Make Your "About Us" Page More Effective

When viewers see the "About Us" designation, they immediately assume that the company is willing to share essential information. It has been observed that a large number of people want to see who they are dealing with.

Your "About Us" page should include:

• Where you are located with address and contact information.
• Some of your principal staff. Pictures can help as well, with easy ways to contact these folks directly.
• Business organizations of which you are members.
• Recent significant industry awards.
• Company value or mission statement.
• Customer support links.
• Guarantee/warranty links.
• Testimonial links.
• Email and customer information policy links.

Source: Web Marketing Today

Economic Downturns: Survive the Recession

What ever else you do, don't stop marketing. Most companies that are cutting the budget sacrifice marketing first. You should never stop marketing. In fact in quiet times like these when people are afraid to spend money you should be LOUDER. And for those out there that think sales and marketing are the same thing - they aren't. Low cost but effective things you can do to market and have conversations with people are to attend networking functions, spruce up your Web site and leverage social media effectively. You can also go the traditional route by sending out post cards or put out a new sign in front of your office if that applies to you.

Manage Your Cash Flow. People always say that cash is king. It is true and for a small business it is the difference between life and death. Crack open your accounting software and really look back at your previous year and how your cash went in and out. See if you noticed there were time periods were business picks up or is really slow. You need to prepare for things to be slower in the good periods and really slow in the normally slow periods. It is harder to get business lines of credit these days if you need to bridge for 60-90 days. But sometimes when you have employees and must make payroll, you gotta have the option. Having a good cash position makes you look good to a bank and having confidence you can pay it back will keep you going through this period.

Launch new products or services. Now is the perfect time to test the market for new ideas. A recession gives you the opportunity to step back, rethink and review all sectors of your operation. While many are just thinking about staying quiet and surviving, you should consider launching a new product or service not currently offered in your market. Use the time to test out what is working and what doesn't. This will help you diversify your products, services or industries so you don't have too many eggs in one basket. Not only that but you will have launched something that has value during a tough time which means selling during good times will be super easy.

Avoid death by frivolous discretionary spending. Think of all the little expenses $10-100 that you spent in 2008 on things. They are like little cash flow paper cuts that can bleed you dry. In good times many people most people don't really look hard at expenses because they are profitable and can afford it in the name of "doing business". It is time seriously evaluate all expenses and more effective use of free services and alternatives to accomplish the same things you did before.

Take customer service to a new level. Great, you still have customers. Love them 10X more than you ever have before. They know that now is the time when they can look at alternatives and you seem too aloof or don't seem to value their business, they are gone. Take nothing for granted. Make sure your pricing is competitive, your service is exceptional and your attitude reflects how much you value their business.

Also, open up that Rolodex and call dormant customers and see what you can do to bring them back. Sometimes it takes as little as just asking to restart a relationship. Resurrecting a past customer is less expensive than finding and breaking in a new one. One other thing - Ask your customers for referrals.

Be creative! Be yourself! Be On Time!

Consistency is the Key to Great Web Sites

Make sure your content has a consistent look and feel throughout. While you might think mixing colors and fonts or even writing styles presents a more dynamic picture, the cardinal rule for any professional looking site is to stick to branding guidelines.

Experts says to stick to a reasonable pallet of two to four colors. If you use too many for the graphics or the text, it looks like very amateurish. Most people tend to overload their landing pages with content and pictures. Given that visitors are prone to scanning, especially when they're in navigation mode, it's important to keep your Web pages looking clean and that your copy short and to the point. Web content is not all about great pictures and logos. You should strike a good balance between making your site graphically unique and stripping out what doesn't need to be there. Legibility is the key. When it comes to copy, you don't want to overwhelm visitors to your site. Nothing frustrates a visitor more than having to wade through multiple links to get to where they want to be. Make sure your links are visible and easy to find at all times. If space allows, have them on the side and across the top of each page, just to make things easier.

Know Your Limits

While your content needs to be kept fresh and relevant, small-business owners don't always have the time to constantly refresh content. When planing your content, keep in mind how many hours you can devote to updates. If most of your time is spent managing day-to-day business issues, make sure the bulk of your site's content can stand the test of time.

If you simply can't manage updates on your own, you can tap into design resources for a reasonable hourly rate (as long as you're not looking at a major redesign). It's worth the investment in the long run.

The importance of having calls to action on every page cannot be emphasized enough. All too often people neglect to put the "contact us" and "buy" icons on every page, and think that having it on the home page will suffice. Make sure your company e-mail, phone number and contact links are included on every page and easy to find -- preferably at the top and the bottom.