Statistics from www.internetworldstats.com have just been released for the quarter to December 31^st 2009.

There are now 1.802 Billion internet users of a world population of 6.767 Billion people!
Australia (and oceanic region) has a 60.8% internet penetration rate of its 34.7 Million population. That’s over 21 Million internet users locally. Although they only represent 1.2% of the world’s internet users, they represent 100% of our local markets.

If you don’t have internet representation and use it as a critical point in your marketing and business development, your competition will be!

If you are considering a website or giving your current one a makeover, make sure you download and go through this presentation first.  It is about understanding the internet and some basic statistics and how to use it.  You need some knowledge before you start using the world’s fastest marketing medium.

Understanding IT Website Terms

John Burkhardt – Amplio Business Solutions

I’m utterly amazed at the quantity of potentially effective websites receiving no traffic to them. This is due to lack of education.

Many website developers don’t seem to be educating the website owner on how the site needs to be constructed so that the search engines – i.e. Google can find them.

Some basic hints on checking your website:

Open up your site, right click just off to the side (where there is no text) of the webpage and choose View Source.
This brings up some of the coding behind your website.
Click on the Edit tab (top left hand corner) in the box that drops down click on Find.
This brings up a Find box. Enter in the Find box the word Google.
This will take you to the first Google word in the text – it will be highlighted in green for you.
The purpose of this exercise is to direct you to the Google analytics or tracking information on your site.
If the Find feature cannot find the word Google – you are in need of some basic search engine optimization (SEO).

This process can also be used to search for keywords within your website.
Once again if you don’t find any keywords applicable to your site, you are in need of some basis SEO.

The main purpose of these two functions is:

1. To let Google know you exist and to track your website traffic

2. To let Google know what keywords are relevant to that page for tracking

One of our Amplio Coaching Partner’s does SEO work and if you need some further information
please contact us and we will introduce you.

Lastly, do you have your contact details and a contact form (for email) on every page on your site to make it easier for people to contact you!

I’m sure this will help!

John Burkhardt – Amplio Business Solutions

If you are a client or prospect of mine you will have recently received an invitation to unsubscribe off my newsletter list if you wished.

Sounds like it is in reverse? Well not really, like so many other businesses we gather all types of information from our customers and associates and then only later attempt to collate it into a usable tool for updating people on our business, products and other important information

One of the most important results in customer relationships is that the majority leave as “the business didn’t care about me”, this is also because they never kept in touch.

The key points to note regarding customer contact is:

• Keep the content relevant
• Be regular with your contact, usually every 10-18 days
• Allow the unsubscribe link, better to have clients on your list that want to hear from you
• Be spasmodic if you have a great offer or discovery to share with them, but keep it short, sharp and to the point.
• Cover 3-4 items and save the rest for the next newsletter
• Collect as much information from your client as possible; it helps you identify with their challenges and offer relevant information
• Encourage feedback

This is a great start to developing a relationship.  As with most business’s they haven’t done this for quite some time, so just go through the steps one at a time, plan it and start sending the Newsletters even if you don’t have everyone on the list yet.

Happy Marketing

John Burkhardt – Amplio Business Solutions

Technology is the answer! Forget the drawer full of business cards, rolodex and other items.

The power of technology now is great for use with storing information.  Look for  a mobile phone which can synchronize with your computer or laptop.  This is a great way to put your information on your computer outlook (or similar contact management) and then upload the information to your telephone.  I becomes quite time effective during the day and just put in a system that can automatically back up the files when the phone gets close with Bluetooth or an USB cord.

If you have to manually hook up the USB cord, make it the last thing you do in the evening whilst you recharge the phone for the next day.  You will find that your information is always up to date and the phone is always charged.

Most of the newer phones have these capabilities, you just have to ask.  You don’t need a blackberry or iPhone either.  Even the new phones can be synched to upload photos (client pictures or pictures of their premises etc)

Obviously there is more to consider if you share contacts to a server etc, but you can see the power of technology when used correctly.

Simple systems like this are cost effective to implement and can increase your time efficiency greatly.

Its worth the effort.

John B – Amplio Business Solutions

Always swamped with emails and how to manage them?  Got no idea where that email is that you are looking for?

Here are some simple email tips to make you and your time more productive!

1. Learn Outlook or your email program.  The training in the help function and online tutorials is well worth the effort.

2. Match your Inbox folders up to your business structure.  If you haven’t created sub folders in your Inbox, make a point of learning how and doing it. i.e. set up an Accounting folder with sub folders for the government body (ATO, IR etc) and sub folders for the book keeper etc.

3. Follow up your Inbox sub folders with automatic rules and alerts.  Control where the emails come in and the folder they get stored in.  If all else fails you can click on the Unread Mail icon to get all of them up.  This is also a good way of scanning through the incoming emails.

4. Have all emails come into specific email addresses.  This can be info or manager or the department name.  However you set up your business structure, carry it through into all things you do electronically.

5. Send all your emails in the same format. In the header of the email set it up such as AMPLIO – new blog entry or something that highlights who the client is and what it is about.  If it is an internal email to a broad email address then put the persons initials in front of the header entry such as JB – AMPLIO – new blog entry.

6. You can change the header entry on any emails you receive simply by opening them and then altering the header and saving that email.

7. Get a teenager to show you how to do some stuff!  Surprisingly, they sometimes know tricks even we can’t come up with!

8. Experiment, experiment, experiment.

9. Document what you have done and the rules

Have fun out there – in email land

John Burkhardt – Amplio Business Solutions

As such we have created a short presentation which explains the most common basics of the internet and how things fit together.  Please email us  to obtain a copy of the presentation.  This is part of the same presentation to be used at workshops.

The main reason to dedicate a blog to IT services is to convey that knowledge is power.  You don’t have to be an IT person or super IT tech, however it certainly saves a lot of time and money if you understand the industry, the terms and how the basic structures work.

Whether employing an in house IT person or subcontracting this role out, make time to become aware of what is available, make sure you understand the basics of how things work, their capacity, features and how the network (connect) together.

The most productive part of utilizing information technology is to plan ahead. It performs much better when you have made the decisions surrounding IT to compliment your business planning and direction.  Sometimes an upgrade on a machine to expand its functions or capacity can have 100% increase in capacity for less than 10% additional cost.  This is irrelevant if your IT consultant doesn’t show you these options when quoting to your business.

The most significant advance outside of email and the internet is the ability of devices such as Blackberry’s and IPhones which can become mobile business computers.  With the ability to use email and web searching from these devices along with calenders and other office documents, they have become a powerful and efficient tool in business development.

When sourcing an IT professional, ask for referrals from peers you respect, work out what you want (the big picture) before hand, check the quality of their work with their customers, set realistic time frames and enter into maintenance agreements to ensure you remain top of their preferred customers.

Educate yourself on IT developments and the use of IT solutions to stay in contact with customers, prospects, provide information 24/7 and to structure your business model and organizational plan to leverage the most out of the technology base you have.

We are shortly adding a book/presentation about the terms and how to navigate the IT world.

Regards, John

John Burkhardt - Amplio Business Solutions