A SWOT analysis is similar to surveying the ground before construction on a building begins. It's a method of evaluating the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the environment in which you will build your project. A high quality survey of a building lot shows you the wet areas and spots where ledge would make it difficult to dig a cellar hole. It also shows you the "lay of the land" in contours so you can take advantage of a good solar exposure for your project and keep it away from the windiest spots. In some cases, surveying the lot comes before the project is designed so that any special environmental characteristics can be taken into account. At the very least, you will know what you are in for before you start.

A SWOT analysis for a business begins with a specified end state or objective (in our example above, the building) and is typically an early step in strategic planning to allow for easy adjustments before major investments are made.

Each of the following factors should be examined and described in writing.

• Strengths
  What are the characteristics of your business or management team that give it an advantage over others in the industry?
  
  
• Weaknesses
  All businesses have characteristics that put them at a disadvantage relative to their competitors. What are yours?
  
  
• Opportunities
  What can you identify as external chances to make greater sales or profits?
  
  
• Threats
  On the other hand, what are the external elements that could cause trouble for the business now or down the road?

Once you have identified SWOTs, you will be in a better position to plan the best path for your project or business and also more likely to achieve success.

For example, you and your team can use the SWOTs to decide whether attaining your objective is possible. If it turns out that the environment is just not suited for the project, you can define a new objective and run the SWOT analysis again. It's likely that SWOT analysis will steer you toward a project or objective that is more likely to be successful, even if you have to start over.

So, where do you get this information? Start with the people who know most about the environment in which you will be working. This includes your employees, your sales people and your customers. They each bring a special perspective to the exercise and are typically eager to give you useful feedback. It's also likely that they will be more engaged in your work as you go forward and will help you achieve your objectives when you consult them at the early stages.

Happy SWOTting!

Many business owners question why a brand is so important. Some have even taken the stance that it doesn't directly affect or increase income, so having a brand is not a big deal. But in all reality a good brand can make a company successful, just as no brand identity or a poorly executed one could break a business.

Let's do a quick exercise. Think about the following companies: Coca-Cola, Coach Purse, Burger King, Lexus, Mrs. Butterworth. With most of them, you could probably easily visualize their logo, their packaging and be able to describe them in a few words. That's all part of what makes their brand. If the packaging changed often, the logo were inconsistent, and the pricing constantly fluctuated, we would not recognize the company and would possibly not associate it with its products.

Additionally, the brand is what differentiates and adds value to the company or product. That's why consumers spend hundreds of dollars on a Coach purse, but would never even see a $500 purse at Walmart. Or why in an economic slump, Apple is still strong in sales while charging top dollar on a product that is not a "necessity".

Your company's brand is what defines your company's purpose and promise and it helps customers understand why your organization was created in the first place. It adds value to your organization and if you stay true to your brand identity, it will pay off over time. Everything you do to market your business should be compatible with your brand. If you don't have a brand, your marketing campaigns and promotions will be inconsistent... and that's not going to help you become a leader in your industry.

We'd be happy to discuss your brand with you or help you define one.

Relationship marketing is exactly what it sounds like: creating a relationship with a customer to make sales easier and more efficient.

The original relationship marketing in my life was when I pedaled my bicycle to the local store on a busy street and the owner, an elderly woman, would put together the products that my mother had ordered by phone. I would pay and carry everything home. The store owner and my mother had a personal relationship so I would be watched as I rode toward the store and again as I was heading home. I’m sure my mother bought more from that little store than the prices or selection warranted. It was the relationship that was important.

So, how do we do this today, especially when selling to customers over the Internet? Obviously, we can’t see our customers but we sure can get to know them. Multiple communication avenues now exist and any or all of them can help us build lasting relationships with our customers.

For example, by requiring online store customers to register, we can offer “specials” to those customers and stay in touch with them on a regular basis. We can reach out to them with surveys, our Facebook page or instant chat to make sure we hear their preferences, their compliments, or their complaints when one of our processes has failed them.

The last type of communication may be the most important. When a customer has a complaint, it’s important that we respond immediately and fix whatever is not right. If we are committed to good customer service, we should be willing to respond to complaints publicly. Other customers will appreciate knowing how your company takes care of its customers and your brand will increase in value in their eyes.

Well Web Development can help you find and communicate with your customers in a way that helps relationships grow.

We find that many people are confused about the difference between these two activities. Let’s see if we can clarify the terms a bit.

Marketing usually comes first and includes advertising, public relations, brand marketing, word of mouth and direct mail campaigns. When these efforts are effective, they set the stage for a successful sales transaction. Marketing takes the “cold” out of sales calls by laying groundwork about the product or service being sold. If the prospect has never heard of the company or product before the call to action, the result will be a very low calls-to-close ratio.

The actual sales process is what happens during the interaction with the customer and can occur on a phone, in a one-on-one meeting, in an online store, or during networking events.

A simple example is a bricks and mortar retail store. If the store’s marketing efforts have been effective, the customer arrives already interested in a product with enough information to ask intelligent questions about it. All the salesperson has to do at that point is learn what the customer really wants and explain how the product can provide it. Closing the sale under these circumstances is an easy task.

When marketing and sales efforts are both working equally well, companies can tally up impressive successes.

Let Well Web Development help you plan or analyze your online sales efforts, develop a clean customer interface and work with you to deliver interested customers to your door.

Perhaps you have heard of the psychological phenomenon called Fear of Success, where a person is so nervous about achieving succcess that he feels anxious about it. I think there is a similar reaction to the concept of marketing. I have friends who tell me they hate marketing and I have responded by explaining that just by talking with someone on the phone or entering into a conversation with a stranger, we are heavily involved in marketing our appearance, voice, facial expressions and manners (the proverbial first impression.)

Everyone is involved in marketing something. Think about the process involved in a job interview.

Before the interview, you:

• Do some research about the company
• Learn something about the person who will be conducting the interview
• Guess at the main problems that a new person will be asked to solve
• Match up your perceived skills with potential solutions and
• Prepare yourself to show the side of your personality that best answers the needs.

That is marketing in a nutshell.

Internet marketing is really no different except for the tools available. Your company has a variety of tools to help you research your competition, measure and identify your audience, ask your audience about what it needs, organize your products and services so your audience can find solutions, and communicate in a continuous way to be sure you are fulfilling the needs of your audience.

Get used to it; marketing is just another human activity like breathing.

Well Web Development has spent years learning how to using Internet tools to meet audience needs and can take you step by step through your marketing projects.

Don’t be afraid, just take a deep breath and give us a call.