As anticipated, my last blog about a simple web site related topic like the conversion rate between visitors to your web site and the number of potential customers engaging with you (for example by completing a contact form) created quite a bit of correspondence.

The vast majority of comments emphasised complex and (to be fair) quite interesting ideas about how to get the best out of your website. But I felt they missed the point. Most businesses are run by hard working individuals who have not got time to understand and implement subtle marketing ploys.

Which brings me to the question of how you eat an elephant. The answer is, of course, a mouthful at a time. To try and take too big a bite out of a problem leaves you with bad indigestion.

You need a website for two reasons, to increase your brand awareness, and to generate sales, and not necessarily both at the same time. Whatever tactics you use to achieve your goal need to be SMART (Google this if you can’t remember the acronym!).

I believe that life is complicated enough without making it harder than it needs to be.

The next time you want to make your business better, talk to someone who can talk to you about it in simple “plain English”.

Identify the problem, break it into manageable chunks, and deal with it! Life is hard enough, without it being taxing.

I was talking with a client about the amount of business they were generating from their website. The key interface between the business and the customer is the contact form, that tells the business about what the customer needs, as well as a contact name, number and email.

A brief look at Google Analytics revealed some interesting statistics:

• In the last month, their website had received just under 6,000 hits, and
• In the same period, only 54 click through’s to the contact form had been generated by the website, meaning that
• Less than 1% of visits had resulted in a request for a contact.

This was pretty depressing, but it explained why the business felt that it wasn’t getting much benefit from the website.

By looking at each page, it became apparent that there was no obvious “call to action”. Even if the visitor was keen to make contact, it wasn’t clear how they should.

I’m no web-master, but I do understand the importance of making sure the link between you, your product, your “shop”, and your customer, is seamless.

When was the last time you asked someone to give you honest feedback about how easy you are to locate, find out about, and to buy from?

I heard a speaker recently who gave an example of too much choice being a bad thing. The example involved offering free samples of jam to customers in a shop, and then offering them the option to buy a pot.

The research found that beyond a point, more choice led to lower sales. Some choice was good, too much was not so good.

So how much choice is good?

I am sure the supermarkets have worked this one out but, as usual, I found myself thinking laterally. When looking for a solution to a problem, how many options are there?

I reckon that, with enough time and resource, there is no problem that doesn’t have a limitless range of possible answers. Ask an academic if you are unsure about this one… The problem is that we don’t have limitless time and resource, and have to make do with a small number of options.

Unless you have a “no-brainer” of a question, possible solutions can be grouped into categories. For example, the obvious, the wacky, the seemingly stupid, the clever, the smart.

However you face challenges, the trick is to not let the question become overwhelming. Which leads me to a favourite saying: How do you eat an elephant? Answer, one mouthful at a time. The saying neatly illustrates the point that a complicated question, with too many possible answers, could probably be simplified if it was broken into smaller pieces, so you don’t get indigestion…

I gave a presentation to a business-networking group this week on the subject of Social Media and Business.

Realising the audience was at best sceptical (with a couple of exceptions!), and at worst cynical, I used the following images.

• Plain website = shop window, hopefully directing you to the door in.
• Blogging on your website = shop front glass now removed, allowing you to talk to potential customers, and for them to talk back (for example by leaving comments).
• Social Media (such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn) = you have left your shop and are walking about sharing your ideas, and encouraging others to talk about them as well (not always with you present).

It is a bit blunt, but seemed to get the key messages over:

1. Social Media is not something that only happens online – it’s a mesh of physical meetings and online activities.
2. Ideas that are spread through groups of people are far more powerful than ideas delivered to individuals.
3. Real engagement is when people do things for you that you didn’t ask them to.
4. Learn to lose some control – in return for greater reach.

With thanks to Steve Bridger (http://www.stevebridger.com/) for his insights…

Just picked up this great link about rejection.

http://cstadvertising.com/blog/2008/12/17/creative-rejection/

My maths teacher told me that everything was easy when you knew how.

Having learnt this, (pretty quickly as it happens, but then he was an inspirational teacher!) I have spent the rest of my life trying to work out how everything worked.

Those that expect life and success to be handed to them on a plate will either be very lucky or very disappointed.

There’s a great quote (I forget by who) about the balance between inspiration and perspiration.

Life isn’t easy, but by being persistent and ambitious, who knows how successful you can be.

Met an interesting person yesterday – which sparked a debate about types of accountants. Not whether they are interesting or boring (!), but whether they are financial or management accountants.

Financial Accountants produce the raw data – they are the unsung heroes and heroines who make sure your numbers are produced on a timely and accurate basis, that debts are called in, and creditors appeased.

Management Accountants are a different breed. They look at the data and ask the “difficult questions”. Such as “Is this a good number?”, “Have we achieved what we thought we would, and if not, why not?”, and perhaps the most important question, “What is the implication of this data to our financial future?”.

Most businesses have Financial Accountants (for example the bookkeeper). I believe businesses need both kinds of accountant, and that it is very hard to find someone who can be both.

Who is asking the difficult questions in your organisation?

After following this blog for many weeks, and appreciating how much I have learnt from it, I thought I’d share the link:
http://www.financeweek.co.uk/ceos-diary

It’s the story of a CEO facing the same day to day issues and dilemmas that every business manager has.

OK, you may have more or less zero’s on the end of your income and expenditure targets, but the honesty, relevance, and rawness of his story is just great.

It may help to read the blog from the start, so grab a cup of your favourite brew, and enjoy.

Interesting article here:
http://www.irishmedicalnews.ie/index.php/component/content/article/1-news/440-health-charities-funding-concern

But it got me thinking about the term “recession proof”. I don’t think any organisation (with the possible exception of high street banks, given the government’s recent action) can ever be recession proof.

The best any business can hope to be is aware of the economic climate, and be able to adjust its business plan accordingly. Periods of growth demand a different strategy from a period of decline.

Are businesses out there struggling because they are unwilling to take the steps required to stay in good shape? No business has a “god-given right” to survive, not even a charity.

Social networking seems finally to be “coming of age”. Business leaders I meet vary in their opinion of such sites and means of communication, but this article shows that even serious sites have a lot to offer.

http://lateralaction.com/articles/social-networks-for-creatives/

That said, I don’t think that online networking will ever beat the good old fashioned chat over lunch or a cup of coffee. Or is it me that is old fashioned?

Having talked us into the recession, the media now seem to want to own the next hot topic of how to “get back on our feet”. I don’t know what depresses me more, that they think this is a good idea, or that they think they thought of it first.

Good practice can often equate to common sense and a firm view of what you think is best. Compromise and equivocation are often the worst enemies to battle with, as they lead to indecision and/or bad decisions.

So perhaps it’s worth reading the “self help” guides now emerging, and hopefully you will be able to say that you are doing the right things already. If you are not, then get some help – fast.