Business Center

Business Center

DIE CASTING BUSINESS CENTER:

The following are various articles that are presented in the form of short "series" that are designed to help you improve your business and to avoid many of the pitfalls that are common in business and especially the die casting business. The articles were written by Jack Iwanski which has over 35 years experience in sales, marketing, graphic design, website design, website optimization and most importantly die casting. His unique perspective will help you to leverage the power of the Internet and grow your business. All the articles are written in simple to understand terms and provide easy to implement solutions. This page is a "work in progress" and will be updated regularly.

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	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Content is King (Part 11 of 12)

	Last time we discussed the fact that "Ranking" is defined as the placement of your website in a search list (the higher on the list the better). Another way to increase your website ranking is by offering great content. Great content means relevant, useful information. Here is were you have to be a little creative. The best way to do this is to ask yourself. "who is my audience? Also as yourself, if you were in their shoes what would you like to see of your website? Here are some possibilities. If you were a potential customer; - Would you like to see more photos of sample of castings your company has make? - Would you like to see some references of satisfied customers? - Would you like to see a clear picture of company and machine capabilities? - Would you like to have a company directory with direct phone numbers and emails for quick contact? - Would you like to see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)? - Would you like to see some industry guides? The possibilities are endless. The trick is to make your information so useful that the potential customer feels as though he would be missing out on something if he just glanced at it. When I am researching a new purchasing decision, I will occasionally stumble across a website this is incredibly useful. My first reaction is usually, "Wow, I better bookmark this site". That is the reaction you should be striving for. It is a great way for a potential customer to build a digital relationship with you, while learning more about their buying options. If you have a professional, logical and interesting presentation people will come back when it is time to make a decision to purchase.

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	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Never Underestimate the Internet! (Part 1 of 12)

	I am constantly amazed how many die casters still do not have a company website on the Internet. And if they do, how many of those websites are underdeveloped or "under construction" with very little or no information for visitors to see, no reason to stay, no reason to give you their business, and no reason to come back. This series will examine how to leverage the power of the Internet to boost your website, increase traffic on your website and as a result increase your sales. I will examine; 1) How to "get online" simply and inexpensively (if you have not done so already) 2) Threats that you need to overcome online 4) Why websites and businesses fail 5) Simple steps you can take not to fall into the same trap. The solutions given are the same ones I have used on this website and that have made the Beta website the No. 1 website in the world when it comes to used die casting equipment. If you follow my "insider" suggestions you will slash your lead cost in half and double the amount of leads you get from your website. All this will give you more "potential customers" for your service or product that will "knock" on your Internet door.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Getting Online Simply and Inexpensively (Part 2 of 12)

	Having a website is a fundamental part of doing business as a die caster, regardless of how big or small your company is and where you are located. In today's hectic style of business, people need to find you quickly. The harder you make it for them to find you, the less likely it is that you will get new business. Simply put, in the eyes of most customers today, if you are not on the Internet - then "you do not exist". If they cannot find you in a few minutes of searching, they move to their next option, which is most probably your competitor. There was a time that you almost had to be a rocket scientist to be able to setup a website. Those days are long gone. It has never been easier to setup a website and get online. Believe or not, the whole process can be done in about 2 hours. The key is to know where to look. You have two options when it comes to setting up a website. 1) Hire a website designer (highly customizable but more expensive and time consuming) 2) Do it yourself (less customization possible but quick and cheap) If by now you have not gone the route of hiring a website designer, than let me suggest that you do it yourself in one afternoon and be done with it. But do not do it just any old way - do it quickly and inexpensively. How can you do that - you are not a website designer or an Internet guru? Well, like I said, the key is to know where to look. Recently, several websites have popped up on the Internet that have taken the "pain" out of making your own website. Not only that, they have literally make it "extremely simple" to do so, even by people who know "absolutely nothing" about website design or how to setup a website. But even better than that, they have made all of this very, very inexpensive. The price is a rock bottom US $ 4.99 per month and includes your own personalized domain name (example: cooldiecasting@com) and personalized email address (example: joe@cooldiecasting@com). Next week I will consider a couple of these websites and why you should, if you have not done so already, setup a quick and inexpensive website right away.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Setting Up a Website (Part 3 of 12)

	Business people today need to make good, quick decisions. When people look for suppliers, such as die casters, they want to make sure that your company is reliable, well organized, can deliver the castings on time and has good quality machines which will ensure a good casting. Unfortunately, practically none of that can happen if people cannot even find you. Being able to be found by customers is fundamental and critical. The good news it that even if you are a small shop, you can present your company in a "professional manner" on the Internet and look just as good as the "big boys". Here are two websites that can help you to put together your website in one afternoon - even if you have no experience in website design. http://www.homestead.com ( $ 4.95 per month) www.1and1.com ($ 9.95 per month) Don't go by price alone. Check out both of them and see which one you like better and which one will be easier for you to use. At the time of writing this article both offer; - High quality website templates for your business with multiple design possibilities - Pages are easily customizable online - No software download needed - Unlimited pages, webspace, and traffic - Free domain name (important !!) - E-mail addresses with same domain name included (important !!) - FREE 24/7 Customer Support - Add Flash, YouTube®, Photo Galleries -- with a simple mouse click - No long-term contracts or setup fees (pay per month for as long as you like) If you have not done so already, put up a website. Do not put it off. Do it now.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: What To Put on Your Website? (Part 4 of 12)

	So the question is what should you put in your website? Good question. From now on the information provided here and in subsequent articles will apply to BOTH those who are planning a new website and those who already have a website. To answer the question about content on your website, you will need to get yourself organized. Gather up all you marketing materials such as brochures, photos, machinery specifications, company mission statement, etc. in one place on your desk. If you do not have any photos of your factor, equipment, machines, personnel, and products - then go and take some photos. People will want to see what your company is all about. At the very minimum you want these pages on your website ("our" meaning your company); - Our Company Advantage (this should be prominently shown on the first page of your website) - About Us (mission statement) - Our Facilities/Machinery - Our Products (samples of previous jobs) - Contact Us (full contact information) In these pages tell a factual story about your company and what it can do for the person viewing the website (your prospective customer). Put lots of thought into how you can show people why your company is different than other die casters and why they should do business with you - not someone else. Put that critical information in a clearly shown and predominant part of you main page. This should be one of the first things people should see when they visit your website.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: You Have Built it But Will They Come? (Part 5 of 12)

	So now with the tools I have shown you in the previous sections, you have built yourself a website. Excellent - but now what? Do you simply wait until people break your door down wanting your product or service? it is not so simple. There are 4 threats that you will have to eliminate which will stand in your way to having a successful website and boosting your business. In the coming weeks I will examine each of these threats, why you need to eliminate them as fast as possible and how to successfully eliminate them one at a time. The 4 threats to your website (and your business as a result) are; 1) People cannot find your website (and therefore your business) 2) People visit and leave 3) You let people leave without asking for their business 4) People do not come back You may have noticed that these threats to your website, are exactly the same threats that you face when you have a physical location such as a factory, production facility or even retail store. Yet, because we are talking about the Internet, the solutions are a little different. However, the general idea is exactly the same. It is common sense that people have to be able to find you, and that you have to offer them something interesting and finally you have to give people a reason to come back. Just because you exist does not solve these threats. Just because you have a website will not ensure that it will be successful and that the website will boost your business. To be successful, you have to address each of these threats and eliminate them one at a time.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: If Customers Can't Find You Then You Don't Exist! (Part 6 of 12)

	The last time I talked about 4 threats to your website. The greatest of these treats is the fact that people cannot find your website. Just because you have a website does not mean that people can find it. You have to make sure that it is listed in search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and others. Over 85% of internet traffic is generated by search engines. Submitting your Website to all Major Search Engines is the most effective way of promoting your Website on the Internet. Like creating a website, here too, you can either do the job yourself manually, with the aid of some software or you can hire a company to do it for you. It all depends on how good you are with a computer. Doing it yourself will give you more flexibility and control over the results. Do it Yourself Manually ============== You can "hand submit" your website address to the main search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. All you have to do is go to the the search engine and find a link on the bottom of the page called something like, "submit your website" or "submit you link" or "add you URL". Manual or "hand submission" as it is called, is free with almost all search engines, it is just time consuming. That is why many use submission software or a submission service company. Here are a few links to major search engines to get you started where you can submit your website for free. http://www.google.com/addurl/ (Google) http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit (Yahoo) http://www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx (Bing) Do it Yourself With Software ================== There are several good software programs that can take the time consuming legwork out of website submission. Here are just a few. Doing it yourself with good software will give you the most flexibility and control over the results. http://www.trafficseeker.com/index.html (about $ 200.) http://www.dynamicsoftware.com/dynamicwebceo.html (about $ 200.) http://www.trellian.com/seotoolkit/index.html (about $ 300.) Hire a Company to Do It =============== Here are a few companies which do website submission. http://www.worldsubmit.com/#pricing (about $ 60.) http://www.servicewrap.net/internet_promotion_3.html (about $ 80.) http://www.submitexpress.com/submit2500.html (about $ 100.)


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Don't Let Them Leave! (Part 7 of 12)

	The last time I showed you that the greatest treat to your website was that people cannot find it and how to overcome that treat. The next treat to your website, and therefore your business, is that after spending time, money and energy to design a website and to make sure people can find your website - when people do come and visit, they stay very briefly and leave without ever coming back again. The whole reason for this is that many website owners do not understand how a website is supposed to be designed and they have no clear vision of what the website is supposed to do. A website SHOULD be more than a couple of pages such as "What We Do" and "Contact Info". That is about as interesting as watching grass grow. Your website should be INTERESTING and WORTHWHILE to visit the first time and should give a very good reason to come back (preferably regularly). The worst thing that can happen is if people visit and leave. You would be surprised to know just how fast people will leave a boring website that has little or no interesting content. The statistics show that it is as fast as 3 seconds. That means you have very little time to "capture" someone's attention. So if your website "looks" boring and has boring "content" - poof ...... they are gone - never to return! And all your investment is good for nothing. So how do you stop people from leaving immediately and get them to spend time one your website? The answer is give them something worthwhile to see and experience. Show your factory, your good quality equipment, your production, your personnel, the quality of your products, your dependability, your prompt delivery, your service, etc. And do it all in a way that is clear, distinctive and well designed. Use lots of photos and preferably lots of video. Show people how your company is different from your competitors. Show them what you can do for them now and in the future. Show them why they should be happy that they found your website and how you will help them to grow their business. Next time I will consider why you want your visitors to spend as much time on your website as possible.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Why Have Your Visitor Hang Around? (Part 8 of 12)

	The last time I showed you how to keep the visitors from leaving your website and how to keep them hanging around. Today, I will show you why it is important to do so. As discussed last time, people will come back to your website and hang around a long time if you give them something interesting or worthwhile to see and/or do. However, in all of this there must be purpose for you as well. That purpose becomes apparent when we think in terms of company name, company image and name recognition. The more people wonder around your "interesting" website and the more times they come back because you give them a good reason to, the more they will remember your company when it is time to open their wallet and make a purchase. Large companies spend billions of dollars to be "in front" of people with their logo and company name. I am assuming that you do not have billions laying around. However, I am sure you want a similar result which is to be "remembered" when it is someone's time to buy something. I will give you one example. What if you are a die caster and you can offer a quote for any diecasting online on your website, in real time? Do you think people would stand up and notice of your company? Do you think people would come back to your website often? You do you think you could generate lots of business? The answer is YES! While this example may or may not work for you and your company, this is the way you should be thinking. Make peoples lives easier, better and help them, and they will give you money to do it.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: More Ideas to Make your Website "Sticky" (Part 9 of 12)

	The last time I suggested that one way to make your website "sticky" (Internet term for interesting and worth while returning to) was to be able to offer a quote for any die cast part online on your website, in real time. Of course, this does not mean that you have to show everyone your prices if you do not want to. Most die casters are in a very competitive market. So how can you offer instant online quotes and still be competitive? Simple. Most people shopping for a price on a die cast part initially want a "budget" price. Many want to just see if their project is feasible and/or practical and want some idea of price. That is where you can leverage the power of the Internet and your website becomes priceless - if it is designed correctly. No doubt your quotation department and/or person spends lots of time every day quoting "budget" type projects. Would it not be nice to be able to put all of that on "automatic pilot" and let your website do all the heavy lifting? Well, it can if you let it. NADCA and other die casting associations around the world have data that you can use to give people a "generic budget price" for castings based only a few simple criteria. Use that information and your instant online quotes will give people a really good reason to come back over and over to your website and make your company look professional. This principle does not only work with die castings. Die makers can also offer instant online quotes very effectively. using the same criteria. I know of one die maker (in the plastic injection industry) that is already doing it very effectively and successfully. Giving people instant online quotes is one thing. But how can you (here is the good part) use that to increase your sales? I will discuss that critical point next time.


	Series: How to Boost Business Using the Internet Article: Increase Your Visibility (Part 10 of 12)

	You can have the most beautiful website and the greatest "sticky" content in the world, but if no one can find your website then it is all good for nothing. In part 6 of this series I have already discussed how important it is to submit your website to search engines. However, an overlooked way to increase your website visibility is to have other sites link back to your website. This is a powerful way to increase the "ranking" your website gets when someone does a search in one of the search engines such as Google or Yahoo. Ranking is defined as the placement of your website in a search. So for example, when someone does a search in Google using the search criteria of "die caster" (with quotes) they will get a list of websites and a summary that looks like this; - Amount 184,000 results (0.38 seconds) That means there are 184,000 websites out there which have something or other related to "Die Casting". So if you get a higher ranking, your website will be shown closer to the top of the list. Obviously, you want to be at the top of the list (or as close as possible). One of the ways search engines process the ranking is by looking at your website and counting how many links there are from other websites back to your website. The logic behind this is that the more incoming links there are the more important your website must be. Getting, "important" websites to link back to your website is a time consuming process, but it is worth it. To help die casters in this regard, we can offer you 2 free links from our website to your website. These are not just any links. They are links from a "relevant" website with a very high ranking (actually, we have the highest ranking possible in the world in our category). Here are our 2 pages were you can get links from; http://www.beta-online.com/die_casting_links.htm (send me an mail at jack@beta-online.com and I will post it for you. http://www.beta-online.com/Classifieds/XcCPViewInCat.asp?ID=126 (do it yourself and put what you like) Use these 2 free links to your advantage and increase your website visibility!