The Importance of a Website

Wouldn't it be great if your business were open to the world 24/7, 365 days a year? Customers could access information about your products and services, you could promote your services, you could make sales, and gather leads. You could do many of the things you do Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, without doing anything. But how could you do this?

You can easily do all of this with a website.

Websites are essential to becoming a 21st century company. Michael Dell, of Dell Computers was once quoted as saying, "Show me a business that's not on the Internet, and I'll show you a business that's out of touch with the future." Websites, along with the Internet, are the future of business. It is how businesses are reaching customers, and how customers are reaching out to businesses.

Think your business is too small to have a website? Small businesses can benefit tremendously from websites. A professional website can help a company to grow in ways that traditional marketing cannot.

Yes, customers can access a website from wherever they are - domestically, and internationally - but customers can also reach local businesses through the Internet. Many people have found businesses by going to Google and typing "city, product/service". What do prospective customers find when they type in your town and your product or service? You no longer have to rely on traditional forms of advertising to market your products and services locally.

Your company does not even have to sell products on a website. If you provide basic information about your company and your products or services, and have contact information or inquiry forms on a visible part of the website, customers will come to you.

Websites can even help your company refine its operations. You can include a Frequently Asked Questions section on your company's website that has answers to common issues with your products and services. Instead of calling your company's customer service line, customers may seek out the FAQ page first, leaving your customer service representative free to answer other calls. Additionally, you can use forms and surveys on your website for lead generation and information gathering. This would save you time from manually entering the information and actively finding leads.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, a well-designed website can give your business a strong, professional image. A professional web presence and a unified marketing message is important, especially if your competitors already have a website. If your competitors do have a website, analyze it, and then figure out how you can make your website better.

If you have any questions about building a website, or if you have a website and would like it to make it easier for your customers and prospective customers to find, join our webinar on Tuesday, September 15th at 2:00 PM ET titled Top 10 Tips for Increasing Your Website's Visibility. You can learn more by viewing the blog post below.

You can sign up for the webinar by clicking here.

Webinar: Top 10 Tips for Increasing Your Website's Visibility

Top 10 Tips Webinar Series

Top 10 Tips for Increasing Your Website's Visibility

Tuesday, September 15th 2:00PM – 2:30PM EDT

Top Ten Tips is a series of practical, fact-based webinars using the Path To Success methodology developed at IntellaCore. The webinars are short, hard-hitting, and are always combined with a whitepaper. Each webinar breaks down an important way that a company can increase revenue, reduce costs, and become a sustainable, competitive business.

The next Top Ten Tips webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 15th at 2:00 PM EST. The topic will be Top 10 Tips for Increasing Your Website's Visibility. Click here to register. Please enter NEWSLETTER in the Invitation Code text box.

Are you using your website as a sales and marketing tool? Are your strategies effective? Join this webinar to learn tips and tricks you can use to make more customers and prospects aware of your products and services through your website.

The Top 10 Tips you will learn more about in the webinar are:

1. Establish an online strategy
2. Analyze your website's current traffic
3. Research your target audience, and develop relevant keywords
4. Review your website design if needed and focus on delivering relevant information to the identified audiences
5. Keep the design of your website simple
6. Search Engine Optimize your website
7. Ask other relevant sites in your network to link to yours.
8. Try to create buzz around your products and company by using social media daily
9. Advertise
10. Add your website address to your packaged products and business cards

Click here to join the webinar.

While there are many international experts or technology experts, we are both. IntellaCore has a unique point of view because we are positioned at the critical crossroad where very few are -- that place where the global economy meets the Internet. Based on decades of experience in both International business and Internet-based activity, Path to Success aligns technology to the business plan, internally transforms the operations of the business, and expands their market presence into new domestic, international, and virtual markets.

Bringing Technology into Your Marketing Plan

Integrating technology into your marketing plan can have positive and significant effects on your business. With the right tool and the right message, you can easily become globally competitive.

We are at a very dynamic moment in business. The economy is weak, consumer confidence is low, and a record amount of people are unemployed. Budgets are being cut and businesses are being forced to do more with less. But how? One way is to find new ways to reach out to customers. As technology continues to evolve, business and marketing change along with it. Using social media is just one way you can use a different perspective to become globally competitive.

Whether it is because of competition, or because of a need in the international markets, many companies are finding it necessary to start expanding their businesses internationally. By using the Internet, and specifically, social media, companies can break out of their regional box and find success internationally.

Even if you have no plans for your business to "go international," building technology into your marketing plan is still a good idea. People are finding ways to avoid traditional forms of advertisement. At the same time, people are using the Internet more and more. A good website, a Twitter account, and a regularly updated blog are a good start. Read Intelligent World for more examples. The point is, Bringing technology into your marketing plan can reach far more people than a radio or newspaper advertisement. If you do this correctly, you can even get more local traffic to your website.

These technology tools do not cost much money, and in some cases, they may be less expensive than traditional forms of advertisement. The biggest expenditure you will have is that of your time spent learning about social media, and starting to use it. The time and creative energy will pay off.

Below are some tips you can use to integrate social media into your business:
1. Define your target audience
2. Refine your website based on your target audience. Build one if you do not have one.
3. Make sure your message is clear.
4. Build your brand on social networking sites if it makes sense for your business.
5. Manage your online reputation.
6. Stay in contact with your customers
7. Follow up with news and trends, and take advantage of it if possible.

Read Intelligent World for more examples.

5 Ways Technology Has Changed the Way We Do Business

In technology, it’s not about the last 10 years. It’s about the last 3 years. In the past 3 years, the rate of change in regards to technology has increased drastically. Businesses processes have changed and made organizations more efficient. At the same time, technology has opened lines of communication, allowing businesses to communicate and collaborate beyond borders with ease. Collaboration is the future of business competitiveness as companies become more innovative, connect to people better, and overall act faster in the "flattened" marketplace of today's global, internet economy.

1. Technology has made business faster
It is undeniable that technology has made business move much faster than before. Personal computers and the Internet have revolutionized the way we work. E-mail interactions have replaced memos, phone calls, and faxes. Smartphones can connect you with your entire business network while you are out of the office, allowing you to respond quickly. Workflows and automated tasking systems have cut down on organizational bureaucracy, streamlining operations. Speed, matched with technology, adds flexibility and responsiveness to interactions.

2. Technology has allowed for far-reaching collaboration
The Internet has allowed geographically dispersed teams to virtually meet from anywhere in the world. Conference calling, video conferencing, e-mail, cloud computing, Skype, and instant messaging have flattened the world. Additionally, with social networking sites like LinkedIn, businesses can connect to an even larger business network. The result is greater productivity and a wider blend of talents, abilities, and viewpoints.


3. Technology has flattened the marketplace
In the same way that technology has allowed for collaboration beyond geographical borders, technology has also reduced the barriers to entering markets around the world. This allows buyers and sellers from around the world to connect and do business. Skype, video conferencing, and online translation services help people to communicate and close deals.

4. Technology in business encourages innovation
Don’t like the way something works? Do you notice that customers have a certain need that is not being met? Do something about it. An example is Zillow, a website created by two former Microsoft employees that helps people get through the maze of real estate transactions. When they launched the site, real estate agents were initially against the idea, but now they collaborate with buyers through the website. The two noticed a need for transparency in the market. With the site, they have created a way for buyers and sellers to share information on houses for sale.

As technology advances, the prices are dropping and it becomes more user-friendly. Many people have the tools to design new and innovative software to solve common problems and improve efficiency. Additionally, technology is becoming more accessible to users all around the world, including users in developing countries. The next big thing could be in development at this moment in Rwanda.


5. Technology has changed how we connect and sell to clients
Perhaps the most important change, technology has allowed businesses to connect and sell to clients in new ways, including mass e-mails, blogs, and recently, Twitter. These tools allow businesses to stay relevant in a customer’s mind, and they help prospective customers to find new companies to do business with.

When a prospect learns of your business, the first thing they will do is Google your name. Next, they click on the link to your website to learn about you. The prospect comes to you informed about what you do and who you are. Do you have a plan to capture the business?