Big things come in small packages!

The National Retail Federation's 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey found that holiday shoppers will spend an average of $155.43 on gift cards this year! As a matter of fact, spending on gift cards and certificates alone are expected to reach $27.8 billion! The NRF found that eight in ten Americans will be giving a gift card to a special someone on their list this year, with respondents indicating they prefer the convenience of purchasing gift cards than actual items.  

And according to the Wall St. Daily "Retailers are also using gift cards to create loyalty with their consumers." 

Did you know... 

Hubspot recently emerged with some refreshing research! 

The experts found that SMBs plan to spend 19 percent of their marketing budgets on social media, while larger businesses plan to spend only 6 percent! Equally noteworthy: SMBs anticipate spending 10 percent of their budgets on blogging, whereas larger companies are only dedicating 3 percent! 

While it's true that 3 percent for larger businesses may be quite a different number from SMBs' 10 percent, the primary message behind this finding is what impressed us most: that SMBs are dedicating a significant portion of their budgets to marketing via social networks and blogs!

Hubspot also provided insight on The Value of Social Media in Gift Selection.  Next time you say, "We don't need social media," take a look at this infographic from MrYouth.com. Two-thirds of respondents said they made a purchase based on an interaction via social media with recommendations leading to a purchase.

The best advice today? I have two:

1. Add gift cards to your ecommerce catalog so you can capitalize on this tremendous opportunity!
2. Leverage the social media channels.

How does Your Website Compare

On December 4, 2011, comScorereleased “$6 Billion in ‘Cyber Week’ U.S. Online Spending Sets New Weekly Record as Three Individual Days Surpass $1 Billion Threshold”. Did you get a large or small piece of that action? If you did not, perhaps we might be able to help.

If you were to ask the question “how does my website compare with the competition”, how would you answer that question?

• It is just as good
• It is not as good

If it is not as good, can you answer the question why? Another question is how do your customers look at your website? Is it easy to navigate? Are visitors able to get right to the product in order to make the purchase? Is your site getting exposure on different social media channels?

If you are serious about getting more customers and a bigger piece of online consumer purchases, here are some things to consider:

1. Compare your website with your competition
   - Google your products or service… where are you coming up compared to your competition?
   - Take some time to compare your website with others in your industry or market.
   - Put yourself in the shoes of customers; navigate through their site, now your site; see any difference?
   
2. Although you should be concerned to what customers say about your products and services, you should be equally interested in what they think about your website. Connect with your customers by sending out surveys. Use services such as Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com) to get customer input on:
   -  The quality of your product
   -  Customer service satisfaction
   -  Ease of use in navigating through your website
   -  Ease in purchasing products on your website
   
   Connect with your customers by using Facebook and Twitter
   -  Promote specials
   -  Provide educational information
   -  Stimulate discussions

Interacting with your customers and website viewers provides invaluable information and guidance for optimizing your site and increasing sales. Here is an example of a website evaluation questionnaire:

1.  Please grade our website on the overall content.

      Excellent        Good         Average           Poor           Very Poor            Undecided

2.  Please grade our website on the ease of navigation.

      Excellent        Good         Average           Poor           Very Poor            Undecided

3. Please grade our website on overall look.

      Excellent        Good         Average           Poor           Very Poor            Undecided

Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with the following statements:

4. The vocabulary on our website is appropriate for the intended audience.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

5. The illustrations are appropriate.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

6. The text is clearly written and easy to understand.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

7. There are no grammar or spelling errors.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

8. The information on our website is accurate.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

9. The information is timely and up-to-date.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

10. The information is sufficient for the intended audience.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

11. The organization of the site is logical and clear.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

12. The user can clearly see where s/he is on the site.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

13. The user can easily move through the site to a desired location.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

14. The style is consistent throughout the site.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

15. Links are current and working.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

16. The background colors are pleasing.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

17. Visuals enhance rather than detract from the message of the site.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

18. The size of the text is easy to read.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

19. The site is interesting.

      Strongly Disagree         Disagree         Undecided           Agree           Strongly Agree        

20. What suggestions do you have for improving our site?

Interacting with customers and viewers will keep you on top of your game.

Have you thought about video for your business?

Five Video fundamentals!
Videos have become an integral site feature for businesses in every industry. Not only do they enhance engagement - they can also boost SEO efforts! This week, we'd like to share five video fundamentals that you use within your business:

1. Determine what you want the video to accomplish. What are your goals? A video is a great tool to help achieve your objective. One great way is to find out why customers keep coming back, then share that information by creating a video that speaks to why visitors would benefit in becoming your customer. If you do not know what to ask? Read about the 3 Things Your Customers Won’t Tell You … Unless You Ask from Freelance Folder for some ideas.  
2. The video should tell the product's story! The product should be the primary focus. Do not let any other element of the video steal the show! Focus on the product.
3. Set the right tone. Videos shouldn't be too formal, but they also shouldn't compromise professionalism. Find a professional in your area who can help you find the right touch. If you need assistance, contact me and I will help you find someone in your area.
4. Informative videos should predict and answer questions! If particular questions are commonly asked about a product, the video is the perfect vehicle to provide detailed answers!
5. Think carefully about video placement. The video should be located near the top of an uncluttered Web page. Avoid packing your page with other media when posting a video and place the video in a prominent spot on your site!

Creating and adding videos may be intimidating initially, but we are here to assist business owners in becoming at ease using this indispensable tool, and support is completely included with our Web solution!

Did you know... 
Cyber Monday 2011 was another sweeping success! In fact, comScore reports that it was the heaviest online spending day in history, with $1.25 billion spent. That's a 22 percent jump from Cyber Monday 2010! 


And what about Twitter? Did you know only 10% of small businesses use Twitter? Ask us how we help our clients utilize Twitter... at no extra cost.

If your company did not profit from this year's Cyber Monday, do not wait until next year to be prepared for the big spending day in 2012! Since we offer free demonstrations of websites that are specific to business owners, there is nothing to loose in getting all your questions answered.

Five fantastic holiday prep tips!

Projections of another profitable eCommerce holiday shopping season continue to pop in our inbox, and this provides an excellent opportunity for you to create value in your business and your solution. So this week we've got five top tips that Small and Medium Businesses can use to get their site primed and ready for a big online shopping blitz!

Here are five fantastic holiday prep tips!

1. Step up your rich media. Add images and videos to enhance your product catalog. 
2. Boost your blogging efforts. Blogging provides fresh content to your digital presence, which means sharable content that search engines love. 
3. Run a cause-related campaign. Research has shown that consumers are more likely to spend on a product or brand if they know their money is going to "do good." In fact, a majority of shoppers are even willing to spend a little extra if it's for a good cause! 
4. National Free Shipping Day is December 16th. Run a promo and be ready! 
5. Deploy press releases. Implementing a cause-related campaign? Spotlighting a particular product for the holidays? Adding a seasonal menu item? By sharing press releases via social media or sites like Marketwire, businesses can leverage a unique way to get the word out. (It's a great tool for SEO, too!) 

Did you know... 
This Hot Topic on the holiday spending forecast is from comScore's and projections are bright!

Researchers are anticipating a 15 percent year-over-year increase for ecommerce during the shopping season. And the spree has begun, with $9.7 billion spent online already as of Nov. 20th - that's 14 percent more than the same dates in 2010!