Five don'ts for your company web site

1 don't have spelling mistakes anywhere on the site
2 don't use a whole load of jargon that will turn people off
3 don't assume people visiting your web site live in the same town as you - this is the WORLDWIDE WEB, so you need an international version of your telephone number, and indications of where you are geographically and where your customers are, too
4 don't put up poor quality photos on your web site; if the photos are poor visitors will think your business is too
5 don't forget to update your site regularly, so the search engines will think it's interesting and keep it in the rankings

Five do's to network for your business

1 Do regularly meet up with contacts for a coffee and chat generally about your business and theirs. You never know what you might hear.
2 Do join a useful local business organisation which has members whom you would want as clients - and go along to their events
3 Do speak to people when you go along to events - introduce yourself, speak briefly about your business, but steer clear of a hard sell until you know someone might be interested in what you do
4 Do make a note of the contact details of people you meet, whether on your PC or other electronic device, and keep in touch; hand out your business card as if it were a thing of value, because it is
5 Do offer to give people free advice or a small amount of free service to demonstrate that you are good at what you do. As we say in Scotland, 'what goes around comes around'

Five ways to use five minutes to market

1 make a list of five people you will contact in the next five days to talk about your business
2 put five dates in your diary when you will meet someone to talk about business
3 make a list of five existing customers and list five ways you can extend the business you already have with them
4 list five reasons why people do business with you, and tell them to potential customers
5 ask five customers for a testimonial that you can pass on to potential customers

5 New Year's Resolutions for your business success

2009 looks like it will be a year of belt-tightening for businesses and individuals.

When it comes to marketing, you can spend a lot of money and not achieve much, unless you target the spend cleverly and carefully. This year you might be able to streak ahead of the competition by smart use of your marketing budget, however small it is.

Here are some tips so you can plan how to market and promote your business this year without wasting a penny.

1 always measure the effectiveness of what you do and what you spend; if you advertise, make sure you know exactly how many people responded to the ad, and don't repeat the ad if it didn't pay for itself in new business several times over.
2 talk to your potential customers as if you were sitting having a coffee with them; don't overwhelm them with jargon
3 tell them why they need your product or service, not what it is you are trying to sell
4 tell them how other people in other companies have seen real financial benefits from using your product or service; people are more impressed by hearing who else is a customer of yours than what you have to offer. If another well-known local company uses your services, then people will conclude that you must be good at what you do.
5 network with business people in your area, so that they know who you are, what you do, and how they can benefit from doing business with you; make sure you give your business card to people who might be interested, and use it as a way to explain who you are, what you do.


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