Your new website went live to rave reviews. But now time has passed and it is just sitting there, static, and new visitors have dropped off significantly. How do you keep your website content fresh and add features that keep your customers and others coming back again and again? Here are seven quick and cost-effective ideas on how to take your website to the next level:

• Make an Offer. Include discount offers through pop-ups or coupons on the homepage. Regularly changing the offer or discount will keep customers coming back.
• Direct Traffic. Add links to your homepage to allow visitors to easily view new content or quickly access well-trafficked areas. Don’t hesitate to add links to other websites for the convenience of your customers.
• Make it Visual. Make your content pop by adding video of customer testimonials, tutorials or even fun employee videos.
• Create Shareable Content. In the world of social media, sharable content is king. Your content should be easily sharable so your readers can spread your messages for you. 
• Recycle. Include links to articles of interest or archives from your e-news or other marketing materials. Recycling previously published information is a great way to grow a database of practical information and advice.
• Add Convenience. Add online purchasing/shopping functionality that can bring a new level of customer convenience while increasing sales revenues.
• Get the 411. Include a quick survey on your site to get to know your customers better.

Communicating regularly with current and potential customers, vendors and business associates is essential in today’s hectic business environment, and your website should be a key component in that communication. Kick your website up a notch by enhancing your website beyond the basics.

This article originally appeared in the July 27, 2015, edition of Small Business Matters.

So you’ve closed a big sale and you’re feeling great. However, the hard work isn't over.  What is your plan for reaffirming customer relationships after the sale is closed?  It's absolutely essential that you develop a plan that will aid you in customer retention because your current customer base is, by far, your most profitable group and where the majority of your future sales will come from. 

There are at least six opportunities to let your customers know that they made the right choice by working with you. If you fail to act, they could become susceptible to buyer’s remorse. Here are some ways you can enhance your customer's experience with you and your company.

1. Once the sale has been closed, verbally tell your customers that they made an excellent choice and why. The “why” is critical – it explains how the product or service will make their lives easier from here on out.
2. Within 72 hours after the sale, call your customers or send them a card or email that contains another thank you along with some type of reassuring message, letting them know you have not forgotten about them.
3. Three weeks post-sale, you should have another planned follow-up meeting or call scheduled to check in to see how they are doing with the product or service they purchased from you. 
4. Hopefully, after you closed the initial sale, you scheduled a check-up with your customers 30, 60 or 90 days post-sale to make sure that they are satisfied and all expectations have been met. You can also use that meeting to see if there are any additional products or services that could benefit the customer and explore internal and external referral opportunities.
5. The next contact is ongoing. Look for opportunities to stay in touch with your customers. You don’t want to give the perception that the only time you make contact is when you want something. Examples include: Call or send a card on their birthday; cut the article out about them or their company and send it over to them with a personal note; schedule informative quarterly workshops or lunch and learns that are free to attend but beneficial for their industry; or just call to say “Hi.”
6. I love this last one. At year's end, do something nice to show your customers how much you appreciated their business. Send them a nice card or a little gift to show your appreciation to them.

Don’t forget that every time you make a customer contact, not only does it reaffirm the relationship, but it puts you and your company back in forefront of their minds and provides you with an opportunity to build onto the existing relationship.

About Marvin

For more than 30 years, Marvin Montgomery has earned national recognition for his informative, practical and stimulating sales training programs. His presentations have helped hundreds of organizations meet or exceed their sales goals. In addition to his training programs, Marvin provides keynote addresses, public workshops and presentations for organizations of all sizes.   He is the author of “Practice Makes Perfect: The Professional’s Guide to Sales Success” and the soon to be released book, “Training Wheels.” He is also a regular contributor to local magazines and newspapers, including Smart Business Cleveland and Smart Business Akron/Canton, COSE Update and The Plain Dealer.

When it comes to branding, small business owners sabotage themselves in several ways. Some simply think too small. They don’t have a big idea or a clear vision, they allow their lack of current resources and abilities to determine the size of their goal.

Several years ago I interviewed Brian Scudamore, the founder of 1-800 GOT JUNK, a business he started with $1,000 as an 18-year-old student trying to pay his way through college. After eight years in business, Brian described how he felt stuck. His business had plateaued at $1 million in revenue and he had no idea what to do.

In our interview, Brian described to me how he allowed himself to think about what the business could become without regard for how he would get there. As he let his mind run free, he began to imagine his fledgling trash hauling business as the “FedEx of junk removal”. He began to imagine a large scale business with clean shiny trucks and well-mannered drivers who were committed to customer service. He created what he calls his “painted picture,” a clear vision that enabled him to become the world’s largest junk removal business with more than $100 million in annual revenue.

Others don’t understand their “why.” They never take the time to truly understand the value of their product or service from the customer’s point of view. They tend to think in transactional terms, often trying to be all things to all people rather than serving a niche.

In his book Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, author Simon Sinek says “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” Without clarity around the “why” it’s difficult to create a meaningful brand. And, needless to say, if the founder doesn’t understand their WHY, it is unlikely they will be able to communicate it to others. 

Gary Schoeniger is the founder and CEO of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. He will also be one of the three keynotes at BizConCLE, the conference that comprises the Small Business Convention, on October 13-14. 

Overcoming objections is one of the most important steps of the sales process. Following are a list of resources that can help you answer your customer’s questions and close the sale.

• How to Overcome 6 Common Sales Objections 
• INFOGRAPHIC: Buyer Objections Visualized
• Discover the Need Your Buyer Doesn’t Know About
• Fine-Tuning Your Response to Objections 
• Hone Your Sales Skills at the Sales Academy

Data can help your business grow, but only if you’re able to understand what the numbers are trying to tell you. In a session titled, “Using Data to Drive Growth” at the recent Grow with Google event in downtown Cleveland, Google experts laid out how to use analytics to unlock new opportunities for your small business.

• Related: Jason Therrien, of Cleveland-based marketing firm thunder::tech, explains how leveraging data can keep you ahead of the marketing curve.

Step 1: Outline goals

The first step to winning the data war is to clearly define what you are trying to achieve and then set good goals around that. And what makes a good goal? Think SMART:

• specific;

• measurable;

• attainable;

• relevant; and

• time-sensitive

Step 2: Ask questions

Once you have your goals in place, ask yourself a few questions. Specifically, ask yourself questions surrounding the reach, engagement, conversion and sustainability of your analytics campaign.

Listed below are some sample questions you should be able to answer about your data-driven strategy:

Reach

• What are people searching for?
• Who is your audience?
• How do they find you online?

Engagement

• What do people do once they find you?
• Where do customers engage you online?
• How do people interact with you online?

Conversion

• Which channels drive conversions?
• What calls-to-action drive conversions?
• Which channels have a higher ROI?

Sustainability

• Do people continue to engage with you? And if so, where?
• Do you respond to this engagement? How quickly?
• Are you giving people a reason to return?

Step 3: Take action

Once your business starts generating data, it’s time to start combing through the numbers to find out what you can learn about your customers’ behavior. Use analytics software, such as Google Analytics, to help you interpret the data. Below are some examples of these lessons your data can teach you and what your potential action might be.

Data lesson: Where are your customers coming from (referrals? Organic search? Paid search?)

Potential action: Focus your attention on your most profitable channel to maximize it. For example, if organic search is performing well, optimize your site by improving page titles and descriptions to further increase search engine visibility.

Data lesson: Learn about the demographics or traits your customers share.

Potential action: Tailor your marketing creative to your customers’ demographics. If you notice a lot of your customers are coming to your site via smartphone devices, create mobile-focused ads and optimize your site for mobile friendliness and speed.

Data lesson: See which days and times your business gets the most calls.

Potential action: Boost phone staffing for peak times or offer incentives for your customers to contact you on other days of the week to avoid a staffing crunch.