Grow Your Business Online FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, STARTUP FOUNDERS AND SOLO PRACTITIONERS A N D R E W P E R C E Y P R O M E T H E U S W E B S O L U T I O N S
Introduction What Why this topic? Online presence = existence Effective online presence = $$ Presentation Goals Give best practices and tools Help avoid pitfalls Give different budget options Who Andrew Percey MIT 95 6-1 8 years as Engineering Mgr 6 years as Marketing Mgr 2 years running startups Prometheus Web Solutions Targeted online marketing Customer-focused web sites Revenue model planning
Find the best resources for your web design and marketing Build your optimal business site Attract your target customers MyAwesome BusinessSite.com ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Build Your Optimal Business Site DECIDE YOUR PURPOSE
Build Your Optimal Business Site DECIDE YOUR PURPOSE Your business web site is a tool to gain customers and drive revenue. What do you need your business site to do? Promote your products and services? Sell your products and services? Inform your customers? Build a community of customers? Interact with your customers? Entertain your customers?
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Build Your Optimal Business Site MAINTAIN YOUR FOCUS
Build Your Optimal Business Site MAINTAIN YOUR FOCUS Your business web site is not about you. It s about your customers. Speak in their language Treat them with respect Answer for your visitors in the first 5 seconds: What can I do? Is this for me? How do I benefit?
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Build Your Optimal Business Site CHOOSE TECHNOLOGY WISELY
Build Your Optimal Business Site CHOOSE TECHNOLOGY WISELY Technology is to enable your customers, not overwhelm them. Use only what you need Best approach for success: Build a little, test quickly, repeat There are great options for all budgets
Web Site Design Options Quality & Capability Custom CMS Ruby on Rails, Django, and other web development frameworks Dedicated hosting DIY WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and other open-source Content Management Systems Shared, VPS or dedicated hosting Drag and drop Do-It-Yourself site builders Free or shared hosting Cost
Attract Your Target Customers
Attract Your Target Customers It s all about getting the right eyeballs on your content. If you build it they will come Once you have their attention, focus on conversion You want fast, affordable, and targeted marketing that best fits your business model
Key Marketing Options Targeting The effectiveness of each approach depends upon your business. Social Media Push sharing, contests SEO Pull - searching Email Marketing Push news, promotions, relationship Google Adwords Pull searching Push branding, promotions Print, radio and tv ads Velocity Cost
Marketing Effectiveness A local CPA in Boston A car manufacturer A dating advice blog An online finance tool Google Adwords SEO Email Marketing Social Media Print, radio, tv Ads Effectiveness further depends upon your specific business models, target markets, personal strengths, etc.
Find the Best Resources
Find the Best Resources You win if you do what you re good at and delegate everything else. Be honest about your time and abilities Use mentors for guidance and support (VMS) Assemble a solid team that meets your budget
Marketing and Web Design Teams Quality & Capability Anything Prometheus Web in Solutions this space? Design Firm / Marketing Firm Employees Contractors DIY See resource list Cost
Grow Your Business Online Your web site is a tool to enable your customers You must actively attract your customers You succeed by forming the right team Recommended Resources: www.prometheuswebsolutions.com/iap Questions?