by Nick Throlson | Jan 5, 2017 | Business, Web Design
You know that your website needs content, right? But what about all the other design and UX necessities? Make sure these things are present on your site.About usYou may not think that too many people would go to the ?about us? page. They just want to see the products, right? Actually, the ?about us? page is one of the most visited pages of any website. People want to know more about your company, website, and staff, not just the products you?re selling. Check out these top about us pages from some of the best businesses on the Internet to see what sort of vibe you should be aiming for.Search barIf you?ve got text content on your website, then you should have a search function available there. Don?t rely on a user?s ability or willingness to go to Google and type in your company name and the keyword they want. That just pulls them away from your website and makes them do more work than should be necessary. You can actually get Google?s help adding a search bar, so you don?t have much of an excuse!
ScrollbarSeriously, I?ve been on too many websites that have taken the CSS scrollbar customization way too far and have made it all-but-invisible or barely clickable. If you really want to change what the scroll bar looks like to the user, don?t stray too far away from the ?classic? scroll bar look. There?s a reason it?s bold and prominent in most web browsers. Consistency in designYeah, you know that you should be using images on your website. But how can you make those images seem like consistent, harmonious choices? How can you ensure that they actually get the message across that you want to communicate? You can look into incorporating graphic templates, which can help you tick all of the above boxes. Just make sure that it doesn?t jar with the graphics of the rest of your website! 
Contact informationPeople want to know that they can contact you in some way. Even the people who aren?t actually seeking to contact you will be comforted to know that you?re displaying such information on the website just in case they do need to at some point! A lot of website owners make the mistake of closing themselves off from outside questions or comments, or relying too much on social media accounts. If you?re a business, then this is an even bigger mistake! FAQsAnother page that you might underestimate the popularity and usefulness of. Sure, there are websites out there that won?t have too much use for a frequently asked questions page. Blogs may not have much need for them, for example. But if you?re selling a product of a service, then you need to have FAQs. Consumers are going to have a bunch of questions about any such business - even if they?ve used them before, they may be things they?re still uncertain about. An FAQs page may relieve them of the need to contact customer service before making a purchase. ?(Your customer service team may be lovely, but contacting customer service is never that attractive a proposition!)
by Nick Throlson | Dec 21, 2016 | Business, Marketing, Web Design
Get your company ready for the new year by making sure it can fulfill everything you want it to. There are so many things you need to look out for and so many opportunities you have to transform the business. Making changes that will adjust the company for the new year is really important. Make 2017 the year your business ascends to the top of the tree. Here are some of the best things you can do that your business needs to succeed in 2017.
Switch to GreenYou have to look at some of the best ways of making savings and making sure your company is more sustainable. You can make your brand more attractive by switching to go green. There are a few ways you can do this, and it?s good to start off small with something like recycling and conserving power. Then you can start working up to more ambitious and wide-reaching ideas. Things like eco-friendly LED lighting and solar energy are really crucial for the future of the business. And they make you a more attractive prospect to clients as well as saving you money at the same timeUpdate Your SystemYou've got to make sure you do as much as possible to update and modernize your company. And the way to do that is to look at bringing the whole business onto a digital platform. Is there anything that isn't yet virtual that could or should be? It?s likely that there are a few extra things you can do that will make your company more contemporary. For instance, you might think about implementing Cloud computing or document conversion services for the business. These give you the chance to improve all the digital aspects of the business. Update your system and you will learn to enjoy the benefits of a well-run digital business.Revamp the WebsiteYour website is one of the most important aspects of running a company. This legitimizes the company and allows you to attract clients. A poorly designed website is going to result in failure, so you have to focus on what you can do to improve the company as much as possible. Revamping the website at the turn of a new year is always a good idea. There is nothing worse than having a website that looks tired and outdated. You have to present the best possible site for your business in order to attract customers as often as you can. Hire a web design team to make sure your website is always as good as it can possibly be.2017 is a time of change. The world is going to be hugely different so you should make changes to your company as well. There are so many things you could do, and it depends on what you want to achieve for the business. So, consider the areas that you feel need to be worked on, and you can start to implement changes here. Your company will benefit from it, and you will become a much more successful brand. ????
by Nick Throlson | Dec 21, 2016 | Business
Branding is an important part of differentiating your business from all the rest, and delivering your message in an impactful way. However, defining your brand personality and voice can be a tricky task. There are many pitfalls ahead, and it's hard to know where to start, particularly if you have no one on your management team from a branding or marketing background. So the big question for today is - how do you develop that all-important brand personality? I?ve put together some clever-yet-simple ideas for you to try. Read on to find out more.When you are just getting started, you won?t have the time - or money - to go through a long and drawn out branding process. In fact, depending on the industry you serve and the stage your business is at, there may be little point in trying to create a brand from scratch. However, one thing you have to get in place is your elevator pitch. It?s a simple one-liner - that can be fiendishly difficult to define - that explains who you are, and what you do in language that your audience understands. It?s the answer you give people when they ask you what you do, and it needs to be short, snappy, and memorable. It?s also the first step towards defining your brand personality - so spend time on it and get it right. The DIY methodLow on budget and can?t afford to spend much on branding? Then why not take the DIY approach? Grab a notepad and pen, and write down what it is your company does. Think about why you started the business, and how it fulfills the needs of your customers. In fact, who are your customers, and why do they choose you instead of the competition? You also need to look at your rivals, or other companies you admire - what is it about their brand personality that you like? How do you feel when you visit their website or store, and how would you like your customers to feel when they visit you? Finally, how would you describe your brand if it was a person? Hire a professional
Branding exercises aren?t for everyone - and there?s a good reason why large corporate businesses spend a significant amount of money on hiring experts to do the process for them. If your budget allows for it, it?s always a good idea to bring in expertise, whether in the form of a marketing agency or freelance branding specialist. When you run a business, it?s easy to get locked into a specific way of thinking - you can?t see the wood for the tree. Fresh pairs of eyes can often tell you a lot more about your business - and how other people (your audience) see it. Utilize your audienceIf you are struggling to work out who you are, why not ask your customers? They are the people that buy your product, after all. You can find a lot of information from product reviews, complaints, letters of praise, and other correspondence. Not only will your customers help you find your voice, but they can also be your voice. Take social media, as an example. If you encourage your followers to post pictures of themselves using your product, other people will see exactly who your audience is - people will be doing your branding for you. Any more tips to add? Let us know about them in the comments section below!
by Nick Throlson | Dec 20, 2016 | Business
It?s a big deal to a lot of employers how their staff?s perception of them manifests. You want to have authority but you don?t want to create a hard barrier that blocks communication and breaks the cohesion of the team. Getting the best out of your employees means creating a relationship where they?re engaged and motivated not just by the work, but the working relationship with their superiors. In other words, you need to care about them.
Treat their role with the proper respectLooking at the actual work that your people do is going to play a big role in how respected they feel and how engaged they are in their work. Employees need to get used to the idea of doing a little outside their usual skill set from time to time. We all have deadlines and goals we need to push to. But you need to make sure that those ?extra? tasks aren?t becoming common and taking their focus from their primary purpose. Automating and outsourcing is a good way to make sure you?re not bogging your staff?s spirits down with busywork.Talk to them about wellbeingWe?re not suggesting you start inquiring about the health details of everyone in the office. But rather, it?s important to create an environment where people can talk about health and safety risks and general well-being in relation to work without fear that it might impact their standing in the workplace. Consider setting some time aside each week to hold a briefing or a consultation. Talk to them about risks in the workplace and come up with plans to tackle them. Talk about the impact of stress and anxiety in the workplace. Make it clear that health issues aren?t a no-go topic in the workplace, so they know that if they are having problems, they can talk to you about them.
Help them face their constraints in lifeMost people are going to face hardship at some point. Sadly, there are a lot of businesses that don?t properly account for that fact. They can stand by and do nothing or even penalize employees for their life affects their work. Instead of being part of the problem in an employee?s life, become part of the solution. Look into options like employee assistance service by Health Assured and providing them with benefits to help them in times of need. You can use your resources to help by assessing problems, offering referrals and counseling so your employees can get the help they need. By taking a proactive stance on potential hardship, you minimize the negative impact these occasions have on the business. Employees will be grateful to work in a business that helpful.Assume your mantle of responsibilityA good boss does more than order their employees around. They understand that their role isn?t only one of authority but of responsibility. A selfish boss who passes responsibility and plays the blame game with employees is going to immediately break any semblance of trust and cohesion. Helping people fix mistakes and addressing concerns is important, but best done in private, without throwing them under the bus. While taking the blame, the boss needs to also pass on the credit. Be aware that you don?t achieve your goals on your own. Recognize and reward your employees publicly. This creates an environment where people are more motivated to give a little extra in their work.Make the time outside of workWalking the line of professionalism is a crucial consideration for most employers. But a little bond building and casual conversation outside of work is important every now and then. Holding events like the office Christmas party is more important than you might think. It builds a community within the team, which means everyone is more likely to stick up for and support one another. It?s a thank you from management to staff for their hard work which makes it more likely to see returns in that hard work and dedication in the following years. It also gives you the opportunity to meet significant others and spouses, which makes you look like a person who cares about the community they build, not just the work they achieve.Professionalism is key, but you need to show employees that you value them as more than cogs in the machine. They?re people with needs and concerns. Get on their side and address them. Don?t make them fear that their well-being or extenuating circumstances are something that will get in the way of the job and put them at risk. Build that connection with them on every level.
by Nick Throlson | Dec 19, 2016 | Business, Marketing
if you?re involved in the medical industry, you likely care about the good your business can do for people. You want to make a real difference in an area which can affect any and all of us throughout our lives.Our health is absolutely vital, but it?s something we often neglect. This is why the medical profession is such a busy, evolving and frantic industry that constantly strives to produce new, better products to keep us all in a balanced physical and mental shape. We live a hectic lifestyle, and the marketplace is reacting to that.So, how do you succeed in the fast-paced, highly-competitive healthcare industry? With innovations in the biomedical and healthcare industry taking place as I type these words, it can seem quite overwhelming and perhaps even impossible to catch up with the frantic nature of this marketplace, but the key is not to ?catch up?. The key is to do something new and take the industry by surprise.It might be that you are involved with the latest ABA Practice Management Software or that you have some new revelatory treatment to offer patients. Whatever it is, if it is something new, you’ll find that you are in a much better place already.Create the right product.Your product is crucial here because clients will be coming to you with a preconceived problem in their mind. They?re not browsing, so you need to offer a product which helps them with their specific problem in a way that?s somehow ?better? or ?different?. Of course, one product isn?t enough. You don?t want to chose a niche in the healthcare industry; you want to cover as many different health areas as possible to widen your target audience and ensure you can help people with all manner of problems.Market your brand in a way that nobody else can.The key is to use the internet (predominantly through an efficient website and several social media profiles) to your advantage. Customers use the internet for medical advice and solutions all the time?because it?s often a more favorable solution than going to the doctor; especially if they feel embarrassed or afraid about their issue. Use social media to communicate with clients?or potential clients, and make your service more accessible to them.Services such as http://www.intouchmd.com/ can help you with the marketing side of things if your expertise lies solely in the precise and complexity of highly-advanced medical products. A professional and innovative business, of course, needs to project its incredible achievements in a way that customers can truly appreciate it, and that?s why sometimes you may need help from marketing experts to really showcase your talents and boast about what you?ve achieved as a business.This is one of the most important factors when it comes to achieving success in the healthcare industry, but customers are overwhelmed with medical information and they need some sort of unique selling point which convinces them that you?re different from every other company and you?re providing a product or service which can help them with their health in a better way than anyone else.Strive to go further than merely keeping ?up to date? with medical trends.Be newer than everything else on the market. The medical experts of the world are learning more all the time about what it takes for us to truly be healthy, or what the best cures, vaccinations, and medications should be for certain bodily and mental ailments. It isn?t enough to simply keep up with such advancements because that?s what everybody else is doing.You have to push further and achieve more than other businesses in the industry?because that?s the only way to achieve success and offer something that clients truly want; something they can?t acquire elsewhere.
by Nick Throlson | Dec 19, 2016 | Business
Keeping your business safe should be your top priority as a business owner. This means ensuring your business is safe both online and offline. Here are the crucial ways you should be keeping your business safe: Appropriate Safety Gear And Equipment Make sure you have appropriate safety gear and equipment in your workplace. This will depend on the kind of business you have. Eye protection would be essential in a welding business, while a stepladder is important in a store or supermarket. A First Aid Kit Always have a first aid kit on hand just in case. This should be in an easy to reach place, and be clearly marked for employees to find. This should be something they learn about when they first start, but you can?t always expect them to remember things like this in a panic. Health And Safety TrainingHealth and safety training may be important for one member of your team or every member of your team depending on what you do. This is an expense that you need to be able to afford if you want to keep your staff and customers safe. CCTVCCTV can protect you from many different threats. You will not only deter criminals and intruders, but from anybody inside of your organization pulling something shady too. Even having dummy cameras is a better option than having no cameras at all. Alarms/Locks/Extra SecurityMake sure you have all of the appropriate alarms installed, from fire alarms to intruder alarms. Your locks should be sturdy and high quality, and you should make sure only those who you trust have a key. There are other security measures you can take too, like enforcing your windows and ensuring they are difficult to break through. Only Give Those You Can Trust Access To Sensitive InformationMake sure you only give those you can really trust access to sensitive information. You should think very carefully about who you give passcodes to, as well as keys and other important things. You don?t know anybody from Adam, no matter how trustworthy they may seem. Use Strong PasswordsMake sure you use strong passwords for absolutely everything. Ideally, they?ll all be different and have a mix of letters and numbers. There are devices you can use to help store your passwords safely if you?re worried about remembering so many. Protects From Viruses If you use computers, then make sure you protect them from viruses. Keep your software updated and make sure you?re careful about what you do on the computer. Back Up Important Files And Documents Sometimes, no matter how much you protect a computer, you can?t stop accidents from happening. What would you do in the event of a fire or flood? How about if your equipment was stolen? The only thing you can do is ensure you have all of your important files, documents, and information backed up. Using the cloud for this is the best thing to do, as you don?t need the original machine to access the information. All you need is an internet connection. 
You know that your website needs content, right? But what about all the other design and UX necessities? Make sure these things are present on your site.About usYou may not think that too many people would go to the ?about us? page. They just want to see the products, right? Actually, the ?about us? page is one of the most visited pages of any website. People want to know more about your company, website, and staff, not just the products you?re selling. Check out these top about us pages from some of the best businesses on the Internet to see what sort of vibe you should be aiming for.Search barIf you?ve got text content on your website, then you should have a search function available there. Don?t rely on a user?s ability or willingness to go to Google and type in your company name and the keyword they want. That just pulls them away from your website and makes them do more work than should be necessary. You can actually get Google?s help adding a search bar, so you don?t have much of an excuse!
ScrollbarSeriously, I?ve been on too many websites that have taken the CSS scrollbar customization way too far and have made it all-but-invisible or barely clickable. If you really want to change what the scroll bar looks like to the user, don?t stray too far away from the ?classic? scroll bar look. There?s a reason it?s bold and prominent in most web browsers. Consistency in designYeah, you know that you should be using images on your website. But how can you make those images seem like consistent, harmonious choices? How can you ensure that they actually get the message across that you want to communicate? You can look into incorporating graphic templates, which can help you tick all of the above boxes. Just make sure that it doesn?t jar with the graphics of the rest of your website! 
Contact informationPeople want to know that they can contact you in some way. Even the people who aren?t actually seeking to contact you will be comforted to know that you?re displaying such information on the website just in case they do need to at some point! A lot of website owners make the mistake of closing themselves off from outside questions or comments, or relying too much on social media accounts. If you?re a business, then this is an even bigger mistake! FAQsAnother page that you might underestimate the popularity and usefulness of. Sure, there are websites out there that won?t have too much use for a frequently asked questions page. Blogs may not have much need for them, for example. But if you?re selling a product of a service, then you need to have FAQs. Consumers are going to have a bunch of questions about any such business - even if they?ve used them before, they may be things they?re still uncertain about. An FAQs page may relieve them of the need to contact customer service before making a purchase. ?(Your customer service team may be lovely, but contacting customer service is never that attractive a proposition!)
