Metro don’t have any call centres, they open on saturdays and have nice lollypops to keep the kids happy. Now some of these are just gimicks (see lollypops) but there are some genuine issues here. Why should a bank only be open when most people are at work? Why exactly does our local branch close at 1pm?. Why can’t I email my bank manager just like anyone else?

Now, without sounding like a grumpy old man, I feel that there are legitimate problems here. Clearly Metro think the same and hope that people are prepared to pay a bit more for what should (really) be the standard level of service. The traditional high street banks have saved money by cutting corners on customer service. They don’t open on saturdays as that would be more cost. They have got away with it before so why change now?

What Metro is trying to do is to use customer service as a way to differenciate themselves from the competition but this doesn’t really sit well with me. After all, don’t all companies want to win their customer’s loyality so that they will come back again? (and maybe recommend them to others). What happens to Metro when the traditional banks say ‘Okay lets spend some money and improve our call centres, branches, opening times etc?’

In fact I seem to recall recent TV adverts with slogans pushing ‘friendly banking’. Could it be that Metro’s unique selling point isn’t really that unique? Everyone needs customer service and everyone can improve how they deal, treat and communicate with their customers. Now, if Metro had promised to price match the existing banks AND give a better level of customer service then that would be something worth noticing.

It’s been a good year for the team at Artsgraphica but it wouldn’t have been possible without your help so thanks a lot!

So what are our online business predictions for 2010?

Unfortunately, we can’t predict the lottery but we can give you some ideas of what we think will be hot in ecommerce web design in 2010.

1. Twitter & the real-time web

The rise of Twitter and its effect on search engines is likely to continue through 2010. Expect to see improvements in real-time search results as the major players like Facebook, Bing & Google try to get in on the real-time market. At the moment, real time search results in Google are bad to say the least so expect to see continuing revisions in this area. Even if you aren’t in a sector that demands real-time then you can’t ignore Twitter as where last year people blogged about you and your products in 500 words, this year they will tweet about you in just 140 characters. That can’t be a good thing can it?

2. The year of Mobile

Every year I go to a web design conference and at least one speaker declares that next year ‘Will be the year of the Mobile Web”. I was on the way to @Media 2007 and decided I would check the train times from Kings Cross and I got ringtones with ‘Kings Cross’ in the title on my Nokia. Hardly, the mobile web I was looking for.

But things have changed, the iPhone is here (and available in Tesco) and through things like the App Store, the mobile networks have found another way to make money rather than selling ringtones. So will 2010 be the year of mobile? Probably not, but I would start to think about where your website visitors are viewing your website from. In 2010 we can’t assume they are sat at a computer in the office or at home.

3. Pay walls, monthly subscriptions & pay per play

I would expect that we shall see a number of major newspapers implementing ‘paywalls’ on their online content in 2010. Its going to be bumpy ride as some websites price themselves out of the market and others gain traffic (and advertising revenue) from visitors leaving pay-for websites. Micropayments is the buzz word here but as no one has really got this figured out then we might be looking at monthly subscriptions for as little as £2/month to access online versions of popular newspapers.

The thing they might be missing is that World of Warcraft has over 10 million monthly subscribers and that people seem more willing to spend money pretending to be orks or elves than reading the New York Times. I would expect to see more social media games break out from Facebook and into the web at large. Expect lots of free public beta versions with monthly subscriptions just around the corner. If someone could just work out a way to make a World of Facebook then they would make a fortune.

4. Price comparision & money saving online

With households & businesses dealing with rising unemployment then I expect to see the continuing growth of money saving websites. Even if you aren’t looking to renew your car insurance you can now find ways to save money on almost anything online. If you are running an ecommerce business and you are not tapping into this market then you are really missing out.

Sure, you don’t always want to be directly judged on price so price comparisons might not be for every ecommerce site, instead think about developing some really good offers, promo codes and vouchers and using this growing network of money saving websites to gain you some traffic. Some ecommerce traders might still view social media as a dirty word but maybe it’s time to look at money saving and online review websites in a different light?

Top tips for start up web businesses

Getting the basics right

I know it sounds obvious but if you are looking to market your business & products online then you need to spend a decent amount of time in the online space. Make sure that you are comfortable with the Internet & email. You don’t need to have the latest computer hardware but a decent computer will make the learning process quicker. If you’re not that sure about computers then get to know your local independent IT supplier as their support and advice will prove invaluable. Ask him about backing up your work, emails and address book so you have a fall back if the cat decides to knock a hot coffee over your hard drive. Don’t worry about having to understand all the new technology, you don’t have to be a computer whizz, but you do need to spend time online to understand your market and find your way.

If you’re working from home, its helpful to have a separate work computer from the family computer to avoid any problems with things accidentally getting deleted and whilst I am on the subject, a dedicated work area or office really helps to focus your mind.

Do your research

Search for businesses like your own online. Bookmark them and put together a spreadsheet detailing information about what you find out about their products and services. Read their websites in detail and make notes on how they describe themselves. Don’t copy, but be inspired.

Make another spreadsheet of what searches you use to find companies as this will be handy later when coming up with your initial keyword research. If you’re setting up an eCommerce website, check out who is selling the same products on eBay and the Amazon marketplace. Do your prices compete?. If not can you offer something they don’t (like free or next day delivery) until your volumes increase enough to demand a better deal from your suppliers?

The thing is that the Internet is so big that you are bound to find someone who is selling the same thing as you but is bigger, has more products and is selling it cheaper than you could. Don’t panic; do focus on what makes your business special…

Be special

Now that you understand who is out there, try to put a special spin on your products or services to target a niche, rather than the mass market. The Internet is so big that a national (or international) niche is a large enough market for a business to thrive on. Finding your niche can take a bit of thinking and to some extent trial and error but try thinking about who your customers are and the ideas should follow.

If you have a limited marketing budget (and these days, who hasn’t?) then try and be as specific as possible about your products and who will buy them. Don’t sell camping supplies, sell tents to students who pack the festivals every summer. Don’t sell the latest fashions in shoes or dresses and compete against the high street. Find out what sizes they don’t stock and sell them instead. You need to understand that as a start up business, everyone is larger than you and therefore can sell cheaper than you. On the other hand, if you are focused on what you do, you can create yourself a niche market and grow from there.

If you’re not sure what will make your business special then test trade by setting up an eBay shop and see what sells.

The Name attraction

Your business name and your website domain name don’t have to be the same. Try and pick a domain name that reflects your products or services but also includes a keyword that people will use to search online. Using a keyword like this in your domain can make make your website easier to promote on the search engines but don’t get obsessed. Try and use a combination of your business name and what you sell as this gives you a half decent chance of finding a domain name that is available.

I would avoid using acronyms in your website name and be careful about how words look together (experts exchange vs expert sexchange) when written down.

Once you have got a name then book the .co.uk, .com & .net variations on the domain name. If there are any variations (with s or hyphens) available then buy these as well, it might seem a waste of money now but in 10 years time you’ll be pleased that you don’t have a competitor using a similar domain name.

Understand your objectives

At this point it good to remind yourself that having a website isn’t the objective. The objective is to have a website that does X or helps you to do Y. If you don’t understand why you need a website then the whole project is going to be difficult at best. Sure you want to promote your business, but how is the website going to promote your business? Is the objective to establish your creditability or demonstrate your expertise? To communicate the features and benefits of your product or provide a simple way to buy online?

Once you understand your objectives, write them down and put this in the back of your diary so that at the end of the year you can check that everything is still on track. Things will have changed by then so you might cross out a few objectives and add some more but it’s a good habit to get into.

Establish a budget

Now before we get totally carried away, it’s time to establish a budget and understand what you can afford. Obviously every business is different but you need to get a grip on the finances straight away. If you’re not that confident on bookkeeping and cash flow then go and get some advice. There are plenty of organisations out there that supply support and training to start ups so don’t be afraid to ask for help in working out your first budget.

When it comes to the website, don’t blow all your money in one go on an all-singing website. Work out what your budget for the website is and then spend 60%-80% of this on the initial website build and the rest across the year tweaking, experimenting and responding to feedback.

You’ll need a budget for promotion as well. If you’re selling online then Adwords can be a good way to kick-start your sales but it’s also a big black hole that can suck the profits from your business so it’s best to get some good advice. We’ll talk about promoting your start up business on another post but again, talk to your business advisor to get some good ideas on marketing your business.

Finally, if you’re trading online, try and resist the temptation to buy a lot of products. Until you are confident on what will sell, don’t tie up your cash in stock. Think about drop-shipping as a way to experiment with your product listing but remember that the only way you’ll make real money is to take the risk and buy in bulk then sell in volume. However, when you’re starting up it’s just too much of a risk to gamble the success of the whole business on selling a container full of widgets. Work up to this gradually and you’ll have the information and experience to make the right decisions on what stock to buy and what to avoid.

Choose your web designer carefully

Now this sounds obvious but choosing a good web designer can be the most important decision you face in getting a decent website. Good designers can be expensive, especially if you are looking for a ‘full service’ solution. If you go to a larger agency then you’ll get a great service but you can expect larger fees. Likewise, if someone does a bit of web design when they have time, they might be able to give you a good price but they are unlikely to give you a reliable service. As well as getting the fees right you need to have good relationship with your designer. If they aren’t a good communicator or don’t answer the phone then don’t bother wasting your time with them.

Phone all the companies and freelancers you can find and have a list of questions to ask them on the phone. This is a good opportunity to get free advice so don’t waste it. Any designer worth his fee will be able to make suggestions and provide some ideas for you, so write some notes and make a shortlist of designers you would like to meet with. Make a shortlist of 3-5 web designers and arrange some meetings. Type up some notes on the business and your objectives (but not budgets) and email them to the designers before the meeting so that you can get the most out of the meeting.

In the meeting, expect that they have read your notes and can give you some good advice. If you like the designer and you think you can work together then ask them to write a you tender document. This should include details of the solution they would recommend, provide examples of their experience and include a breakdown costing. Remember to ask about any additional costs such as VAT or if they require a deposit and don’t make a decision until you have tenders from everyone. Go through the tenders in detail and make an informed choice of web designer.

Write and re-write

Now that you have a web designer on the case, they can work on some designs whilst you work on the website content. A picture may say a thousand words but on the Internet words are all important. If you’re not that confident with writing promotional text then start with a list of the major topics you want to cover and write a list of bullet points for each matter in that topic. Do this for all of your pages and then top up your coffee and expand the notes into prose for your website.

Remember that using the same language that people may use when searching is important so try and get these keywords in there. Also, people tend to scan read on the Internet so it’s good to break things up into small paragraphs with clear titles so that your visitors can get a good idea of your content without having to read it all.

Finally, think about adding a call to action on the bottom of each page which can help direct visitors to another page or to get in contact with you for more information.

Give your carefully written content to your web designer and with a bit of work you shouldn’t be far from launching your new website.

Launching your website is just the beginning

Now that your website is online, the proper work begins. Too many companies will put lots of effort into getting their website online and then forget it for the rest of the year. I know that your time is important but getting the most out of your new website will require a lot of tweaking, rewriting & experimenting to get it just right. Don’t think of your website as being finished, just think of your website being the most important part of your business communications and as your business changes, your website should reflect this.

Conclusion

This blog post was based on a presentation that I gave to start up businesses at eFactor in Lincolnshire giving tips for new businesses who are looking to market themselves or trade online.

This, of course isn’t an exhaustive list of advice but hopefully this should give start up businesses a good idea of the challenges of setting up a website as pre-warned is pre-armed!

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