It's easy to become obsessed with getting your business to the top of Google. But if you are then you're missing the point; getting to the top of Google is a means to an end, it is not the end itself.
In this series we're going to go back to basics and look at those things you really should be concentrating on to drive your business forward, on-line and off-line. We'll provide you with practical advice on how to set goals and how to achieve them.
By the end of the series you should have a better understanding of where you're really trying to get your business and how you're going to go about doing it. You'll discover that success in the on-line world is no different than success anywhere else and that all it requires is a little focus, strategy and understanding.
Using the internet to make your business a success is straight forward enough so long as you stop obsessing over Google.
Simple Advice, Smart Goals
In each article we're going to look at how to set yourself a goal to make sure you're using what you've learned to move your business forward.
Our goals all follow the SMART principal. That is to say that they should all be Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timed.
In the series; 5 cornerstones of success
- You don't need new business...
All too often on-line strategies and websites are focused on new-business to the detriment of existing customers. Don't lose sight of the fact that current customers are often your best source of revenue and your strongest ambassadors at driving the new business you crave.
In our first article we'll look at how to ensure you're making the most of your most valuable relationships and we'll discover that by taking care of the customers you have already those customers will want take care of you.
Read: You don't need new business...
- Listen to the man on the street, not your boss...
It's a very common mistake that the design and execution of a website is driven by the person paying the bill. But does your boss, or your client, have the most objective view or are you allowing their subjective and emotional attachment skew the project away from the people you're really trying to engage?
In our second article we look at objectivity and approach. We show you how to use empathy and a staged development lifecycle to save time and money and deliver and effective result.
- You can't fix what you don't understand...
If you're not measuring your website how will you know which changes were good and which were bad? How can you tell what traffic brings you business and what doesn't? Measuring your website's performance is far more simple than you may think and it's absolutely key to your success.
In our third article we touch on the basics of website tracking - enough to get your measuring the important things - and we'll point you at a few more in-depth subjects to whet your appetite.
- Engage your channel at both ends...
Everyone operates in a channel - that is you have suppliers and consumers. Many of us spend all our time looking one way - towards our consumers - and miss some golden opportunities to leverage strong relationships with suppliers.
Our fourth article looks at identifying some simple ways to engage your channel and we'll touch on a concept called "circulation"; turning customers into suppliers.
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Stop working and socialise...
Finally a look at how to have fun. If you approach social media from a "We need to be seen to be Twittering" angle and you're doomed to fail. Likewise ignore social media at your peril. Your customers and your peers are out there whether you like it or not and they're already talking about you and probably try to talk to you. Take your head out of the sand and go and engage!
In our fifth article we look at how to engage. We'll show you a simple strategy for Twitter and Facebook that really works, for all the right reasons. We'll show you how powerful a medium social media can be and how simple it is to get right.
Coming soon...
The articles in this series will be published each week in during October 2010 so be sure to grab the RSS feed or follow us on Twitter if you don't want to miss them.
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