Image is everything - Online and Off!

The evolution of the Internet has really changed the way we communicate, market and promote our business and network with others. Looking at the way you are presenting yourself or your business online, how do you measure up to competition in terms of content and information?

How is your marketing presentation?

The way you look is important online as it is offline. The marketing materials should be fresh, clean and concise. Make sure your colors and overall presentation corresponds to the overall design of the scheme or branding. You would not want people to ask if they have your company confused with another.

In collaboration - be careful about the imagery used in the presentation materials. Some colors and image types are considered offensive to specific markets. For example, did you notice that Gateway does not use more cow print prominently on their marketing materials. Perhaps because some cultures hold the cow as a sacred symbol, and use it in a business sense was considered inappropriate? Food for thought.

How Do You Look?

Not many people have been interested in the cookout last year, or play softball with your child, to post pictures of themselves at events unrelated to your business could cost a customer. This might be a bit 'hard, but the fact of the matter is, many people still did not get the memo about personal photos into business presentations.

Believe it or not, Wal-Mart probably has a Photo Center at a store near you, and you may do well to exploit the opportunities there. A photo of you in your dress from a digital camera, most often does not capture the confidence of a customer. If you want people to believe that you are serious about doing business, so you have to invest in themselves a bit '.

What exactly are you selling?

We are in the information age. A web site with any information is useless as a car with no transmission. Be clear about what you are selling. Do not guess your product or service, or how to buy it. If the content of the website is not clear, then it is likely that your visitors are confused. Customers do not buy Confused.

Ok, so how do you know if the information is confusing. Well, first remember that you are not going to appeal to every single person who comes to your site. The truth is that some people are so quick and you will be sure that even a 6 year old can understand what you are trying to say. I recommend this test. Let someone know that reading your material. If you find that you have to explain anything while you're reading - which re-write! Online customers do not always contact you to ask questions, and then its best to try to keep the content can be simplistic. (Use the KISS method!)

Have a clear call to action?

What do you want to do when people come to your site? If you're not asking what you want, I guarantee you'll get exactly what you asked for - nothing. In most cases you are selling something. Whether it's services or products, ensure that the prices or price range is clear. The beauty of doing business on the web is that it offers a self-service environment. Use to its advantage. Do not the people you call for price if you do not want to answer a million calls, or if you're never there to answer.

By the way, a major pet peeve of mine is when I go offline to do something that I found online! Believe me, I'm not the only one that quickly and avoid having to print to fax something, or run the post office. If you are serious about doing business online, then by all means, the web is filled with 100 million other sites that are willing to do what it will do. Remember I said a minute ago to invest in yourself? It also applies here. PayPal (www.paypal.com), ProPay (www.propay.com) and 2Checkout (www.2checkout.com) are alive and ready to help, and forms can be done in minutes with Wufoo (www.wufoo.com ).

Do not be afraid to learn something new, or to spend a bit 'of money on something that will save time for you and your customers. The point is to make your product and service information accessible, available, and interactive! ......