Working as part of a web marketing team, I've had the chance to work with two e-newsletter solutions and I have become strongly opinionated as to what makes an excellent e-newsletter service and why one service is clearly better than another.
Of course I'm talking about iContact vs. Constant Contact. For years Constant Contact has been the industry leader until iContact came onto the scene. And for a long time I didn't understand why anyone would want to compete with Constant Contact--it had such a big reputation. Then I tried using it. It goes to show you that if you have a business idea that already exists in the marketplace -who is to say that you can't do it better?
And iContact does e-newsletters better than Constant Contact.
One of my duties as the Project Manager is also to answer the phone. I've had a lot of jobs that revolved around providing phone-based customer service, but I find working with web design clients very rewarding.
One aspect I enjoy is listening to the problems of potential clients who are unhappy with their current web design team. It's not so much that I enjoy hearing that they're unhappy as much as I enjoy knowing that we can fix their problems. It's in these conversations that I've discovered what people are looking for in a top notch web design team.
Here are some of the complaints I hear from unhappy web customers:
The idea of building a web site can be daunting for small business owners. It can seem expensive and distracting from your main business. However, most people get their information about services and products from the Internet and it is important for every business to have a web presence. If you spend some time really thinking through your goals, your message(s) and your audience, and you partner up with the right web development team, your web site can increase your business substantially.
When considering or making a new web site, keep these essential things in mind:
1. Keep it Simple
Most small businesses don't need bells and whistles. Let your experience, products and services speak for themselves. Flash "splash pages" are distracting for most web visitors who already know what they're looking for. Save yourself the money and save your visitors time and don't bother.
Click here to subscribe to the Target Practice feed with a feed reader
