feel comfortable and confident about a supplier’s savviness when deciding whom to give work to. It’s far better to be seen as an early adopter than strictly “old school.”

Consistent appreciation: In the fast food industry, the two things a customer remembers most are his first and last bites. In the printing industry, that’s akin to your receptionist (or phone routing system) at the front end and your delivery people at the back. Top-notch people skills are critical in these areas – particularly an ability to express appreciation. Customers need to feel appreciated throughout the entire experience.

Great Reach Communications offers customizable newsletter, postcard, email, social media and website content solutions. I’m happy to discuss your company’s marketing challenges – feel free to email or call me anytime.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season!

Many of the companies offering mobile barcode scanning and mobile payments solutions are releasing the data from their servers, showing the explosive growth in the use of these codes. Many of these companies offer the data on a quarterly or year-over-year basis, making this growth very easy to see.

One of the companies, Mobio Identity Solutions, a mobile payments solution, shows growth so exponential that it makes your head turn. In fact, its most recent report is called “The Whiplash Edition.”

Recently, I compiled as much adoption, growth, and demographic data on the use of QR and other mobile barcodes as I could find and published it in a single report. (For more on that report, click here.)

Here’s some of the data that caught my eye:

1. Between Q1 2010 and Q1 2011, the number of scans going through ScanBuy’s ScanLife system (whether 1d or 2d barcodes) has gone from 10 scans per minute to 60 scan per minute. Scans are now coming from 128 countries around the world.
2. Over this same period, ScanBuy found an 850% increase in active users, 400% increase in use application downloads, and 810% increase in total mobile barcode scans.
3. 3GVision (iNigma barcode scanning software) shows the same trends. Scans running through its system grew by 20.0% between Q2/2011 and Q3 2011. Daily scans now come from 141 different countries.
4. Between Q1 – 2010 – Q1 2011, Mobio Identity, an international mobile payments and marketing company, reports a whopping 4549% growth in QR code scanning.
5. According to a survey of smartphone owners conducted on behalf of MGH, a Maryland-based ad agency, QR code users are primarily between 35-54 years old, have university+ educations, and have household incomes over $50,000 per year. What a great target market!

What does all this mean for you? If you have been seeing QR codes as a trend, it’s time to take them seriously.

For more information on the aggregated QR code data report, see “QR Codes: The Data Speaks.” For a detailed look at the technology, applications, and best practices of QR codes, check out “QR Codes: What You Need to Know.“

• Is your database growing? If you’re prospecting, your database should always be growing. Data is at the heart of all marketing efforts. Maintain it, manage it, grow it.

• How often do you touch each contact in your database? Aside from establishing relationships, keeping your company top of mind is critical if you want to benefit from the instability that exists in todays print marketplace.

• If a prospect or customer were to visit your website, what would their perception of your company be relative to that of your main competitors?

• If a prospect or customer were to do a search for you online, would your company appear on the first page? SEO is more critical than ever.

• If a prospect or customer were to search their inbox or collection of collateral, would they easily find materials or communications from your company?

• With so many people now utilizing social media, would it be easy for a client or prospect to follow you on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin? At the least, two of the three?

• With client engagement so critical, does your company produce a branded newsletter that offers a) high value content and b) is a good harbinger of your brand? Consider this: printinthemix.rit.edu/fastfacts/show/400

• Is your company being proactive to assure your clients that you are staying abreast of the latest trends and technologies (think QR codes, Purls)?

• In terms of promoting your companies marketing capabilities and services, does your company lead by example?

If your company is struggling with any of the above I’m happy to discuss this with you.

http://thebusinessresourceforum.com/?p=486

It is not uncommon for companies to lose 20–50% of revenue each year from customer defections. Dollar for dollar, investments in customer retention are five times more profitable than investments in customer acquisition. With print sales now a zero sum game, your clients are hearing from your competitors more than ever.

These companies are promising your clients the same level of care and quality that you currently provide them. So focus resources on client retention, even if it means reallocating resources from other areas. Frequent communications, company events, personal visits, and other efforts will go a long way toward making your clients feel appreciated, while providing some insulation from the competition. Conversely, cutting back on these things while your competition ramps them up will have a heightened negative effect.