Using the Web To Improve Your Business - PhotoReflect.com with the Web v... · 2014-07-12 · Using...

Using the Web to Improve Your BusinessKerry Raminiak, www.PhotoReflect.com ° Jeanmarie Richardson, www.tdai.net

Using the WebTo Improve Your Business

Kerry Raminiak - Express DigitalJeanmarie Richardson - The Digital Architects


Ways to Win With the Web

• Intranet– Using web tools to run your business

• Internet– Using a website to get more business

• Storefronts– Using an extension to your website to foster

additional revenue• Test for success


Intranet: Streamline Processes to Improve Profit

• Lets Talk Operations and Production– Streamline existing processes– Scheduling– Staff Communications– Customer Service– Order Tracking


Intranet Examples

• Microsoft Sharepoint• Application Portal• Custom Portal


Intranet: How to approach

• “PIM” Approach• Planning and Analysis

– Identify Systems– Document how it is being done today– Set your expectations



• Implementation– Look for “boxed” solution– Develop your own– Train your users



• Measurement and Refinement– Run the System– Compare Actual Results to Expected– Further refine


Case Study

• School Photography Company– Non typical

• Portraits ordered from proofs• Payment received with proof order

– Processing Scenario• Manual processing from forms• Lots of manual tracking• Huge margin for error with high volume


Case Study Solution

• Custom Intranet Solution– Bar Coded Order Forms– Batch processing structure for schools– CC processing through intranet portal to bank– Automated reports for checks and balances– Integration with QuickBooks for receipts

posting


Internet:Using a website to get more business

A checklist for your website:• Does your website do you more harm than good?• Does your website convey your competitive advantage?• Can people find your website?


Does your website do moreharm than good?

• People are coming to your website to compare you to your competition– The first 10 seconds on your site is your first hurdle– People are visual at first (which is great, cause you’re a

photographer); Are you presenting your best work?– Presenting photos of this season versus the upcoming season

• Does your website convey relevance and talent?– This is conveyed not only by your photo demonstration, but also

your choice of font, ease of navigation, page templates and color scheme


Does your site convey your competitive advantage?

You’ve made it past the first 10 seconds, now what?Sure, you’ve got talent and you have illustrated relevance

with a modern site, now you have to “win them over”• Exactly who are you communicating with?

– How do you stand out from your competition (in their eyes)?– Do you have any testimonials, endorsements or key references?

• Do you have a plan for how you want each target audience to behave on your site?

• Are you “optimized”?


Win them over; “talk the talk”

Consider your current clients• Isolate why they come to you and why they will continue to work with you• When in doubt: Request concise one-sentence testimonials

– Don’t be afraid to write out exactly what it is you want them to say and suggest it to them

– Use their name, but more importantly their title, school and/or district– Rotate a number of testimonials on your home page

• HTML / jquery “quotator” is best (it will help your SEO)• Flash or on top of your photo demonstration should only be considered if you cannot

use code; It’s still valuable• Another option is to create a page dedicated to referrences and testimonials

Consider your competitive advantage• What can you say about your business that your competitors cannot?

– Formal education? Competitive prices? Full staff? Creative eye? The only specialist in town?

– Articulate your competitive advantage in no more than two sentences for your home page; All other positive attributes can be integrated into the testimonials if you write examples for your references


Do you have a plan for your audience?

They want to:– See your portfolio– Check out your references– Get a general understanding of

your rates / policies / programs

You want them to:– Understand all that you offer– Qualify themselves for you– Contact you if they “qualify”

Now that you know who you are “talking” to and what they want to hear, guide them in their best intended direction on your site:

• Researchers

• Current customers

• Tertiary customers (parents, grandparents and guardians)

They want to:– See that hiring and referring you

was a good business decision

You want them to:– Refer you to colleagues– Link to your storefront– Share your url with your tertiary

customers

They want to:– See photos– Learn how to re-order

You want them to:– Feel comfortable about

being and buying online


Can people find you online?Are you optimized?

• SEO = search engine optimization• A part of perfecting your website is

understanding how Google finds you, classifies your site and ranks you in searches


Internet: Website Basics

Keys to Success#1 - EYEBALLS: People must find out about your site

somehow• SEO• Pay Per Click• Banner Ads• Link Strategies• Social Networking – Twitter and Facebook• Order Integration (Second Order Strategy)


SEO Basics

• What is Google’s main objective?– Help people find what they are looking for

• So what search terms do people use when they are looking for someone JUST LIKE YOU?– You must be relevant and appropriate– Google likes niche content, not generic content– Black hat SEO tactics never last so don’t bother


Pay Per Click (PPC)

• Internet advertising model used on websites, in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keywordphrases relevant to their target market

• Largest Providers– Google– Yahoo Ad Words– Microsoft (Bing)


Banner Ads

• Typically CPC on affiliate site

• Consists of embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser.


Link Strategies

• Build your “brand” awareness– Contribute Articles– Press Mentions– Forums & Discussion Groups– Comments on Others Blogs– Answer Questions– Social Media


Social Networking

• Facebook– Create a FAN page– Cultivate raving fans– Promote Specials

• Twitter– Build company recognition – Use tools like tweetdeck to

manage


Order Integration andSecond Order Strategy

• Process orders from initial shoot

• Second Order Strategy

– Re Orders – Specialty Items


Storefronts:Selling online to see more revenue

Why sell online?• Funnel the hassle of re-orders through your website• Consider family members that were not part of the original ordering

process• See a revenue boost during the holiday season• Manage a reward program with ease• Accept gift certificates and advertise with promo codes• Cultivate supplementary revenue during the “slow season”• Create additional credibility by illustrating your work and services in

action• It’s good for your SEO


Selling online worst practices

• Just publishing and simply wishing for the additional revenue– Selling online is a minature business based solely on

your ability to get the word out• Forgetting who your audience is• Encouraging shoppers to come back later• Pricing yourself out of a sale


Selling online best practices

• Reward referrals– Teachers that email parents; Give them a gift certificate– School websites that promote your website; Offer custom mouse pads

for their computer lab (put your logo and/or url on the corner)– PTA leadership; With cooperation of the school, reward their

commitment with a promotion code (their word of mouth is your best advertisement)

• Make it easy to find photos of a specific child– Title the primary catalog to benefit your SEO– …But create sub-catalogs based on class grade and teacher name

• Set event expiration dates– You can always re-publish later

• Learn what your competition sells online and what they charge– Get a good understanding of how to price competitively without hurting

your margins– Never undercut your first sale; Find a nice middle ground


How do you know you’re doing this right?

Intranet Solutions• Test your intranet return on investment• Look at your “before”• Check your expectations• How have you improved?

– Improved processing time?– Staff savings?– Improved customer service?



• TIP: Be sure to get a “before” snapshot so you can see improvement• See how you rank

– It can take a few weeks for Google to index your updated site• If you search Google for your site and check the date on cached

pages, that will tell you when they’ve last indexed your site• If you check your website traffic you may be able to see the

Googlebot visiting your site• Check traffic

– Are you getting more than before?• Manage funnel and prioritize next steps

– Are you getting enough traffic to the right pages?– Are they following through on your call to action?– If not, where are they leaving?



How do you know your SEO efforts are working?

When to consider advertising.



How do you know your online storefront is working for you?• Compare your business revenue before and after selling

online• Compare your different customers – what was the X

factor in your more successful projects• Open your online dashboard


Questions?

• Q&A

Kerry Raminiak - Express Digitalwww.expressdigital.com ° www.photoreflect.com

[email protected]

Jeanmarie Richardson - The Digital Architects www.tdai.net

[email protected]

Using the Web To Improve Your Business - PhotoReflect.com with the Web v... · 2014-07-12 · Using...

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