QR codes – Making Print Interactive

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Have you seen them? They are popping up all over. Strange little boxes that look like a cross between a bar code and a child’s puzzle. They are called QR codes.

QR, or Quick Response, codes have been around since 1994 when they were founded in Japan. In the last couple years, however, they have started to find their way into our world. Fuelled by the proliferation of smart phones, these little codes are adding interactivity to otherwise static displays.

A QR code can be assigned to connect your smart phone or iPad to a website, email, video, vcard, or text message. They are being used in marketing, entertainment, training, community notices, or almost anywhere additional information will be a value. You should start seeing these codes showing up in your favorite magazines, museums, billboards, or anywhere someone wants to connect with you.

To join in the fun, download a QR code reader application for your device; aim the camera at the QR code and you’ll be connected to the remote location. You may win a coupon, be given more information on a subject, or offered the opportunity to opt into a text message campaign.

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Does Your Website Help or Hurt Your Business?

I’m a small business owner and the other day I had to fax a document to my insurance company.  What a pain!  To start with, I don’t own a fax machine.   My office uses virtual phone systems (Skype, cellular, and Google Voice) so I don’t even have a phone line to plug a fax machine into.   To fax the document, I had to take the 14-page stack of papers to a FedEx store and pay per page.

I assume the insurance company set up their fax process to improve efficiency; which makes good business sense.  I wonder, however, if they gave any consideration to the impact on their customer.  Their efficiency created a hassle for me that might make me examine changing carriers when my policy lapses.

So what does this have to do with your website?   Well, how much thought have you given to the way your website appears to prospective customers.  Is it up to date?  Is it easy to navigate?  Is the content relevant and important?  Can customers interact effectively with you to get answers they need in order to make a buying decision?  If not, you may be creating the web version of my fax nightmare.  In this case, however, if you don’t meet your prospects expectations you can be sure they will move on to your competition.

Conventional wisdom says that any business needs a website, just like they need a phone system, fax machine, and parking lot.  The truth is that in today’s world hard-wired phones, fax machines, and bricks and mortar structures are not required to operate a successful business.  The same is true of the traditional website, in fact, a poorly designed or out-dated site may become a silent liability.

People use the Internet to find information they need.  Your killer presentation may have wowed the prospect in his/her office, but if the boss visited your site and wasn’t impressed; you face an uphill battle to regain credibility.   Even with a rocking cool website, if a bad review of your company shows up in the same Google search, you could be loosing businesses without even understanding why.

So what makes a website relevant in today’s world.  There are many answers, but here are some tips to improve your site:

• Avoid the urge to make your site a commercial.  Save the sales pitch for closing the deal.  Instead, focus on making your site informational and easy to navigate.
• Let your customers buy online.  If your competition offers online sales, you need to be in the game or you’ll loose market share.
• Understand the information your prospects desire and give it to them.
• Make sure you show up in the search.  It is a good practice to search for the keywords you use on your website and track where your site appears.  If online competition is strong, consider hiring a professional to optimize your content.
• Update your content regularly.  A blog is a great way to keep new content flowing to your site.  This not only helps your search engine ranking, but also gives prospects a reason to come back to your site.
• Think about the sites you visit regularly.  How can you make your site a favorite for your customers?
• Consider website alternatives.  Social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn offer great exposure and the ability to easily interact with those who find you.  For some, these sites are taking the place of more traditional websites.
• Maintain profiles in the major Social Media outlets and link to them from your email, newsletters, and website.  Social Media sites offer low cost access (many free), are easy to update, allow you to directly connect with others, and offer tremendous search engine optimization.

Why Your Web Site May Be Irrelevant

A Quiz for You

Every business needs a strong website, right?  If not, how would anyone find your company when they Google your name?  Who would know what you do or the products you sell (at least the ones you listed in 2007 when you last updated)?  Hey look, the big money spent on your website with that hip marketing firm created a 24/7 presence and lots of credibility.  That is critical in a competitive world – Isn’t it?

Let’s take a quick quiz to see whether your web strategy is on track:

When was the last time you visited your own website?

A)   Today, heck I’ve got the site open right now and am updating a conversation

B)   Last week.

C)   Last month or maybe a couple months ago, I can’t really remember.

D)   Why would I visit my own site – this test seems a little silly to me.

How many people visit your site every day?

A)   Lots and our traffic has been increasing due to our web management efforts such as blogging, SEO, social media strategy, etc.

B)   Probably quite a few, we get regular leads from our website

C)   Not sure, but the IT guys tell me it is quite popular

D)   Who knows, our web guy says things like analytics are a myth anyway.

When was the last time your website was updated?

A)   Our site is very dynamic; my staff, our followers, and I update it constantly.

B)   We post items to our site every week or so.

C)   It costs so much to have our web designer/IT guys/insert-your-designated- web-manager’s-name-here make updates we only do it once or twice a year.

D)   Our business hasn’t changed in the last 3 years, why would our web site need to be updated?

How much of your current business can be attributed in any way to your web presence?

A)   90% or more

B)   50 – 90%

C)   Less than 50%

D)   I don’t have any way of knowing, again, this quiz seems pretty silly to me.

If you answered A or B to most of these questions, it is obvious that your web presence is an important part of your business strategy.  You use your website, blog, and social media as important parts of your sales and customer retention process.

If you answered C or D to all or most of these, I recommend giving serious consideration to the resources you are dedicating to your Internet presence.  If business is good, perhaps you don’t need a dynamic web strategy (there still are businesses out there who survive without technology at the core).  On the other hand, if your sales and marketing efforts are not producing as they used to, perhaps your website has become Irrelevant.  Stay tuned to find out what you can do to make things better.