Monthly Archives: July 2015

Your world in your website!

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Why do we have a website?

When I first started my business I felt I had to have a website. I never thought I would get business through the internet but understood that businesses that do not have a website often don’t ‘exist’. Now obviously they do in the real world but the business environment today is so internet orientated that businesses have to be virtual or prospective clients don’t believe they are ‘real’.

This is, of course, bonkers because anyone can pretend to be anything on the web. But there you are – it’s just the way it is.

Think about it – if you are going to have a meeting with someone, or are looking to buy a product/service, where is the first place you go? Even if you are not looking to the internet to make the initial connection with a business you will want to find out more about them by looking them up on line.

So I knew I should have a website but really just thought it would be a ‘brochure’ giving people and idea of what I do.

However, over the years I have come to think differently. I now look at my website as a way of promoting not just me and my business, but also those business people I have come to know and admire.

My website is now not just about what I do but also about the strategic partners I work with, links to my clients websites to raise their profile, space to provide free information, a place to promote events, a home for my blog …  In short it is a reflection of my whole business.

I now believe my website gives a true picture of what anyone will get when working with me – good or bad. This means that people who are not ‘my type of people’ will be deterred by what they see, whilst people who like what I have done will probably like the way I work.

I am very fortunate in that I have a husband who is very talented at translating what I want and how I want it. But I think we can all create something special with our websites these days as content management systems become more flexible and easy to use.

My latest tweak to the website is to have a link page to my book so hopefully anyone who is interested can get hold of a copy really easily.

But we are planning some bigger changes as following an excellent session by Graham Jones at this year’s MiP conference I have been inspired make it easier for potential customers to very quickly find the help they need. Whilst there is lots of information on my website it is perhaps now too big to be navigated efficiently. So this is the challenge for the summer!

I hope this inspires you to look at your own website. Try to see it from someone else’s point of view and ask yourself if it really shows your business in the best light.

Fiona 🙂

Game, set and match!

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forecasting

I have been enjoying the tennis at Wimbledon and and am looking forward to following the Tour de France as it slogs its way around Belgium and France. And although I am not fond of football was disappointed that the women did not make it to the finals of the World Cup.

The highs and lows of supporting a particular team or person, hoping they will win but having no control over the outcome, is surely one of the most exiting, but also most frustrating, things we do.

I sometimes feel that some business owners treat their businesses a little like they would a spectator sport. What I mean by this is that they don’t take enough ownership of the success, or lack of success, of their business.

I have had several conversations with small business owners recently which have gone like this:

Me: ‘So how’s it going’

Business Owner: ‘Well, we are struggling at the moment. The economy is improving but still not great… the bank won’t lend us the money we need… it’s difficult to get new customers… customers are slow in paying… we are having to cut prices… competitors are getting more aggressive with their marketing so we are losing business ‘

What they are really saying is ‘It’s someone else’s fault my business is not going well’. They are not taking ownership of the problem. They are looking at their business as a spectator would rather than a participant.

Yes, times have been tough but are fortunately getting better. Yes, the banks are certainly not just giving money away as they did in the ‘good old days’ before the banking crisis. But successful business owners look past these issues and change their way of working to get past adversity.

They take positive action to make sure they are paid as quickly as possible and manage their suppliers to reduce their dependancy on the banks.

They plan properly so they know exactly what their perfect customers look like – this makes it much easier target marketing effort at the right type of customer.

They follow up this marketing with professional sales techniques to bring new customers in.

They also provide superb customer service which reduces the risk of customers going elsewhere.

So, if your business is struggling it may be because you are a spending too much time as a spectator, and not enough time as a participant in its future success.

Fiona 🙂