Service Providers: are you looking for a way to keep track of your projects all in one place (including budget, payments, and deliverables)? In January 2010 I began using the system at Mavenlink. My clients are loving it, and it’s the perfect way for me to organize my projects and communicate with clients through the entire process from beginning to completion.

They will soon be adding the abilities to do proposals and contracts in the system as well! Be sure to check them out…they are currently offering a free 30 day trial!

What? I know that’s what you’re saying when you read the title of this post, right? The reason I called it that is because this project will be ongoing, and I love that. The recently launched Matrix Medical Jobs project, has not only been the biggest I’ve been involved in so far in my career, it’s also been the most fun, as well as providing a highly valuable learning experience.

The project involved designing a main site, and then 48 “branch” sites within. Each of those sites is located on a sub-domain, and 10 of them have completely different designs, then color changes within those 10 “categories”. Also, 11 Wordpress Blog themes to match the main site and 10 of the “branch” sites. While challenging, it has been a challenge I met with enthusiasm, because of the experience it provides!

Now that those sites have launched, we have been working on our print media for marketing. Business cards, sales sheets, presentation folders/sales packet, and more. It is very exciting. I’ve always loved the process of building an entire business image package, from Logo, to website, to print media.

There will be more sites added to this group in the future, and I look forward to a wonderful on-going relationship with this very talented group of people!

A few years ago I worked with my friend Elizabeth Varian on a website for a wonderful lady named Lori Saitz. Lori’s incredible products were truly an amazing concept to me at the time, and I knew that she would be successful…not only because of the product, but also because of her attitude and professionalism.

Since that time her business HAS grown, and just recently – March 24, 2009 – one of her products (Zen Crunch) was featured on the Rachel Ray show as the “Snack of the Day”!

The absolute best part of Lori’s business-Zen Rabbit Cookies, is that it’s built around the concept of expressing Gratitude. No matter what you need to show your appreciation for, or to whom you need to show it, she’s got a product for you! It’s a great way to say “Thank you!” to your customers or clients! And don’t forget, next Wednesday is Admin Professionals Day…why not pop in over at Zen Rabbit and show your gratitude for all your VA does to help make your business successful?

Classic Creations Design is finally on Facebook! Have you added a page for your business yet? It gives your clients (and potential clients) the chance to become “fans”, and is a great way to keep in touch with them via “updates”. You can also provide client testimonials, and upload photos.

Along with your Photos tab, you can add Videos, and Events. Plus, publish your office phone and hours…and with an address, an instant link to Google maps.

Why not tap into the huge Social Network and take advantage of what they can offer?

A great article over at Bruce Clay, today: The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media. Social Media is great for your business, but you CAN make mistakes, if you don’t know what you’re doing.

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We all have those days when we look at our website and think “I’d like a change”. It’s similar to looking at our living room and saying the same thing. Many times we get over it, and the next day we say “What was I thinking? It’s fine!”.

When it comes to your website, though, it may be a good idea to get a second opinion! Even if your site is functioning as it should, your design and graphics could still be holding you back from achieving even greater success!

10. Your site is “misaligned”.  You’ve been adding products and content over the course of months (or years) causing the whole site to become “wonky”. Images and text don’t fit quite right. Text looks like a big run-on sentence in some places. Navigation is wrapping when it shouldn’t.

9. Your code is a jumbled mess.  It becomes more and more difficult with every update to even FIND where to put the content.

8. Your site is graphically “heavy”.  In the new age of Web 2.0, less is more. Sites with cleaner graphics and fewer graphics will load faster and be more appealing to today’s web surfers.

7. Your keywords and meta tags are outdated or don’t exist at all.  Stick to the basics, even if you follow the latest trends it’s good to have basic SEO in place, such as relative keywords, page titles, image tags, and descriptions.

6. Your graphics are fuzzy, dark, or outdated.  Even though less is more, if the graphics you DO have are poor ones, it brings down your whole design. Spend some time and money making sure you have clean, crisp images…and clear and bright product photos. If you’ve redesigned your print logo, make sure your website matches your business cards and print media.

5. Your color scheme is headache inducing.  Colors that used to be popular and eye-catching are now only used to highlight content. Whatever you do, if your main color is bright neon pink or green, make sure it’s appealing to your target market and not over-done.

4. Your content has been the same for years.  Visitors are more likely to keep coming back when they see something refreshing and new on your site. If you have a retail site, add a “Featured Item” to the home page. If you have a content site…move it into the Web 2.0 realm using dynamic content and a matching blog.

3. Your conversion rate is LOW.  Use your analytics to determine where people are leaving your site, and find out why. Maybe it’s those dark product photos, maybe it’s a confusing store policy, maybe it’s a shopping cart that doesn’t match the site (making people think they’ve somehow ended up in the wrong place). Some small improvements can go a long way towards better revenue.

2. Your Navigation is so confusing even an expert can’t find their way.  Simple navigation is “in”. Text navigation is key (not only to SEO). Helpful things in your stylesheet will mean all the difference to a visitor. Do your text links change color once they’ve been visited? Research shows people prefer that sort of thing. Create a site map, so that when or if someone does get lost, there’s a place where they can go to find their way.

1. What’s a Stylesheet?  If you just asked this question, run…don’t walk to the best web designer you can find!

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I’ve been around for a long time….well, 13 years, anyway. During that time, I’ve seen and heard it all. I’ve had people ask me to copy things word for word and color for color (WHAT?!?!?!), and I’ve had people say things to me that I wouldn’t say to my neighbor’s annoying pet monkey!

When you reach a point in your business where you need to hire a graphic designer, a copy writer, a marketing specialist, or any such service provider, there are things you should keep in mind…

FIRST:

Unless the professional you’ve hired is a total stick in the mud, afford them some common respect and courtesy. After all, you chose to hire them for this project, so something about them made them your choice. If the person doesn’t “get” what you want right away, that doesn’t mean they deserve to be treated as if they’re an idiot (or even called one). To these types of professionals-time is money…it’s what they sell, and they don’t want to waste it any more than you do.

Reaching the perfect “zen” in a project takes time, perseverance, patience, and insight.

This leads us to the SECOND thing:

Providing the materials requested in a timely manner, and filling out questionnaires in their entirety will only help to insure that you receive what you want more quickly. Your business should be an open book when you’re completing this type of project (not financially, just everything else). And there’s no such thing as “long-winded” when it comes to descriptions and preferences.

We’ve talked about how you should behave, and what you should provide. Now, let’s talk about

WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT…

GUIDELINES

You should expect to receive some information about exactly how the professional you’re working with “works”…deadlines, timeline estimates, how overages are handled, etc. What are the cancellation fees, and guarantees involved in your project.

RESEARCH

Even if your project is simple, it will still require research. What kinds of things are researched? The latest trends, industry standards, competition, viability, and market knowledge are all elements that should be included. Expect a part of your fee to go towards research when using a true professional.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Emails and phone calls are always a part of your project. Unless there is some sort of difficulty, you should not be charged extra for these, but you should expect that the time from them is included in the time for your project. Phone calls should always be followed up with an email to confirm.

You should expect email replies and return phone calls within 48 business hours (no later).

COMMUNICATION

We are all human, and things do come up in our daily lives. You should expect your service provider to communicate with you what their schedule is like…what hours/days will your project receive priority, what hours/days are they out of the office.

In the same vein, you should expect them to communicate with you whenever they are having any difficulties with your project.

NOTE: Be sure to find out what time zone your service provider is in, so that there’s no misunderstanding about office hours and contact times.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS

There are times when everything goes as it’s ordained that it should…and yet you still don’t get what you want for your project. Approach this as a professional-DO NOT lose your cool (as it’s probably not anyone’s fault-it just happens sometimes). YOU ARE YOUR BUSINESS, and this person may be in the same circles as you…never behave unprofessionally.

Send an email explaining that you are not satisfied despite all efforts from both sides. If you got those guidelines in the beginning, you should already know what your charges will be for walking away. DO NOT expect to walk away paying nothing…remember the professional you hired sells his/her time, and you did use some of that even if you didn’t get the desired result.

Project Cancellation Example:

Dear (Professional),

(me)

Whatever you do, don’t ruin your professional reputation by telling the provider that they don’t know what they’re doing, or that they “stink” at what they do. Accept it as a slight failure and move on.

WHEN ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD

Now, we’ve talked about how to handle being disappointed, let’s also talk about what to do when your provider goes above and beyond the call of duty!

Commend, Refer, Testify!

Commend: Send an email thanking the professional for the job they did for you. Let them know how much they are appreciated.

Refer: Tell your business associates and colleagues about the service you received. Make sure they know that you recommend this provider when they need the same services in the future.

Testify: If your provider has a “testimonials” area on their site, write up a quick synopsis of why you were satisfied with them, and why you’d recommend that others use them. SIDE NOTE: be sure to use your URL in your signature, and ask the provider if it can be included to open in a new window on their site.

With planning, every experience you have as a business owner can be pleasant, even if it’s not completely successful.

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I decided to post about this topic, because I seem to see it too frequently with small business websites–website “counters”.

Yes, you DO want to know how many web surfers visit your site….along with how those visitors arrive there, how frequently they “revisit”, and what they visit when they’re there. You can’t successfully market your website without that information.

HOWEVER…

As a business owner, you DO NOT want your visitors to see or know that information. It looks unprofessional, even if you have tons of visitors. Why? It makes your website look like it was created or designed in 1998. Website counters were very popular back then…it was “cool” to show off your visitors.

Nowadays, unless you have a personal site or blog, it’s considered uncool. The biggest reason: it makes you look “small time”. My first thought when I see one is “How long has that been on here? If it’s been here a week and they have 43,000 visitors, that’s really great…but, if it’s been here 5 years and they have 43,000 visitors…well.” And, when I visit a site that has 22 visitors, but says it was copyrighted in 2000….why would I even want to stay?

A professional company does not have a need to show website visitors how many people have been where they’ve been. So, use the “invisible” version of your stat counter, and track the visitors from the backend, yourself. If you sell advertising, allow interested parties to click through to your stats, or publish your stats in a more proficient way (media kit).

Be hip….be cool….don’t count in public!

Let me start by telling you that I met Kristie when I designed her website for www.Nitro-Toyz.com through 1Choice4YourStore. Then, several months later I helped in a redesign of that store to improve navigation and SEO. Since then, I’ve worked with her on some side projects, and I’m just getting to know how awesome she is! If you’re a member of Stompernet or you attend The System Seminar, you probably have heard of Kristie. She’s done amazing things with her yahoo store, and has now become an online business marketing consultant.

Kristie’s new site Online Biz Consulting should definitely be a stop during your next internet marketing info session! Kristie is someone you want on your side, if you’re building an online business…whether you’re just beginning, or starting to “ramp it up”!

I plan to have her as a part of my impending site redesign, and hope to partner with her to offer my own clients marketing packages that will work!

We all hate to waste valuable space on any print materials for our business. Even if you print your own, it can be expensive to have to do it over!

So, what information should one include on their business card?

~Logo: be sure that you have a printable version of your logo to use, as many web versions are not in a high enough resolution to print clearly (and they will look “fuzzy”).

~Company Tag Line or Slogan: after all, you came up with one to help market your business–your business card is the best place to use it!

~Your Name: this should be prominent, as it’s the reason you have a business card…to introduce yourself.

~Your Title: whether you put CEO, President, Owner, or the title of your trade (such as “graphic designer”), this lends credibility to your card. Your title should be approximately 2 font sizes smaller than your name.

~Contact Information: This can include your mailing address, your website address, your email address; but it should definitely include at least one phone number.

Don’t forget about using the back of your business card! It can be a great place to put a coupon, a map to your place of business, a calendar, an appointment area, or a list of your specialties. The sky is (almost) the limit on the back of your card–be creative!

The most important thing to remember is balance, color, and clarity. Your business card is your own little diamond to show the world how important you are!