Internet marketing

My lamp manufacturing business primarily markets on the Internet, leading me to spend much time, energy, and thought on how to best use the Internet and various tools available for marketing, selling, and analysis. It looks like we’ve done some things right, as our primary product, a music lamps for organs, is currently at the number 1 position on the first page of Google searches when the key words “organ lamp” or “organ music lights” are entered. We’ve not been quite as fortunate, yet, with other product categories. As an aside, we have not used pay-per-click marketing proving that Google does not necessarily give preferential treatment to sites using pay-per-click.

What we have done is to constantly “tweek” our web page content making sure that we are doing everything we know how to do to improve the SEO (search engine optimization) of our sites. We also frequently get a rating of our sites using www.websitegrader.com and follow its advice for improving our SEO. Several months ago, when we first stumbled upon websitegrade, we improved our grade from 15 to 60 in 24 hours by simply implementing what websitegrader recommended.

Any business relying on the Internet for business needs to constantly find ways to improve page content and SEO. It’s also vital to analyze the statistics for your site. Part of my daily routine is to review the statistics for all of my sites.

While we’ve not used pay-per-click, a strong argument can be made for this marketing tactic. Diana Ransom has written a nice Wall Street Journal article on the subject, called “Seven Ways to Make Pay Per Click Pay“.

The Internet is crowded with companies selling their wares. Those businesses that pay attention to the Internet marketing details will certainly rise above the fray.

Good luck with your Internet marketing.

Will Limkemann

A better pizza site

Over the past few months I have become very sensitive to effective and ineffective web sites as we have worked hard to continually improve and measure the effectiveness of the site for our line of lamps – www.ektralamp.com.

One of the best commercial sites I’ve run across lately I discovered when my grand-daughters wanted pizza. In particular they asked for Dominos Pizza and suggested that I order over the Internet. This was new to me, as I’ve always ordered pizza by phone. No more!

At 2:30PM I visited www.dominos.com and discovered an amazing site. The entire process of ordering a pizza to be delivered at 6:00 PM took just a few minutes with outstanding navigation. I selected the types of  crust, then visually built each pizza with the desired toppings. I did not need to create an account (but could have if I had so desired) and was given the choice of paying by credit card or paying the drive upon delivery.

Out of curiosity I followed the progress of the order through the later part of the afternoon. A progress bar shows when the pizza is being made, when it has been put in and taken out of the oven, and at what time it left for delivery. I’m happy to say the delivery was made just five minutes after six.

I hold up this site as a masterful piece of customer-oriented engineering. It is fun, easy to navigate, and very effective. Dominos does a good job of promoting their products while you order, but with uncluttered screens. Anyone looking to build a customer-centric commerce site would do well to carefully examine this site.

Will Limkemann

Boards

In the past I’ve mentioned the value of boards of advisors for even the smallest businesses. With advisors you will have a sounding board, mentors, and possibly even hands-on help when you need it. But you need to carefully select your board, nuture it, and most important, listen to what it has to say.

But how do you effectively assemble and use a board? If you are in Northeast Ohio you may find the answers in a seminar by Jumpstart at Corporate College East on February 25. Check out this opportunity at http://www.jumpstartinc.org/Resources/Events/Details.html?EventID=647

Will Limkemann
Siqua Group Limited

Royalty Financing

Here is an innovative financing strategy for cash-strapped businesses. It’s called royalty financing. It works like this: The business borrows money against future sales and in turn pays a small percentage (royalty) of each invoice to the lender until the loan and interest is paid off. I’ve just recently run across this interesting financing strategy, and it may be worth businesses looking into. My suspicion is that it is a costly way to borrow but may be an option for businesses that have exhausted other options. Check out this brief article.

Will Limkemann

Financing small businesses

I’m not sure that availability to capital for small businesses has improved much over the past few months. From what I’ve seen, many small businesses have had credit lines reduced or terminated, and have difficulty finding banks who are willing to extend credit. There seems to be some activity by the administration and congress to improve the business credit situation. If you’re concerned about business credit, take a look at these Wall Street Journal articles:

Stimulus Relief Extended for SBA Loans

Another Chance For Small Business Loans?

Small Business Credit Cards Now Carry Sizeable Risk

Will Limkemann
Siqua Group Limited
www.siqualtd.com

A Standard for On-Line Shopping

From all accounts, more and more of our shopping is done on-line from the comfort of our homes. Retailers, and even commercial distributors, recognize the value of the Internet and keep making improvements to their web sites to enhance our on-line shopping experience.

Very few companies, however, can meet the standards set by electronics distributor Digi-Key Corporation. Digi-Key carries over 1.3 million parts from over 430 manufacturers – electronic components that range from integrated circuits to electronic test equipment, to power cords. Electrical engineers, corporate purchasing agents, and electronic hobbyists all buy from Digi-Key.

I’ve had the pleasure of purdhasing from Digi-Key on many occasions over the past ten years. Here are some of the things that sets Digi-Key appart from other on-line businesses:

1. With over 1.3 million parts an well-designed web-site makes it is very easy and fast to drill down to the exact component you want to purchase.

2. An accurate computerized inventory control system always shows the available quantity of any selected item, and the lead-time needed to replenish the stock.

3. All orders are acknowledged within a few minutes of being placed by e-mail.

4. Any order placed before 8:00PM central time (Digi-Key is in Minnesota) will ship the same day! (I once placed an order that, for some rare reason did not ship the same day, but Digi-Key, at their own expense, shipped it via express).

5. Shipment is quickly acknowledged with UPS tracking number. I once placed an order and received shipping notification twenty minutes later! Wow – what an efficient warehouse.

6. Returning a product for full credit is no problem – regardless of whether you ordered the wrong item or they (rarely) shipped the wrong stuff.

From time-to-time I purchase from a competitor, as even with a huge inventory, Digi-Key can’t possible stock every conceivable electronic component. Yet, due to a great shopping experience, I will always start with Digi-Key. This company has set the on-line shopping bar very high!

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

What is your IQ (Innovation Quotient)?

Dell Computer Company, Apple Computers, Microsoft, Google, and E-Bay share much more than only occupying space in the computer-sphere. Each of these businesses was founded by people who was not satisfied with the status-quo, who looked at the world differently, and constantly asked “why?”. These businesses not only started with an innovative idea but have thrived on continued innovation.

The December 2009 Harvard Business Review features innovation in business and published findings of research conducted over a six-year period. Among the interesting findings is that innovation starts with top person in a business. In the most innovative companies the CEO personally spends 50% more time innovating than leaders of other businesses.

The study determined that the most innovative people have these skills:

1. They are good at connecting-the-dots – associating diverse ideas

2. They are curious and constantly questioning and asking why.

3. They are keenly observant of the world around them.

4. They are constantly experimenting and conducting mental exploration.

5. They network with other individuals to test their ideas and get insight.

Like all skills these  are partially “genetic” but to a large extent can be learned and honed through continual practice. Leaders who are concerned about growing their businesses or even just surviving should look at developing their own innovation quotient and fostering innovation within their companies.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

Appreciative Inquiry

As we are in the season of thankfulness and thanksgiving, it occurred to me that an introduction to the discipline called Appreciative Inquiry would be timely.

Briefly, Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is the process of change management that seeks out the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them. Instead of negativity, criticism, and diagnosing “problems”, AI helps people improve, dream, and offer new solutions through a process of asking positive questions and thus learning what has worked in the past, and learning of achievements, assets, competencies, strengths, unexplored potentials, and opportunities.

The opposite, which I suppose could be named negative inquiry, focuses on what is broken, is pessimistic, and and lead to a downward spiral. AI produces optimism and helps an organization and empowers people see what is possible and find ways to turn possibilities into realities.

There are several books describing AI in detail, including the Appreciative Inquiry Handbook by David Cooperrider, Diana Whitney, and Jaqueline Stavros. For a quick introduction to AI read this paper  by David Cooperrider and Diana Whitney.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Will Limkemann

Cutting costs or increasing profits?

A publication editor contacted me this week asking for my input into an article they are thinking of running about what small businesses can do to cut costs. This got me to thinking that business owners should not be focused on cost cutting but rather on increasing profit and improving cash flow.

In good times, and especially in tough times, business owners should always be concerned about costs. Costs need to be analyzed. Vendors need to be negotiated with. The best possible deals need to be made in purchasing energy, paper clips, and inventory.

But a cycle of cutting costs can rapidly pave the road to extinction.

Rather, owners need to concentrate on profitability and positive cash flow. Sure, cutting costs can contribute to both – but for how long? When times are tough, the owner needs to bolster sales and marketing activities – possibly even increasing expenditures of time and money in both areas. Then the fundamental issues need to be addressed, issues such as: improved productivity, customer service, customer satisfaction, and innovative services and products. For survival the owner needs to play to strengths – not weaknesses.

What is your business doing to improve profitability?

Will Limkemann
Siqua Group Limited
440-871-0976
www.siqualtd.com

Peer-to-Peer Lending

An alternative financing source that has gained traction over the past few years is peer-to-peer lending facilitated by on-line site such as www.lendingclub.com, www.prosper.com, and www.peerlendingnetwork.com. Small businesses hit with high credit card interest rates and which can’t find banks willing to lend money are increasingly funding their needs with low-cost peer-to-peer loans. Investors concerned about the volatile stock market and low interest rates are attracted by returns offered by peer-to-peer lending.

Peer-to-peer lending web sites are on-line market-places that bring together borrowers and lenders, often pooling the investments of many vendors over the loans of multiple borrowers. In some cases lenders can actually bid on individual loan requests.

According to a September Washington Post article, peer-to-peer loans will reach $5.8 billion in 2010, almost doubling the 2009 loan values.

Will Limkemann
Siqua Group Limited