Posted by Matt Freedman on April 26, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Websites…”can't live with them, can't live without them.” Well perhaps in a business context it should be websites…”if you want one you need to devote the time and the money to make it work, but you can't afford not to have one.”
What's the first thing you do when you want to find out something about another company, a company that you potentially want to buy stuff off, a company that will become a supplier of goods and services. Usually 2 things
- you look them up on the web
- you ask other people if they've ever heard of them
If your reputation is so good that the phone just rings endlessly with new customers, then maybe you can postpone working on your website, but if not, you bet get moving and make sure your website is working for you.
If you are a micro business and can't justify the budget for a website, have a look at this great article from Seth Godin's Blog.
So here are my top reasons why every small business should have a web site.
Establish Credibility – A Web site establishes you as a professional in your field and helps people to feel more comfortable doing business with you. Perception equals reality and your website helps create the perception of your company.
Enhance Customer Relations – Your website is another office and another shopfront. It is often your customers first port of call, so you can really improve your customer relations by making sure your website helps your customers find what they want and seamlessly makes it easy to physically contact you if they can't find what they want.
Increase Customer Spending – Your office is open from 9 to 5, but your website is open 24×7. Customers like to research, enquire and buy at all times of the day. Particularly if they are in different times zones.
The world is your oyster – The more unique your product or service is, the further a field people will come to buy it. A website opens the door to the entire world.
Gather Customer Data – Collecting information on your customers' tastes and interests is harder to do without a website. Web tracking software lets you see who's been to your site, what they looked at and where they came from. Combine this with a good permission marketing strategy and you can start building a database from which to build an entire eMarketing strategy.
Stand Out from the Competition – A small business can have a website that is as effective as a multinational. The web is a true equalizer when it comes to size.
Drive Traffic to an Offline Location – A website can drive customers to your shop, office, practice or phone number. Just cause your business doesn't operate online it doesn't mean that your customers won't look for you online.
Finally remember that the website is the heart of your eMarketing strategy, but it is still only one part. Don't forget to consider the rest.
Posted by Matt Freedman on April 25, 2007 · Leave a Comment
To many Anzac Day is a day of national pride, a public holiday, and a chance to have a few friends round for a BBQ. To those who have fought for Australia or New Zealand, and those who are closed to people who have fought, Anzac Day is a day of remembrance.
My grandfather, Douglas Colman, fought in the World War II as Lance Corporal in the 2nd/18th Battalion and was taken prisoner by the Japanese in the fall of Singapore. He spent some time at Changi and was then moved to work on building the Burma Railway and remained there until the end of the war. He was one of the fortunate ones, after years of starvation and torture, he returned with malnutrition, malaria and a tropical ulcer. He was in very poor physical shape, but his spirit was not broken.
Many of his friends did not return, and many died early after the war from health related issues, but I was fortunate to spend time with him until he died at 74. I was 15. He would tell me many stories about the war, but never the horrifics, just the funny things that happened from time to time, including how he cheated in his eye sight test to get into the army in the first place.
Anzac Day is a very special day for me, because I used to go and help my grandfather set up for the dawn service at Merewether (Newcastle), and each year as he got older and his health deteriorated, he relied more and more on me.
In 2000 I went to Thailand and visited Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai, where he had been a prisoner of war, which put a lot of those stories that he used to tell into context. With over 100,000 asian laborers and 16,000 prisoners of war dieing on the Burma Railway, it was truly a moving experience and one I'll never forget.
My grandfather was a big influence on the person I've become and the lessons that I gained from my grandfather are
- Attitude is one of the most import things in life. My grandfather always had a bright and sunny attitude. The cup was always half full and he always noticed the beautiful things in life. He never gave up, even when he had a tropical ulcer, wasn't being fed and at risk of using his leg.
- Go out of your way to help others. My grandfather was the most generous person I've ever met. He would give you the shirt off his back and would do anything to help others. The only people who survived the Burma Railways were the groups of people who stuck together and helped each other. You only got fed when you worked, so the sick starved. The workers shared their food with each other.
This was only one of thousands of stories of courage and perseverance in the history of Australia at War, and Anzac Day is a day to reflect on them.
Posted by Matt Freedman on April 18, 2007 · Leave a Comment
A friend of mine, Jay Gaibisso, thought he would get a few mates together to watch Australia play Brazil in the world cup football (soccer) last year and organised a screening at the IMAX in Darling Harbour, Sydney. The night was a huge sucess, with a capacity crowd, but the logistics of selling tickets and collecting money turned out to be a nightmare. From this the idea of Sticky Tickets was born, to help event organisers sell their tickets.
You can see a sneak preview of Sticky Tickets by going to www.stickytickets.com.au, and Jay is kicking Sticky Tickets off by organising a special screening of the new blockbuster Spiderman 3 at the IMAX. If you're in Sydney on the 5th May you should come along and see Spiderman 3 on the biggest screen in the world, just go to www.stickytickets.com.au to buy your tickets.
————————
23 April 07: Just to let you know, Jay is also organising a screening of the FA Cup Final of Manchester United vs Chelsea. I'm sure there will be some passionate Man United and Chelsea fans queing up to see this match on the IMAX big screen at Darling Harbour Sydney.
Posted by Matt Freedman on April 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Are you looking for an idea for an online startup, wish you had of thought about, Youtube, Myspace, Skype, eBay, Amazon etc. Well here is a list of some of the Top Australian start-ups.
Once an idea is already taken on the internet it is hard to compete, so you probably don't want to go head to head with any of these unless you.
1. Can come up with a fundamentally better ways to do things. Note: the customer / user must also see it as a fundamentally better way to do things.
2. You have a fundamentally better business process that makes you competive.
You can however, get inspiration from some of these businesses, and use a bit of creativity to come up with a new idea. More often than not innovation is not the creation of a totally new idea, but the pulling together of several old ideas in a different way.
Posted by Matt Freedman on April 5, 2007 · Leave a Comment
I hope you all have a happy Easter. Enjoy the time with your family and friends and drive safely if you are taking a trip.
I'm looking forward to taking 4 days off from the day to day activities, spending a little time working on the big picture stuff and playing tourist in my own backyard with some friends who are coming to stay.
