Site update

The Neo Grafix Ltd website will receive a major update during the first quarter of 2010 - due to the fact that we have been so busy throughout 2009 offering new services and features to clients we now have a need to add a lot of extra content and information detailing all that we offer.

Happy New Year

Neo Grafix Ltd would like to wish all of our clients and associates a very Happy New Year - we wish you all continued success in 2010 and beyond!

Would you send a business email that doesn't contain your branding (logo/colour scheme)?

Thousands of people are actually doing just that! An email message should be treated as a business document - you wouldn't send a letter that wasn't printed on your official letterheaded paper would you?

The worrying fact is that most businesses do. Every email you send should include your company logo/be based around your logo colour scheme and contain the following basic information:

Your name,
logo,
company name/address,
tel, fax, email contact details
and a link to your website

if a customer/contact receives an email from you without these details - the chances are that they won't have a record of your details apart from your email address and may never view your website.

For more information on how Neo Grafix Ltd can help you to brand/personalise/produce email newsletters to boost your outgoing emails visit the following page http://www.neografix.co.uk/eleaflets.htm

Great looking site - but does it actually do what your customers want?

There has been a lot of talk recently within the web industry asking how effective a glossy looking website really is if it doesn't actually perform the task it was created for, or if the design of a site affects the usability.

These are extremely important elements in developing a website - it isn't just about graphical touches and strong imagery there is a lot more beneath the surface to consider.

Bells and whistles might look great but was it the right choice/cost effective?

The basics to consider are:

How usable is the site - can visitors find what they are looking for quickly, is the interface misleading?

How effective is the site - anyone can have a website but are you making use of any metrics to measure how well the site is performing/identifying areas for improvement? It is a continual process.

Content - unless a website is regularly updated with relevant content the search engines will deem the site as unpopular in the ranking scheme - sites that draw in visitors/returning visitors and link to other sites/have links to it from other popular sites really perform online.

3D - add an extra dimension to your website/intro

Neo Grafix Ltd can add that extra dimension with cinematic quality 3D renders /
animation for the web and high resolution print - we can transform your logo/colour scheme into visuals that help your organisation stand out from the crowd.

Reach the largest possible audience

As a result of the global economic climate there has been a major shift from the traditional advertising and marketing methods (real world 'print') to the Internet. People are now seeking the most cost effective method of reaching the largest audience possible - the audience now seek information as quickly as possible.

This often involves redeveloping (from scratch) or revamping a website - the main element that a business has to get right is the immediacy of the information contained on a website. The biggest mistake you can make is to have your site visitor hunt for the information they require - one method of ensuring that the visitor finds exactly what they are looking for is to reduce the amount of text content - no one reads pages and pages of text, possibly never finding what they were looking for and never returning to a website!

A website is a continual process of tweaking and updating - if a site isn't updated its lack of popularity is reflected in search engine results - falling lower down the list whilst competitors retain or improve upon their positions.

How effective can an email campaign be?

In one short answer - very.

Everyone has email addresses stored within their address book which can be transformed into a vital link with colleagues and potential customers/existing customers.

In order to hold on to valuable customers a business should stay in touch to keep them updated on business activities, new services and special offers.

Regular, personalised email updates can draw traffic into your site (directly link to a page on your site to gain interest), to keep people aware of upcoming events and news items.

By monitoring the campaign using detailed metrics reporting you can analyse the patterns of interest and finely tune the content of a website. For more information visit http://www.neografix.co.uk/eleaflets.htm

The High Street vs The Web

As we see the depressing daily news on television and read newspaper reports about big-name retailers dissapearing due to their financial woes it is reassuring to know that online sales have reached record breaking proportions.

If you consider the sales figures of December 2008 (£13.2 billion spent online) with that of December 2000 (only a few hundred million), plus the massive uptake in broadband over old 56k modem connections (whenever they managed to stay connected) the expected growth of online business will continue to exceed expectations.

The big-name retailers may be struggling on the high street but their online sales have grown massively.

The differences between MARKETING and ADVERTISING

A lot of people are confused over whether there is a difference between marketing and advertising - this is an easy mistake to make but both elements are of equal importance.

Rather than delve into too much jargon, lets just define both advertising and marketing in understandable terms:

Advertising - a single element of the overall marketing process - informing the world of the existence of your business, a product, or services on offer.

Advertising is THE most expensive part of a marketing plan and includes the placement of ads in a range of mediums with certain frequency.

Marketing - can comprise of:

advertising,
market research,
planning,
public relations,
pricing products and/or services,
distribution,
support,
sales strategy,

it is a process that can take a considerable amount of time - each element having to work on its own whilst working together towards a common goal. Marketing is concerned with customers and their needs. Marketing creates awareness of products and services associated with a company via its brand image. The aim being to build a solid relationship with customers and satisfying their needs.

Basically:

You begin marketing to get your company out there. You then continue to advertise to makes sure it stays out there.
Without both marketing and advertising a business won't stand a chance as they work together to provide a crucial connection with the public.

Do you have a recognisable Brand Image?

If you want to be recognised for providing a certain service or product how do customers connect such elements with your company?

A Brand Image/Identity will help in the following ways:

• An instantly recognisable logo and colour scheme that allows your compnay to stand out amongst the competition.



• Consistently advertised branding becomes stronger over time - the association with your company will stick in the minds of people who see your brand/services.



• Use the branding to promote what it is that you do best to attract customer loyalty, people like to stick with what they know - a memorable brand image will stick in the minds of people who know that you provide a certain service.



• A brand image projects a level of professionalism - think of brands you use yourself and the services/products that are associated with them - see it works!



• The brand image should continue across all of your printed/online media - the same logo and colour scheme should run throughout everything to maintain the association with your business i.e. business cards, compliment slips, leaflets, brochures, websites, outgoing emails etc.

Is there a right time to email???

Ok, so you've produced a great looking e-newsletter/e-leaflet and want to email it to your customers - but wait should you be emailing them at a certain time of day?

The answer to this question is actually YES.

The most widely accepted best time of the day for emailing such important information is mid-morning to lunctime/during the lunchtime period. If you email your content overnight or too early in the morning it could easily be mistaken for SPAM or appear within a list of SPAM messages which are instantly deleted by email users each and every morning. As the day passes the number of emails being opened and read has been proven to be less than those received during the first half of the day.

The best approach is to stagger the emailing during this crucial time of day throughout a week to achieve the best results.

How to promote a website

You have decided that you require a website in order to compete online - how do you go about promoting it?

1) A common mistake is to not include your web address on outgoing letters, brochures, compliment slips, business cards and incentives. By not including your web address on a brochure you could be losing out on new business/not directing potential clients to a useful resource for further information.

2) Banner advertising/Local Business Directory listings - a number of FREE advertising schemes are run by the local
directories online - it is even worth adding your logo/an animated banner advertisement to draw attention to your website. Note: some directories may charge you to add a link to your website.

3) Leaflet drop - local/targetted advertising via a leaflet drop can draw attention to your site especially if you are offering a local service.

4) Vehicle Graphics - transparent vinyl graphics can be added to a vehicle displaying your web address to everyone on the road.

5) Search engine registration - it takes a standard listing time of 6 weeks before your website will be listed within the search engine results on submission of your web addresses. In the meantime you could consider advertsing within local magazines, radio, even through a facebook profile/group.

6) Links - approach industry related sites/colleagues in other industries to add a link to your website on their site - the more quality links you have pointing at your site the higher you will rank in search engine listings.

7) Evaluate your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) - your site may look great but does it actually contain the necessary information to appear within the search engine listings, how well developed is your website - do the pages
contain everything necessary to be located online? Neografix offers advanced services in this area
http://www.neografix.co.uk/seo.htm

This is by no means a complete list of all methods of promotion - contact Neo Grafix Ltd if you require consultancy.

Unable to afford a website redesign? Revamp your existing site!

It may be the case that your website needs to be brought up to date but funds aren't available to support a complete redesign (even if your website was launched last year the industry has moved on allowing you to offer more through your site and keep tabs on site activity/visits).

A website should now be considered as a continual process of improving/updating content related to your business.

Elements of your site - it's content, layout and navigation may have proved successful and you have realised that now is the time to improve the usability of your website. The list provided below includes some suggestions:

Add a search facility - allow visitors to type keywords to search the content of your site without the need to use a search engine. Simply add a search box to your existing site.

Add a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page - eliminating the need to repeat crucial information - just point visitors to the answers page.

Add a BLOG - search engines now list sites according to popularity/updating activity (not just based on keywords or phrases alone). By adding a BLOG you provide existing and potential customers with up to date information on your business activities such as news, projects, events, offers (to name a few). BLOG content is also linked to search engines - if you want to add frequent updates to your website (including images, text, video or links) consider adding a BLOG - entice your site visitors back on a regular basis.

Add a recruitment page - avoid print advertising costs/arranging an ad - accepting emailed applications and CV's online is a far more cost effective approach. Immediately advertise vacancies.

Add a newsletter - allow your existing customers to sign up to a monthly newsletter scheme providing business information related to your products and services, monthly/seasonal special offers and links to new sections of an updated website.

Add ecommerce - are there products and services that customers could buy/pay for directly through your website?

Obtain real feedback using Analytics - every hosting account offers monthly statistics on how many visits (hits) a site has received - it is often the case that this information is confusing to interpret and contains too much irrelevant information. Google Analytics provides a graphical approach providing 24 hour feedback on website activity - ranging from how many unique visitors a page has received through to showing you exactly what has been clicked onscreen/how visitors have navigated around the site, plus patterns and trends . Analytics is an essential marketing tool if you take your online presence seriously.

How to help your business survive and thrive during a recession

Here are some proven tips for surviving an economic downturn:

1) Cash flow is essential - so protect it.

Review the payment history of customers/clients. Putting off an invoice gives the impression that you don't care how long it takes to get your money - speed up your payments.

2) Stick to what you are good at

It could all end up a waste of time and money otherwise. Adding other products or services to your offerings can damage your core business - taking up time and money away from what you do best and result in damaging your brand and reputation. Focus on what you do best that is most profitable to make your business recession-proof.

3) Research your competition

What steps have they taken to adapt to the economic changes - take a look at their website/marketing material. In order to expand a customer/client base - you will need to draw in customers from the competition. But how is this done? The simple answer is to offer them something more or something different than the competition currently does. Entice their customers to become your customers.

4) Look after the customers you already have.

You cannot risk losing existing customers. Loyal customers provide you with many more sales opportunities. If you want your business to survive you cannot afford to ignore the potential profits of shifting your sales focus to include established customers.

5) CONTINUE TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

One of the biggest mistakes any business can make is to cut their marketing budget back or even stop marketing entirely. A recession is the period when a business most needs marketing. Consumers are looking to change their buying decisions and practices. Help them find your products and services and choose your business rather than others by getting your name out there. Don't stop marketing - step up your efforts because your competitors will be.

6) Look into the availability of grants

It may cost you to have a re-branding exercise carried out that would include a website redesign/upgrade but there are grants available that allow you to claim back a percentage of the costs.

Reasons to have a website / improve your website

• Promote your people, products, services, events and ideas.
• To cut costs.
• Offer your services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Allows you to keep up with the competition in a cost effective manner.
• Provide answers to frequently asked questions to save you time and effort.
• Receive feedback from your customers to improve / offer new services and products.
• Update business-related information quickly.
• Make your customers lives easier - e.g. downloadable documents, online ordering.
• Easy and efficient recruitment - save on print advertising costs.
• Reach local, regional, national, and global markets.
• Not having a website will make potential customers wonder if you run a viable professional business. A website is expected.

Ecommerce Xmas 2009

Sport and fitness came out on top over the Christmas period as the most succesful category online during the run up from November 2008 to Xmas 2008 - growing 18% compared with the same period the year before (Source: commscore). The growth has been due to consumers becoming more focused on their health issues and purchasing sports equipment over the web.

Videogames were the second fastest growing category with clothing and books also appearing as some of the most desired items online.

UK ecommerce activity soared by 38% during the period October - December 23rd, online retailing activity soars mid-December allowing time for shipping/delivery of online purchases.

As consumer confidence grows again online retailers will benefit greatly from the Internets growth as a trusted sales channel.

Happy New Year

Neografix would like to wish all of our clients a very happy new year - we look forward to your continued success throughout the year and beyond.

Is your website ready for 2009?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1) Just how well developed is your website?

2) How searchable is the content of your website?

3) How effective are the titles of your web pages in driving traffic to your site?

4) What sets your site apart from the hundreds/thousands of other companies within your industry - is your website communicating this difference?

Unless your site adheres to professional standards - not only is the content of your website out of date but also the programming code/practices used to develop your website. Such practices affect both the appearance of a site and it's appropriateness for listing within search engine results.

Elements such as Javascript, CSS styling, dynamic links all have major effects on listing decisions - just by including these on your site you are not guaranteed that they follow the standard methods which now have to be adopted in order to compete with your competition online or be acceptable for inclusion within the listings.

Highly ranked search engine listings will become even tougher in 2009 with the adoption of these standards across the board - Neo Grafix Ltd is fully prepared to meet the requirements of its clients - we are constantly updating our knowledge of new and emerging technologies that can improve your online marketing. Simply having a website online isn't enough - if the site is to become a success and worth the time, effort and expense spent on it - standards should be implemented from the outset. How well a site is functioning in terms of marketing, programming and correctly formatted content is just as important as the navigation/look and feel of a website.

Shoppers hit the internet for Christmas bargains and covenience

The IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) e-Retail Customer Service Index (e-CSi) has revealed that 90% of people will be using the Internet to research/carry out their Christmas 2008 shopping, 68% completing at least half of their shopping online - the current financial crisis is playing a large part in their purchasing/budgeting decisions.

Even though 52% of the customers questioned in the report plan to spend less this year on their Christmas gifts - the report highlighted the growing importance of the internet as a research resource, 90% of shoppers use the web to research their future purchases before actually buying in-store, the internet has become a trusted and reliable source for bargains and research.

Books, CD’s, music and games are again the most popular goods to buy online this Christmas - additionally jewellery, clothing and footwear will be the other popular items. Purchases of clothing has jumped 10% since September 2007. A high number of shoppers are satisfied with the customer experience they receive online, with 76% relying on the Internet for competitive pricing - retailers are under extreme pressure - the internet is the place to find the bargains.

An enormous level of choice and offers are seeing the Internet win in the fight for popularity -competing with a desperate high street. There are huge opportunities for businesses to attract online shoppers this Christmas and well into the new year.

A highly ranked search engine position now requires more than just SEO, keywords and keyphrases

The importance of keeping a website updated on a regular basis is now an essential part of maintaining/improving your listing position within search engine results.

Search engines seek out sites that are continually updated for listing, websites can be maintained by adding daily news items and articles. The content added should inform the visitor of the benefits of using your services - sales information will put off visitors from returning to your site, newsworthy content that is regularly updated will attract visitors to your site and keep existing visitors keen. Adding additional pages that include fresh updated content will help to push your site up the rankings.

The popularity of a website is also based on the number of external high quality sites that link to it. Coupled with informative content - the links will provide a much sought after advantage over competitors by shifting a website to a higher ranking position.

Website changes that can help you survive a recession

Here are a few points that can aid your company by making your website recession-proof:

1) Review your website - what small changes can be made to encourage customers to make an equiry to enter into business with your organisation?

2) Search Engine Optimistion helps to increase web traffic and prevent your competitors from stealing your existing and potential customers. Review your keywords and keyphrases on a regular basis to keep up with the competition.

3) How usable is your website - how easy is it for visitors to make enquiries/do you have the necessary forms, how about adding a search box to make the content of your site searchable without having to use a search engine?

4) Keep in touch with your customers - provide an email newsletter service to keep all interested parties up to date and attract new enquiries. Build an email list of your existing customers and tell them of your news service.

5) Push your most profitable products and services - don't promote anything that might not have been fully tested - concentrate on marketing your expertise in certain areas.

6) Make use of Google Analytics services otherwise your competitors will jump over your heads - the information provided tells you exactly what your site visitors were looking for, which areas of the site to update regularly and what route they took to reach your website.

Real feedback from your website

Have you ever wondered about the popularity of your website?

Who is visiting your site?

What sections of your site need to be updated/improved?

Neo grafix ltd provides answers to these questions through Google Analytics services - find out exactly which areas of a web page have been clicked - get a percentage click ratio to determine what elements of your pages have gained the most interest. Analytics acts as a precise marketing and communication tool producing detailed stats on visitors routes through a website.

BLOG functionality / Content Management System

Neo grafix ltd now offers BLOG functionality to all of our clients - allowing them to add their own unique content via daily news item posts - these can include text, graphics, and even video - providing up to date content to the search engines on a regular basis to aid with engine listing positions.

Backed up by a user friendly content management system it acts as a powerful communication tool.

Advertising during the financial crisis

Traditional print advertising could deteriorate even further in the U.K. in the coming months because the widespread uncertainties of the financial crisis have put every business (regardless of scale) on high alert at a crucial time when they are normally preparing their marketing and advertising budgets for 2009.

Cuts in print-based advertising spend result in the challenge of retaining existing clients, and trying to find higher quality leads - digital advertising can help a great deal during this difficult period.

The digital advertising sector is in actual fact growing whilst others are in decline - people are looking for possibilities that are more cost effective and have a greater return of interest.

If a brand does not advertise/develop it's online presence - it's the perfect opportunity for competitors to take advantage and steal away the market share and public awareness. Internet savvy consumers know what they want and where they can find it - turning to the internet rather than printed directories - the internet provides the ability to connect with consumers on a more personal level.

Recent statistics:

• 29.3 million people in the UK are now online as of June 2005 - source: Internet Advertising Bureau
• It is clear that those accessing the internet are not are not just one demographic group - source: Internet Advertising Bureau
• Three-quarters (71%) of all Britons online are connecting through broadband, an astonishing figure up 45% on the same time last year - source: Internet Advertising Bureau

Junction42 partner network

Neo grafix ltd joins the Junction42 partner network