Apr 26, 2015 | Technology
by John Foley, Jr., CEO of interlinkONE and Grow Socially
In today’s technology-driven world, your company’s website is arguably its most important marketing tool. As such, the content and design of the website should accurately reflect your vision, services, brand, and ideals. A poorly designed or dysfunctional website could cost your business a substantial amount of potential revenue.
It’s time to take a good look at your website. The first step to- wards improving your corporate website is knowing which critical mistakes you’re currently making, and how you can fix them. Does your company or organization need a website makeover? If you’re not sure, here’s how to tell.
1. Poor Design Mobile: There’s nothing wrong with wanting a unique website, but too much creativity in design can result in a loss of clarity, focus, and appeal for your organization’s target audience. Your target audience must play a key role in influencing the design of your website. Younger markets may be more attracted to websites with youthful imagery and color schemes, while older target audiences may prefer a larger font size and simpler designs. By clearly identifying your target audience in advance, you will be able to create a website that speaks directly and efficiently to your customers. This, in turn, will provide them with a positive business experience.
A corporate website design should be relatable to the user and make him or her feel in control. Images and animation are a plus when used properly. The excessive use of images, however, will only detract from the website’s focus and clarity. A good idea would be to incorporate visual banners that feature your target markets and highlight specific products and services. Banners can be changed and updated regularly to maintain relevancy. The right font is also important for legibility; small or atypical fonts make text difficult to read, defeating the purpose of using the website as a marketing tool. Readability is a crucial element of any successful website.
Pop-up windows, advertisements, and auto-playing videos or sounds are other distractions that can detract from a website’s function and design. Think of yourself as a consumer; do you like websites that have pop-up advertisements or images flooding each page? Chances are the answer is no. A simple design that’s well organized, has visual appeal, and utilizes readable fonts will be more effective in the long run.
3. Disorganized, Non-Relevant Content: A website’s design may attract attention, but it is the content that will ultimately drive consistent traffic to a site, and keep people engaged while visiting it. Content can ultimately determine the success or failure of a new website. Homepage content should be well structured and designed to accurately reflect what your company has to offer. A cluttered or overly flashy homepage can turn potential customers off from the start. Can visitors determine what your company or organization does within seconds of reaching the homepage? If not, it may be time to consider a re-design.
Text that does not utilize page titles, headings/sub headings, bullets, or paragraphs makes it more difficult for users to find the information they need. Quality, not quantity, is what consumers want from contemporary business websites. According to Forbes Magazine, visual options are more effective when kept to a minimum. Also, remember that the copy used on your website also directly impacts its search engine optimization (SEO) ranking. This is so crucial because prospective customers should be able to find your website online simply by using a quick search.
Website content should also be up to date and relevant to the visitor. Unnecessary or outdated content reflects poorly on a company’s image, giving visitors the impression that your business has little interest in meeting the needs of the public. By posting regular, updated content, your company will benefit from greater consumer interest and a higher ranking on Google’s search engines to generate even more traffic to your site.
3. Lack of Inbound Marketing Opportunities: In order to convert website visitors and build your online following, you need to be taking advantage of inbound marketing opportunities. Inbound marketing allows prospective customers to fill out forms or landing pages that are directed to your sales team. This way, prospects are coming to you willingly, and the need for outbound, direct marketing campaigns is eased.
As important as inbound marketing is, many businesses and organizations neglect to include these calls to action on their website. A call to action may be a request to purchase a product, download content, register for more information, subscribe to a newsletter, share comments, or more. The ultimate goal of inbound marketing and calls to action is to encourage users to initiate an inquiry and become a lead for your sales team to follow up on. Your inbound marketing devices and calls to action should be simple, clear-cut, and placed in strategic locations on the website where they can easily be found.
4. Flawed Navigation: Successful websites are quick and easy to navigate, so visitors don’t become frustrated and waste their time looking for information. A clear sitemap and simple navigation are important aspects of your corporate website design, as they enable visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for within a short amount of time. When using text for navigation, remember to be brief and“to the point.”Hyperlinks should be clearly visible; dead links should be avoided at all costs. The use of headers, footers, and a main menu should be consistent throughout the site. All subpages should be easily accessible also.
In addition, your website should include links to relevant content throughout all pages. Never hand your audience the chance to walk away without making an impression. At the end of each page, suggest other relevant pages and interesting content. Your sitemap should also be designed so visitors can easily navigate their way back to the main pages, including, but not limited to, the home, contact, and services pages. Easy navigation makes a business website more efficient and provides clarity to its users.
5. Lack of Mobile Capability: Today’s average consumer is very busy, which should not be a surprise to anyone. Now more than ever, accessibility is a must for any successful website. As people are constantly multi-tasking and obtaining information on the go, there is no arguing the importance of responsive web design. Your audience expects instant connectivity wherever and whenever they desire. This includes web browsing on the go via mobile devices.
A Google study by market research firms SmithGeiger and Sterling Research revealed that 67% of consumers were more likely to conduct online business with companies that had a mobile compatible website. A great deal of Internet browsing today is conducted via mobile devices. If your website lacks mobile compatibility, you could very well be losing out on valuable revenue opportunities to competitors.
Does Your Website Pass the Test?
Ultimately, your website should be the hub of all marketing efforts for your company. It is your organization’s face to the world, and often provides your target audience with a first impression of your business. For this reason, it’s essential to keep your website up to par with your audience’s expectations. So, with that said, take a long look at your company’s website. Is it making any of the mistakes listed above? If so, it may be time for a new website. The bottom line is to invest in a quality website. It will pay off.
Apr 23, 2015 | Workforce Development
Should Visit MI! Works Site
We visited the easy-to-navigate MI! Works site and PIM Members seeking workforce development help are encouraged to do the same!
Go to www.michiganworks.org and Click on “Employers”
Click on “One-Stop Service Centers” Twenty-four MichiganWorks! Service Agencies oversee the local Michigan Works! Service Centers where employers like you can access services.
Choose a number from an area of the Michigan map, or, use the search bar to the left of the Lower Michigan map to choose by county or zip code. When we entered 48067, a Royal Oak zip, we got:
“One-Stop Service Centers results for 48067”
- 22180 Parklawn – Oak Park
- 21030 Indian – Southfield
- 550 Stephenson Highway – Troy
- 31186 Beck Road – Novi
- 501 N. Cass Lake Road – Waterford
- 713 East Nine Mile Road – Ferndale
- 1850 North Perry Street – Pontiac
- 2218 S. Milford Road – Highland
Plenty to choose from!
When you click on a specific location, you’ll get the address, phone and fax numbers and a link to click on for the hours of operation (which vary by Service Center). You can also click the “Directions” tab, which opens up the Google.com/maps site.
Once you choose your Service Center location, there are three steps recommended:
- Visit a Michigan Works! One-Stop Service Center so their staff can show how they can best help your business.
- Develop a plan tailored to your own business when you speak with local, experienced Michigan Works! staff who are on-the-job to help you meet your talent demands.
Apr 18, 2015 | Finance
Financial Ratio Analysis
by Stuart W. Margolis, CPA,MT • ( Philadelphia Phillies Fan!)
For most of us, ratios are not something we think of every day, at least not until springtime and the onset of baseball season. If you want to compare two Major League home-run hitters, you are likely to compare their batting averages. If one is hitting .389 and the other’s average is .236, you immediately know which is doing better, even if you don’t know precisely how a batting average is calculated. When applied to business, think of ratios as “batting averages for business”. In baseball or in business most ratios measure some form of productivity. They generally give an indication of how one result varied in relation to another. Ratios are a tool to make it easier to do an “apples to apples” comparison.
In fact, the classic batting average statistic is:
The number of hits made by the batter, divided by the number of times the player was at bat. (For baseball enthusiasts, those are “official at-bats,” which is total appearances at the plate minus walks, sacrifice plays and any time the player was hit by a pitch.)
The batting average is thought of as a measure of a baseball player’s productivity; it is the ratio of hits made to the total opportunities to make a hit.
Hits at Bats
Other baseball ratios include Earned Run Averages, Average Pitching Strikes to Ball Ratio and more. For some reason, they all make sense to us. Avid fans can visually see each pitch, strike out and hit so they have a general idea of how players and team are performing.
In business, it is more difficult to “see” productivity, especially productivity as compared to the competition. After all, we don’t line up and engage a competitor in an open field for the whole world to see. It makes monitoring ratios all the more critical.
There are many ratios you can use to monitor productivity verses the competition. They all measure how good a job your company is doing using its assets, generating profits from each dollar of sales, turning over inventory, or whatever aspect of your company’s operation you are evaluating.
For your business, ratios are nothing more than simple comparisons between specific pieces of information pulled from your company’s balance sheet and income statement. You can use ratio analysis to examine the current performance of your company in comparison to past periods of time, from the prior quarter to years ago. Frequently, this can help you identify problems that need to be fixed. Even better, it can direct your attention to potential problems that can be avoided.
In addition, you can use ratios to compare the performance of your company against that of your competitors or other members of your industry.
Remember the ratios you will be calculating are intended simply to show broad trends and thus to help you with your decision-making. They need only to be accurate enough to be useful to you. Don’t get bogged down calculating ratios to more than one or two decimal places.
General trends and striking disparities are important to watch. There could be good reason for the disparities, but understanding them, understanding why they exist and how they impact your pricing and bottom line profit can make all the difference in the world to estimating, sales pricing, sales pitch delivery, future purchasing and more.
Our example firm resulted in a factor of 1.87 and fell into the “Could be a chance of the company heading towards bankruptcy within 2 years of operations from the date of financial figures given.” In reality, they fell towards the bottom range of this category. This particular company was sold, instead of moving into bankruptcy, almost 2 years after these results received!
In recent years, we’ve helped companies with less than favorable Z-Scores turn around and thrive. If you are in trouble call and get help.
Just like baseball General Managers use ratios to decide who to sign for a season, banks and investors use financial ratios as a method to decide who is worthy to sign too. Knowing your “stats” ahead of time will help your position if evaluated. Can you imagine a baseball General Manager drafting a player who is unsure of his batting average?
An annual glance at the competition is worth the time. In print and packaging, Printing Industries of America (PIA) has an Annual Financial Ratios Study that’s free to members of the association and members of PIA’s affiliated groups. (survey sea- son extends through May). Membership to PIA and affiliated groups is “corporate”, so find out if your company’s a member and participate. Non-members can participate for a fee. If you don’t feel like filling out a survey, contact me. We will complete it for you. To make it really easy, you can even order a Customized Financial Report. It shows your actual numbers verses the competition. It’s worth it especially if the GM of the competition has this information. Now go out there and play ball!
Apr 4, 2015 | Programs
From the PIM
The Printing Industries of Michigan has recently partnered with ITU AbsorbTech as a preferred provider for printer towels and other rental service programs, including SorbIts® reusable absorbents, garments, floor mats, cotton roll towels and mops. Members have two ways to save – an annual rebate for rental services and 15% discount on direct purchase services, including First Aid and ITUdirect.
For over 80 years, ITU AbsorbTech has provided launderable, reusable textile products in support of cleaner, safer work environments. They are a family business committed to Genuine Service Excellence, process and service innovation, and community involvement.
“We are proud to partner with the Printing Industries of Michigan,” says Jim Leef, president and third generation owner of ITU AbsorbTech. “Our in-house processing technology is uniquely set-up to benefit the graphics industry. In addition to providing a cleaner, better printer towel, our proprietary solvent recovery and reporting technology supports key compliance requirements and environmental initiatives for our graphics customers.”
ITU AbsorbTech’s processing facilities utilize advanced processing systems for wastewater, VOC emissions and other environmental controls. ITU AsorbTech became the first laundry facility to achieve ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 registrations in the United States and is unmatched in recovering and recycling hydrocarbon soils.
“As a family business, we have a long-standing tradition of service excellence and look forward to demonstrating that difference to the Printing Industries of Michigan membership,” says Leef.
For more information about the rebate and discount programs, please visit ITUAbsorbTech.com/PIM, or call their Customer Response Center at 888-729-4884 and identify yourself as a Printing Industries of Michigan member.
