Quick W.I.T.S.

So yesterday, while Facebook and Instagram were both experiencing outages and many people were having trouble accessing the sites or seeing their feeds, it got me thinking again about social media as a whole, and how much we've come to rely on it. See, I think Blanche DuBois got it wrong. We can't  rely on the kindness of strangers - not when it comes to business. More and more small businesses are choosing to forego having a website of their own in favor of putting all their eggs in the social media basket. The problem with this idea, of course, is that you don't have any control over what Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or the others choose to do. If they change their platform, it messes up your business in the search results. If they decide to start showing their own ads on your page, or redirecting traffic to competing companies, or jack up the price of making your own ads, or even hold your business page hostage unless you pay them fees for the right to be displayed,...

This week in Tools of the Trade, we will be discussing project stakeholders - the key people in your company that will help you implement changes or fixes to your processes, programs, or business practices. If you're not sure how to identify the problems that require changes or fixes, be sure to check out our previous Tools of the Trade article, Process Mapping . What is a stakeholder? A stakeholder is, simply put, anyone at your company who has a role or a stake in the process you are working on improving or adding. They can be the employees who perform the actual work, employees who are affected by the work once it's done, employees who depend on the results of the work to do their own work, managers who are responsible for the department the work gets done in, and so forth. The stakeholders of your project will be your key allies in figuring out what is causing your problems, deciding how to fix it, and helping you get the job done. Why are stakehol...

When I came up with the idea for Tools of the Trade, the very first thought that came into my head was Process Mapping. It's pretty much the first thing any business analyst or project manager whips out of their bag of tricks whenever they start a new project. It's ubiquitous in the industry, because it's so powerful and diverse. Despite this, it's not something that has really made its way outside of the project management toolbox. I think that's a real shame, because it's so useful. With a bit of work, it can easily be adapted to almost any industry or small business, and help them to identify problems, make better decisions, and track their progress. So for my first Tools of the Trade article, we're taking an in-depth look at Process Mapping. What is process mapping? On the surface, process mapping is exactly what it sounds like. It is a visual representation of all the steps in a process from start to finish. To create one, you map out all the st...

When I started this blog, my goal was always to help other businesses by offering tips and advice based on my own experiences as a small business owner, and on my professional training as a programmer and project manager. I wasn't looking for a platform or to make a name for myself, I just thought I could be helpful and maybe tell some interesting stories (also, if I'm being brutally honest, I also like to talk at length, so a blog seemed like a good outlet for a socially awkward person like me). Today's post is nothing like anything I've written before. I can only call it helpful in that, at best, it is a perfect example of what not to do. Sometimes, a company does something so bad, its only purpose could be to serve as a warning to others. Today, I want to talk about the worst customer experience I've ever had. The Setup For those that don't know, my work laptop has actually been dying for the last several months. Some of the components have stopped wo...

Over the past month, we've been talking in depth about website content, and really focusing on design philosophy to maximize the impact and effectiveness of every page of your site. Today, I'd like to look back briefly on that overall design, and share some final thoughts on putting it all together into a complete, unified package. This is the final article in my Design in Detail series, the post mortem. If you haven't read the previous entries in the series, be sure to click the "Design in Detail" label at the bottom of this article to see them all, or just click here to go to the first entry. First, let's take a quick look at the four main pages of most business websites, and review what you should be trying to accomplish with each page: The "Home" Page Your Home page is usually the first page visitors see when they come to your site, unless they searched for something very specific that took them to a sub-page instead. So this is where fi...

Today, in the fourth installment of Design in Detail, we're talking about the Contact page of your website. While it's true that the Contact page is probably the most straightforward page on the site for most businesses, there are still some key pieces of information and best practices we should use to make sure we're getting the most out of the page, and that it's providing our customers with the tools and information they need to connect with us and conduct business. So, with that in mind, here are 5 tips to improve your website's Contact page: 1. Be Accessible You want people to get in touch with you. That's the whole point of the contact page. So be sure to include as many ways for them to reach you as possible. Some people are turned off by contact forms, since they don't know what happens with the info after they submit it. So include a phone number or email address as well. Also include your hours of operation - people shouldn't have to con...

In today's installment of Design in Detail, we're discussing what makes a good Product page for your website. This article will be a little bit different than the previous ones; every company is unique, and the products and services they offer vary greatly. So instead of listing out specific features you should include on your page, I thought it would be more helpful to review the overall design and layout of the Product page, and offer advice on how to catch your visitors' attention and turn them into customers. With that in mind, here are 5 tips to improve your website's Product page: 1. Avoid Clutter A lot of product pages are overwhelming, with tons of detail, lots of information, and options all over the page. This can make it hard to read (especially on mobile), and is generally frustrating to customers. The best thing you can do is to keep your page as simple as possible. Don't have a lot of fancy graphics taking up screen space, don't put too much...

It may sound like a no-brainer, but you'd be amazed how quickly client interactions can go poorly just because you're not speaking the same language they are. Your customers are telling you what they want and need all the time... you just have to learn how to hear what they're saying. There's more to it than just listening - anyone can listen. It takes more effort to actually hear them. In my years as a project manager, I developed an ideology for how to work with people to achieve the results that both you and they want. I called it the "L.E.S.S. is More" strategy, which stood for Listen, Empathize, Secure, and Satisfy. I know, it sounds like one of those cheesy business self help books, but it really works. Ultimately, all L.E.S.S. does is help you and your customer get on the same page, to ensure you're not working at cross purposes, and that nothing important is left out. Let's run it down: 1. Listen Again, it may seem silly to list this ...

The About Us page is the heart and soul of your website. It's probably the most important page on your site, it's usually the most visited page, and it is absolutely the hardest page to get just right. In today's installment of Design in Detail, we're looking at key features you should include in your About Us page, and how to make the most of this critical part of your website. To help us decide what to put on the About Us page, we really need to understand why customers look for this page in the first place. The primary reason is that they want to learn something about you and your business; not just who you are and what you do, but also things like what makes you special, what's important to you, or even why they should trust you versus your competition. With that in mind, here are 5 important features that I think every About Us page should include, in one form or another: 1. Tell Your Story Most of the time, the About Us page will end up having more t...

People ask me all the time what content their website needs to be successful as a marketing tool. Whether you're building a website yourself or having one professionally built by a web designer, there are a few key features or aspects your site should always include to maximize its effectiveness. Today, I'm starting a new series of in-depth articles called "Design in Detail" discussing the pages that websites usually contain, and the features that you should be including to make the most of each page. Every Thursday for the next several weeks, I'll post a new article in the series, covering a new page. The goal of these articles is to help you make your website the best it can be, and to ensure you aren't overlooking any mistakes that could cost you customers. Be sure to check back each week so you don't miss out! Five Features Your Home Page Should Include Your home page is usually the first thing a visitor sees when they find your website. A...

There are plenty of reasons a business might decide to design their own website, especially if they are a new or small business, and budget is a concern. There are any number of companies that say you can have a business website up and running for cheap, in just a couple of hours. One of these cheap, generic websites is definitely better than having nothing at all... at least to start with. However, it's important not to fall into the trap of thinking one of these low cost, cookie cutter, no frills sites is all your business will ever need. Here are 5 of the worst mistakes you can make for your business when building a DIY website: 1. Not User Friendly Business owners who are not web designers don't have a lot of experience with how people browse websites. As a result, a self-made website often ends up with a poor user interface that is clunky, difficult to navigate, and not intuitive. If your website is not easy to understand, or it's not easy to find what someone...

There's a lot of competition out there for people's attention these days. It's not enough to just have a website. Anyone can throw a website online for you and tell you it's going to magically draw people to your door (believe me, I've seen it). But unless you or your web designer actually understand what attracts people and makes them want to check out what you have to say, show, or sell, having a webpage on its own won't do you much good. It takes work and effort to know your audience, and build a website dedicated to appealing to that audience. The images you choose and how you use them are just as important as the words you use, if not more so. People are inherently visual, so what they see has a more lasting impression than what they read. It's a can't-miss opportunity to make a real impact. Here are 5 tips for improving your website's visuals, and making it stand out from the crowd. 1. Use High Quality Images Much like baking, the qu...