Business for Business Internet Marketing: Business survival and the Internet !

Business for Business Internet Marketing: Business survival and the Internet !: "As long ago as the 1990's there have been predictions on the way the internet is going. The change that we have seen to date is nothing to ..."

Business survival and the Internet !

As long ago as the 1990's there have been predictions on the way the internet is going. The change that we have seen to date is nothing to what is coming in the next few years and the future. It is not always safe to predict the future but if you consider the way the internet has influenced our lives to date it is not difficult to predict the changes that will come. Changes that affect everything we do and the way we live.

I am not referring to the movement towards social media and the latest trends in business promotion but the way the internet is influencing how people live, interact and pursue their daily activities. The changes the internet has brought that influence and affects the way we all interact socially and in business. Like the printing press and education that changed society in the past, the journey will be difficult, some will resist, many will gain and many will lose.

The effect the internet has had to date is small, only taken up by those who see the possibilities. Only a small minority who are engaged are actually influencing the creation of trends that are seen as the greatest thing or the next killer application.

The vast majority of internet users are joining unaware of the consequences and not sure of the possibilities but want to be part of it, the ‘me too people’.

A sales medium or something else?

Business owners see the internet as another sales medium, individuals see it as many things: A place to meet, a place to share, a place to learn, a place to make purchases. These are all the positive facets, we also have to think of the ‘dark side’ a place to corrupt, a place to mislead, a place to steal, a place to groom.

I have been researching the effects the internet has had on the retail industry in the last 10 years and the results are quite scary for those who occupy the High Street. At speaking events - across the UK and in Europe - I have been sharing with audiences about the changes that have taken place and are yet to come. It has frightened many but the evidence is irrefutable.

Too many of the old schools, in Business, the Press and Politics do not comprehend the enormity the internet will have in everything we do. Business, society and life will never be the same again.

The vast majority of business owners are reacting to the technology created by the web developers and trends internet users create by their volume and curiosity. These businesses are jumping on the band wagon hoping they won’t get left behind. The movers and shakers are the likes of Amazon and eBay - and don’t get it right every time – They are the ones who thought it through from the beginning and are now reaping the rewards.

Online Retail

The retail industry has a lot of catching up to do. They are still applying old business models to the internet. It is not the High Street it is the Internet, it is new and in most cases it is the blind leading the blind. Business owners are reliant on web designers and developers to find the solution to their needs but these are not business people or marketers. They simply take the clients money and build a website from a template and then put the clients content into it. No consideration has been made for the people who will be using the website.

The News

The press are also applying old business models to the delivery and monetisation of the news using the internet and they are failing rapidly. There was an interesting commentary by a journalist who was deriding bloggers on the BBC last evening. He has not realised that the mainstream press have lost out to a fast moving agile sub culture that is gaining momentum from the need of the user for faster and more responsive news. Not from across the world but from local events and issues. Watch out as twitter takes over from the press for local news and postings form amateur journalists on every street corner armed with a mobile phone, a blog and a twitter feed.

Social media

Society has already changed beyond recognition and we will see more of this in the next few years. Some governments have already tried to stop the march of the internet by blocking and filtering information. However, like the hacker each time you put in a firewall the hacker sees it as a challenge to get around.

The vast majority of social media users are blissfully unaware of the consequences of their actions, they are feeding the speed of change by joining. On social networks you can see everything you would expect in a soap opera. I have seen the early development of a love story to an acrimonious divorce. There has been the offer of a job to the public sacking of an employee because they connected to their new boss when they started in the job and then published a diatribe of how bad it was working in the company. This is not fiction it is the real thing, happening in real time and far more relative than the six week soap story. Does this mean the end of the soap opera as we know it?

The future

We are at the beginning of the story, I cannot predict with any accuracy of what technology or trend will spring out of the next great website. One thing I can be sure it will happen because the technology, the will, and the momentum are there.

The internet is a self service environment and whatever way you want to use it you have to take this into consideration. The question that business owners should be asking themselves is: What do users want? Can we provide it in an easy and timely way that meets their needs and wants?

Who will survive?

It is not really about the strong surviving but about the ones who can see, those people who have the broad knowledge from many sectors and are open to the challenges that the internet brings. They are not the young but the wise, the ‘T’ shaped people with a wide knowledge base which is focused on a core area, the internet.

Kind regards

Nigel T Packer

The Insurance company website that doesn't want customers!

I was sent a customer feedback survey email yesterday from a well known supplier of business insurance. The company had provided a good service to me in the past and I was pleased to complete the form as it said in the email that it would only take a few minutes.

Is it a phishing email?

The first thing that struck me about the email was the lack of brand identity - No Logo or heading. At the bottom of the email there was an email address for the MD of the company. No contact details or company number - is this a phishing email?

I decided to contact the MD to confirm if this was a legitimate request. So I looked the company name up in Google. The site I was presented with had no Contact us page but did have various services they provide including a tab marked Business. I clicked on it where I was met by a new web page and a number of options to select from. On this Business page there was a self promotion advertisement saying ‘Contact Us Our team of specialist advisers would love to help you. Please call us free between: Weekdays 8:30am to 5:30pm’ A nice message but No telephone number!

Back to Google to find their telephone number on a directory website. 

On the phone I got through to the call centre where the operator did not know who the person I was looking for was. She worked in a different department in a different town.  She put me through to the head office where I spoke to the marketing department.  They were aware of the MD and then told me that he was away on holiday until the next week.

They also explained that they had sent out the survey email and it was a legitimate request.

The poor user experience

My whole user experience in this case was poor and if I had wanted to buy insurance from this multi-million turnover company then I would have had quite a job. Unlike most users I went far above the usual levels of persistence to get a response purely to see where it would lead.

Most individuals would have given up when they could not find a telephone number on the website. Hit the back button and looked for an alternative provider.

How many customers are they losing each day from a poor testing procedure and unconnected promotion of their services?

It is hard to tell how many potential customers you lose each day from your websites.  The only way to find out is to carry out a website user experience review with an expert.  The cost of which is far less that the loss of revenue and sales and the brand damage that it causes.

If you want to know the name of the company then email me at info@businessforbusiness.co.uk and I will tell you.  If you are the Insurance Company then please get in touch and we can arrange a Website User Experience Review for you.  The RoI on a User review is between 200% and 700%.

Business for Business Internet Marketing: The Insurance company website that doesn't want cu...

Business for Business Internet Marketing: The Insurance company website that doesn't want cu...: "I was sent a customer feedback survey email yesterday from a well known supplier of business insurance. The company had provided a good ser..."

Business for Business Internet Marketing: The Elevator Pitch and Networking events

Business for Business Internet Marketing: The Elevator Pitch and Networking events

The Elevator Pitch and Networking events

I spent last evening at a networking event where 50 business owners had 60 seconds to introduce themselves and their business.

Like speed networking and many expensive networking organisations it followed the same format.

Each person in turn stood up and said "I am John and I own a xxxx company called ABC. We build websites that help you get more customers etc etc etc... and we do internet marketing etc etc etc..."

There were 6 web designers in the room all offering the same service and all proclaiming to be the best at what they do.

I had arranged to be the last to speak because I knew I would be longer than the allotted 60 seconds. (90 seconds in total)

When it was my turn I stood up and immediately asked a question - context setting - How much money was spent online in the UK last week? I had a few responses - all too low.

I then gave the answer and the audience had forgotten the rest of the people who had spoken. How much are you getting of that? - The thought provoker and hook.

"You all have websites! But do you know if they are helping your customers or driving them away?"

I then went on to tell the audience about our special offer of an independent website user experience review for £250 plus VAT. I also added the five most important reasons for carrying out the review - the pitch.

I then showed them my book Internet marketing How to get a website that works for your business and said they can buy it from Amazon. -Credibility

I gave my name and business name invited them to meet with me at the end of proceeding to book an appointment for a review. - Action point.

At the end I got 2 bookings and fifteen business cards with follow up calls to make.

Everyone who I spoke to said they enjoyed my presentation and it was the best of the evening. They felt I had informed them and it was memorable.

I will be going to the same event again in September and It will be interesting to see if any of the presentations will have changed.

I see, at many events of this type, the paper with written scripts come out, the nervous monologues and the uncertain hesitation from the various business owners.

If you are not passionate and engaging about your business how do they expect the audience to engage? How do you expect the audience to believe that you will look after their business if you are hesitant about what you can do or what you do or have to write it down to tell someone?

At these types of events everyone is selling and no one is looking at starting and building a business relationship.

I hope my little dialogue is of interest and helps you to consider the options that are available. How you engage your audience influences the way they will react to you and your business. It is the same online except you do not get any feedback as you cannot see your audience. This is why we run the website user experience review clinics.

If you would like to find out more about the user experience on your website contact me to book a review. on 08450 550 510