Analytics

Posts Tagged ‘customers’

This series of posts is for the person asking “How do I start my own website?”.  To begin with:  Strategic planning and long term vision will serve you best in your choice of domain names.  One of the best things you can do for your fledgling website is to bestow it with an appropriate, catchy, easy to remember domain name. Good search engine optimization, or SEO, begins with domain name selection.  Not to mention your positioning and branding with your customer.

OK, so now you’ve found the domain name you want, but someone else owns it.  But you really wanted it badly.  Can the domain name still be acquired?  Maybe.  It’s possible, but with conditions to consider.  With some research and hard work you can get the domain name you want even if it is already spoken for.  Instead, let’s check out some alternative strategies to get the domain name you want:

Hyphenated Names One strategy to consider if the domain name you want is already taken would be to hyphenate it, as in turning ricksantiqueshop.com into ricks-antique-shop.com.  Is it always the best strategy?  Maybe, maybe not.  For example, if the domain name you want is already taken AND well known, most likely this is not a good idea, because most web surfers would likely just type the non-hyphenated version into their browsers and thus could end up at your competitor’s website.  Not what you were after!  Also, if you do decide to take a hyphenated domain name, remember to keep it short!  The longer the domain name and the more dashes you put between words the harder it will be for the end user to remember, and therefore makes it more error prone, which could cost you customers who never make it to your website.  So, the shorter the better.  Hyphenating a domain name might be a good strategy for you in the following scenario: Let’s say the domain name you want is taken, and the current owner is not willing to give it up.  After researching it you find that there is no website published under the domain name, or perhaps there is but it is poorly designed and gets very little traffic.  In a case like that hyphenating the domain name might make sense and in fact could be a wise strategy.  But be careful:  the last thing you want is to cause internet domain name confusion because you have decided on a domain name registration that is so close to a major competitor’s name that you end up losing business to them.

Longer or Shorter?  You can purchase domain names up to 67 characters in length.  You could purchase a domain name like thelongestdomainnameintheworldandthensome
andthensomemoreandmore.com which is 63 characters long, but why would you want to do that?  Who would want to type it into a browser?  My website is www.StartYourWebsiteToday.com  and has a domain name that tells what kind of website you will be surfing to.  Good name selection can be helpful also with search engine ranking.  In as few characters as possible the name of the site, the purpose of the site, and the keywords of the site have all been neatly put together in a domain name.  Shorter is better here.

Brand Name or Generic  The answer here is it depends.  If your business is known by a brand name, and it is a well known name, of course it is the best possible strategy to try to register that domain name.  Budweiser.com is a site that is well known and gets a lot of traffic, even though there is nothing specifically in the domain name that says anything about beer.  But because Budweiser is known all over the world as a beer brand, people know what they are getting when they surf to the website.  If your brand name is well known, definitely try to obtain your brand name as a domain name.  But if your company is Nike or Coca Cola or Budweiser don’t discount the idea of buying the domain name shoes.com or soda.com or beer.com if they are available as well.  People often search the web using generic terms, more so even than brand names.  A person is more likely to search the internet with generic terms like shoes or footwear or sneakers than to search by a single brand name, even one as big as Nike.  Research your domain name as thoroughly as you can, including looking for generic keywords which could be a good fit as a potential domain name.  You can have as many domain names as you want pointing to a single website, so the more generic terms you can acquire that directly describe your business, the better.   A generic name if your business is new or not yet well known can get great results, if you can find a good one.  To start your search for your own unique domain name, here is a link to a domain name search engine.  Good website design begins always with the wise choice of a domain name. 

Have you ever asked yourself what the greatest determinant of client contentment? It is added value.
In a highly competitive market, where we have to fight for every customer, where we all try to earn some money, the best proven tactics you should follow is differentiation. Try and become more than a lawyer - experienced and reliable adviser, more than a store - someone’s favorite bookstore, more than a SEO agency - trusted professional who is ready to help you.
Achieving such positive characteristics is very hard, this is why you should always search for possibilities of adding value to our customers. People don’t like to be sold, they want their problem to be resolved. In simple words, try to give before trying to get. It is a best way to increase your customers loyalty. Let’s review the most important value adds.
Let your clients know you are thinking about them. Send them articles, your newsletters and other relevant info, which they could be interested in.
Provide your clients with some educative materials. Offer them to partake in useful seminars or conferences on subjects relevant to your business. They will appreciate it.
Offer your selected clients some advantages. Let them be first to discover the items from the new collection, invite them to meet the author of a bestseller in your book store.
Report your clients the current account situation. Periodic reports may serve as your great performance record, or, vice versa, show you that something is wrong and needs improvement. Another tip is finding ways your client can save money using your services.  For instance, redesigning a website for your client is the part of SEO and PPC service package.
Invite your client to participate. Many clients will look forward to participating. Talk to your clients, chat with them live, be transparent, build trust with them, get them acquainted with what exactly needs to be done and how. Don’t hesitate to ask your clients what they think. Let them feel you value them. Remember, they are human beings not robots.
Assist your clients to network.
Recommend other noticeable services or products to your clients. Make it easier for them to turn to you for a piece of advice, even if it is not something you are offering as a service.
By building a trust between you and your client, by offering a value added services, you will receive the benefits of service and relationship, which will positively influence your all business processes and your business experience in general.