Archive for July, 2011
Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog Blog…
Friday, July 29th, 2011We are bad bloggers. We preach from the rooftops that blogging is important, updating your website with new and fresh content is important, and yet we fail to do so ourselves.
We are like the barber that never gets a haircut.
Why don’t we blog more often? For the same reason most people don’t… we are just too busy with actually running a business and serving our clients.
What most people fail to realize (and we fail to lead by example) is that blogging can be a great way to drive in new business! It can build an audience of people who are interested about a topic and drive search engine optimization results to your site.
You can easily get started with your own blog (for free) by using something like wordpress.com or blogspot.com.
The better solution, however, is to integrate a blog directly into your website. You can call it news, information section, or something else if you prefer not to use the blog term for some reason.
An integrated blog (like what you are reading now) fits right in with a website, keeps your brand consistent, and helps with your search engine optimization.
There are not a ton of business’ here in St. Augustine or Jacksonville currently blogging, but it’s a growing trend.
We are going to try and do a better job of leading by example and will let you know what the results are.
Stay tuned here for more news, ideas, and tips. If you have questions, or would like to see info on a specific topic, leave us a comment below!
Your Website: The Friendly Receptionist
Thursday, July 28th, 2011As the first point of contact for your customers, your business’ website should be like a friendly receptionist. Potential clients and customers visiting your site; see your site, as indicative of the type, quality, and style of work you do. Presenting a sloppy unfriendly website, with poorly thought out navigation, and missing or confusing information, is like having a receptionist that client’s are afraid to approach, and who wouldn’t know the answer anyway. You wouldn’t hire an employee like that so stop letting your website turn customers away from your business instead of inviting them in.
Knowledge
The Friendly Receptionist would not be very good at her job if all she did was act super friendly, but not actually know anything. Similarly the best designed website is no good if the information isn’t easily accessible, concise, and above all pertinent. Many businesses, new to the internet, tend to want to include every tiny detail of their business online so as to reach every possible customer. It’s great if your Salon sells hair products, but if 90% of your business is made through selling hair cuts, then the information for your hair products does not need to be as featured as the information about hair cuts. A better approach is to think like a customer and assume your website is your Friendly Receptionist. What information should she have readily available?
Warmth
We all have experience with the other type of receptionist as well. The one who knows everything about everything, but is so cold, and unfriendly that you really try not to bother her and find out what you need on your own. That’s how some websites are. The information they have is great unfortunately it is just too “ugly” to access. The wonderful information that you need is hidden in such a cold unfriendly way, that you’d almost rather just find it elsewhere. This problem is just as serious as the lack of information on an otherwise “friendly” site. How can she help anyone if they don’t want to spend anytime with her, or are afraid to approach her?
You Care
The best websites have the information you need, in a “wrapper” that is friendly and easy to use. Why are these two things so important? It tells your customer’s, that you care about them. We want to feel like the people and businesses we interact with care about us and our satisfaction. We want those businesses to make us feel like they are working with us towards a common goal. Design Extensions is here to make sure that you feel cared about, by making sure that we adhere to the principles of the Friendly Receptionist when designing, and building your website. Simple, beautiful websites, with easy to navigate menus, easy to access information, presented in a friendly inviting way will keep clients coming back, and recommending you to their friends.

