How to Increase Business By Going Mobile

September 28, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

If you are a business owner in the 21st century then you understand the importance of being online. If you don’t have a website or aren’t on Facebook and other social networking sites, then there is a good chance that you aren’t drawing the business needed to remain successful. But this isn’t new information, and most responsible business owners are online.

However, very few have begun to take advantage of going mobile.

These days many consumers are finding information about the businesses they are interested in through their smartphones or app-enabled prepaid phone plans. If they are out-and-about, consumers aren’t going to run home to check out where to go on their laptop; instead, they are going to go to site’s such as FourSquare or Urbanspoon to find a highly recommended place to go to. If your place of business happens to pop up, they are going to then go and check out your website. And if your website doesn’t pull up, or takes several minutes to load, you can guarantee that they are going to click on your competitor before you can grab their attention.

So what do you do to make sure that your business is accessible as possible? Easy. Make your site mobile friendly. To make your site more mobile friendly, consider the following:

Watch Your Code

When creating your site, make sure that all the code has the proper PHPs in place so that your site can be accessed easily from any browser. Smartphones are very particular about browsers and it can be tricky to know which users will have what browsers. By having more universally accepted code that is heavy in CSS, your website will be more easily accessible through any browser, allowing smartphone users the ability to upload your site regardless of their browsing preference.

Reduce Flash Usage

Really you should abandon the use of Flash altogether as it is definitely on its way out. The archaic Flash just isn’t worth the hassle anymore, and it makes it nearly impossible to upload your site within a reasonable time on a smartphone.

Rethink Design

Because of the use of mobile technology, traditional site design has had to minimize itself. Big pictures, moving objects, and numerous tabs and pages are no longer a necessity, or even a desired quality. When trying to cater to a mobile audience, reduce your site’s design. Keep it clean and simple to navigate so that it will more easily download on a smart phone.

Nearly 80 percent of all consumers already turn to the web before giving a business their patronage, and a large amount of those consumers do so using a mobile phone. Don’t let your business get overlooked simply because it won’t easily upload onto a smart phone’s browser. Integrate clean design and the proper code into your site, and you will have a noticeable increase in business in no time.

Is HP Really Killing the Touchpad?

August 31, 2011 0 Comments

We have all heard the latest hype about the HP Touchpad that was released to the market back in July. After a dismal performance compared to the powerhouse Apple iPad, HP decided to kill off the Touchpad. The way they did this was by creating a firesale and dropping the prices to $99 for the 16gb model and $149 for the 32gb model. Anytime you create a firesale, you can guarantee that people will buy the product. Now, the question should be asked if HP really has a desire to kill the Touchpad.

Though they have taken the time to put out blog posts about the availability of the Touchpad, there are many business leaders that think HP is just using this as a great marketing tactic. Yesterday, HP announced that there will be more Touchpads to hit the market as a “final run”. This has made the hype even more extensive as the people that couldn’t get the tablet during the first initial firesale, might actually get a chance at a second sale. Hmmm…….

You usually do not see large companies such as HP put the amount of money into a product to just kill it after a month on the market. But you do see them create innovative marketing campaigns to drum up interest. The best way is to create demand and reduce supply. Once people wanted the tablet, HP had the customers where they wanted them. This is the same thing that Nintendo did when the Wii first came out. They had a great marketing campaign, but didn’t “anticipate” demand, so their supply was really low. Nintendo told everyone that is was a supplier issue, but most came to the conclusion that they were just controlling the supply to keep the demand high and it worked like a charm. HP could be doing the same thing with their Touchpad.

While I don’t know if HP actually plans on killing off the Touchpad after this “final” production run, we shouldn’t be surprised if they revive it and keep it going because of the interest that this firesale has created. We will probably see the price go back up, but maybe not as much as it was before. Even if they don’t keep the Touchpad alive, they could possibly sell it to another company for good money, so people that have the Touchpad will continue getting proper updates and upgrades. Either way, I should say, Well Played HP!

Spice Up Your Tradeshow Booth Display

February 25, 2011 0 Comments

People that are in sales and marketing, no matter the industry, have probably heard of or been to a trade show. Trade shows are great ways for businesses and individuals to market their services and network with people that have similar interests. While there might not be trade shows in every industry, the popular ones all have large and frequent shows. If you or your business is planning on advertising at a trade show, then you need to know the one rule of trade show marketing.

Every business that plans on attending a trade show as an advertiser has the option to have booths. Booths allow each business to have its own space with their own marketing materials and equipment. Booth spaces vary depending on what you want to advertise and how much you can afford. Large companies usually have very large and detailed booths, with smaller businesses running with the smallest available booth sizes. This is a general rule of thumb when dealing with trade shows. The only thing that is different between each company is how well they design their trade show booth.

Trade show displays are the single most important marketing material that you can have when attending a trade show. If you booth does not wow and attract potential clients, then your business has wasted money. No matter the trade show, you will see a handful of companies that do not design their trade show booth well and it shows. A poorly design trade show display can be the make it break it for some companies. Most booths consist of a graphic display with one or more graphic informational banner.

A professionally designed trade show display is going to be on the costly upfront, but they can be used for multiple shows. The upfront cost can be carried over multiple shows, so it works out to be a great marketing cost that every serious company should consider. Booths with spectacular trade show displays tend to have more foot traffic and inquiries. Besides networking, potential leads is the main reason for trade shows. If your business is unable to justify the cost of a full trade show display, then professionally designed vinyl banners might be a better option.

While not as breath-taking, vinyl banners can be attached to tables to help attendees understand your mission and vision. Not only can you use a banner for your trade show booth, but you can also use it at your company office for walk-ins and potential clients. Potential clients love to see that you are serious about marketing, so not putting your best foot forward is only going to hurt you. Taking the time to create a stunning trade show booth will help any business in any industry. Not only are trade shows fun, but they still provide a great way to secure verified leads. Don’t miss out because you didn’t market your company properly.

Easy Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

February 16, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

As a fledgling business, chances are you can’t put the funds behind your marketing like a larger corporation. Consequently, you should focus your attention in areas that you know will have the greatest effect. Starting small doesn’t mean that you have to be narrow your approach. There are many ways to promote your business that is both beneficial to your business and your bottom line.

If you want to affect your businesses financial strength, you should look into hiring an internet marketing company. They can assist you on devising marketing strategies that work well, and increase your online presence by showing you the best ways to deliver your content and brand. They can also give you an outside perspective on ways in which to direct your marketing dollars that you might not have otherwise considered. Internet marketing companies also use SEO tools to improve traffic to your Web site.

You’ll find, as a small business, creating lasting connections to your local community to be exponentially beneficial. You can use free online tools, such as Yahoo Local and community forums, that will inform potential customers about your business and the kind of services you offer. Stay active in your community and use social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. You can use them to update clients and potential customers about special deals and events connected to your business. Social media allows businesses to cheaply market their services and create connections to the community they serve.

Update your web site often with content and information. This doesn’t mean that you should alter a marketing approach that is consistently shown itself to be work, such as focusing on social networks, but be vigilant about updating content on the main site.

Follow these tips and remain open to other ways in which to increase your businesses long-term viability. In a technology-driven society, creating an online presence is key to building a client base.

A Word of Advice

December 21, 2010 2 Comments

I speak to many small and medium sized business owners on a daily basis. It is something that I enjoy and look forward to. There are many great ideas that come from small businesses and I hear my fair share of them. I also hear a lot of business pitches. Lately, this website has been inundated with emails from businesses that want to provide me with services. Now, I don’t mind getting emails from legitimate people and businesses because as a small business owner myself, I need services too. Just remember that there is a certain way to present your services to any business.

My word of advice to any business that wishes to provide a service to another business or consumer is to make sure to provide your business name and a professional address when attempting to contact them. I have seem more emails in the past couple of weeks that want to sell me a service, but don’t have a professional email and don’t provide me with the business name. Do you think I am going to give the time of day to respond back to your email asking for more information about your service? If you think so, please never contact this website again. The only thing that I will do with such an email is push the delete button. If you cannot take the time to inform me about your company, then don’t expect to get time from me to reply. If you want to work with businesses and consumers, then learn how to create a professional email explaining who you are and what you do. Give background information about your business and provide some testimonials or references. I do my due diligence, so if there is no business name, then expect your marketing email to be trashed.

iMark Interactive