What’s New
Make your website popular, current and relevant
Websites can be a very successful marketing tool. They are controllable, they don’t complain and they work 24 hours per day. The content is easily updated, and they present a very convenient and relevant ”public face” to any business.
Via Google, we are all able to access information in our own way, in our time. We can buy and sell, or gain information, data, statistics, reviews and monitor public opinion on news items of the day. They have opened doors to us for communication, news and information never imagined just a decade ago.
But websites only work best when they are active and current. Google is a great search engine but it responds directly to the input of the website owner. If you update your site and contribute to it regularly to keep it current and relevant, you will continue to be among the most “popular” in the Google rating system, and you will appear early in their search listings.
If you build and launch your website, heave a sigh of relief, and forget about it for the next year, Google will detect “no action” and you will rapidly slip down their rankings when new search enquiries are received for the services or products you offer. Google will prefer a competitor’s site which is active and working in its selection process to your “non active” site.
Similarly, links to your website from other websites also tells Google you are “popular”. Often you can create links to your website from many free “find a” websites. Those links may be tedious to set up, but once in place, they tell Google you are a website which is “in demand…” and you will stay up high in the Google “rankings”.
Geoff maintains websites for a number of his clients, and a critical part of his brief is to keep them current and relevant so they remain high in the Google rankings. Regular maintenance and upkeep may have its price but the end result is worth it. How many times have you been frustrated by a website which is obviously out of date? The message you receive is that this company doesn’t respect this communication medium. If their website is out of date, what is their attitude to their business… and what is the image of that company?
A simple investmnent of time and effort now can pay dividends. Make the website somone’s responsibility, and if you dont have the resource inhouse, contact Geoff Mowday. He can develop a programme of content updates which will ensure you are up with the play and leading the pack in search engine optimisation. If your website creates only one extra customer for you, it has done its job… and it can go on doing this, 24 hours per day.
Look at www.maritimealumni.ac.nz or www.wellnz.co.nz as a couple of good sites which Geoff maintains on behalf of client interests.
Everyone benefits from rehearsal…
Getting business in a small market can be tough, so there is nothing wrong with planning and rehearsing your new business presentations.
About 20 years ago Geoff helped the insurance broking industry into the business of pitching for new business with a presentation. Then it was all flip charts and diagrams. Today of course, most new business proposals come in power point with video clips, sound over and all types of other fancy refinements. But however you do the power point (and remember simple is best for the audience and less stressful for the presenter), it is the actual people and what they say which makes or breaks the presentation.
Geoff is quite upfront about the need for rehearsal. Even the most experienced and seasoned businessmen still benefit from a rehearsal. Getting the words right, conveying the right messages and presenting the information in a logical order and in bite sized segments helps the audience, and wins their support. You only have once chance to get it right!
Whatever new business you may be after, think about what you are going to say and when. Write it down. You don’t need a full blown script but at least make sure you cover the key points and don’t forget anything. Then rehearse and rehearse. If you have more than one presenter, rehearse them all. Let them hear each other and interact. Everyone needs to be alert and interested even if they are not actually doing the speaking. Their body language “off stage” is just as important as the words that are being spoken on stage.
Remember, success is when preparation, planning and execution collide. And even if you don’t win the business, you can accept that if you know you gave it your very best shot!