My last blog of 2011 was about turning over the captain’s chair to my staff while I took a 3 week vacation. A real vacation at that, not glued to my e-mail or solving problems from afar. I
let them sail the ship and I relaxed. It was a welcome change.
If you have an experienced team, the captain is only needed when you hit rough water. Steering the ship through a crisis is a learned skill set, sharpened by experience. Whether we have fallen into a leadership position, got forced into taking the helm or arrived at it by design, the short strokes are that every ship needs a captain and every project needs a champion. Why? Because there are always storms to navigate and only one person can make that decision. No two people are likely to approach the same set of circumstances in the same manner. As my older brother likes to say, “There are lots of right answers”.
When I started my business 24 years ago, my older brother’s advice was… don’t do it. He had been in business for a decade already and knew the perils I would face. I believe it was something I was meant to do and as I may have stated before, being overly optimistic and somewhat naive are fundamental qualities of being in business for yourself.
I’ve seen a lot of businesses fail. Solid companies with hard working owners – most spent too much money on the wrong things at the wrong time. Many fell behind with tax remittances. Some coasted when they should have forged ahead. Some forged ahead only to have a dramatic shift in technology or market conditions do them in. I feel very fortunate that my business is solid as we march into 2012.
For anyone thinking of starting their own business or are in business already and questioning their direction, here are 5 tips that people have shared with me and I know to be true:
Lee’s quote for the day
“You’ll know when you’re going in the right direction by the number of hills you climb, obstacles you overcome and forks in the road that require decisions to be made.” ![]()
“What is Google Analytics?” “Why should I use Google Analytics?” “How can I make money from Google Analytics?” “Why would I PAY to use Google Analytics?”
Well… I’ll answer the last question first, Google Analytics is FREE!
Now to the first question; Google Analytics is a system that tracks and displays critical information of your websites performance. In short, it shows you who is using and viewing your website. It shows you where your visitors are coming from, how long they stay on your site, which page is most popular, and so much more.
Next question… If you have a website, then it makes sense to utilize Google Analytics to allow you to understand how well your website is working for you. You will see that if your homepage has a high bounce rate then your website is not engaging potential clients. Your marketing and advertising strategy may be driving the wrong type of customer to your site, or it may be time for a refreshed design or a clearer more impactful message. (Bounce Rate is an averaged percentage between the number of visitors who leave your site immediately and the number who stay and click through to multiple pages.)
“How can I make money from Google Analytics?” It’s not that you can make money from signing up but it will help you earn money. Most people reading this blog will be in B2B rather than B2C so ecommerce and tracking ROI from direct sales through your website is not relevant. However, there are ways to ensure your web presence is earning dollars. You can set goals; for non-ecommerce sites, goals would be what you want your website to accomplish whether it’s filling out a form, downloading a file, or emailing you. Values can be placed on certain goals if you need $ numbers to work with. Our IT guru Jerry wrote a previous blog article explaining Google Analytics in greater detail. http://www.trypm.com/blog/2011/05/27/google-analytics-interpreting-key-metrics-for-a-transportation-related-website/
10 Benefits of Google Analytics
1- Allows you to see how many people are visiting your website
2- Allows you to see how many returning vs. new visitors you are getting
3- Allows you to see where your visitors are coming from
4- Allows you to see how long visitors are on your site and how many pages they view
5- Allows you to see what the most popular page on your site is
6- Allows you to see how your visitors found your site
7- Allows you to see what the most common search terms are
8- Allows you to see a comparison to previous performance
9- Allows you to see which sites you are getting the most referrals from
10- Allows you to see how you stack up against other similar websites if you choose to submit yours
The other option is to market yourself through Google AdWords which I will explain in my next blog post. AdWords will take a bit of an investment but it, in combination with Google Analytics, will allow you to target your message more appropriately and spend your marketing dollars more effectively.
From my experience, many of our larger B2B customers view their site as a customer portal for relevant data and are not overly concerned with anything beyond that functionality. During this past recession, our company has shifted a lot of our resources to web development and understanding how to make it an effective marketing tool for our customers. Without getting too technical, my top 10 suggestions for a more marketing orientated B2B website are as follows:
 Lee’s quote for the day,
“To catch the big fish, your marketing needs to have the right hook, line and thinkers.”
Use the form below to search the site:
Still not finding what you're looking for? Drop a comment on a post or contact us so we can take care of it!
All entries, chronologically...