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A New Year’s Business Check-up

As 2013 comes to a close, we want to wish you and yours all the very best for the upcoming 2014. It’s been a great year here at AutoWeb Technologies and we’re just so fortunate to be able to do what we do here everyday. Thank you again for all you do for us as customers and friends.

At this time each year most people and companies find themselves taking inventory of where they’ve been and where they’d like to go in the coming new year. The great thing about life is that it’s never to late to make personal and professional changes that we’ve been thinking about. Whether it be a living a healthier lifestyle, earning more income, or learning a new skill, the time is never better than the present.

The same can be said for your business. What kind of year did you have? Are you satisfied with your revenue? Did you hit your goals?

For us, personally, we’re focusing on continuing to grow our sales team and project management staff in 2014. In mid-2013 we ceased offering “custom” web applications, free email, and entry level SEO plans and instead decided to put all of our focus into our core services such as:

  • Custom WordPress web sites
  • Magento E-Commerce web sites
  • Premium SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Services
  • PPC (Pay Per Click) Campaign Management

We did this so that we could deliver the highest quality of predictable, repeatable services each and every time to our customers and not lose focus on trying to service everyone. The result was high customer satisfaction, good profitability, and a business that we could all be proud to be a part of.

What are your goals for this upcoming year? Would you like more sales?

Here is a useful checklist you can use to make sure that you’re on track to meet your business goals in 2014:

Sales and Marketing

  • When a lead comes into your business, do you know where it came from?
  • Once a lead arrives, is it tracked and serviced in a way that is prompt and repeatable?
  • Are you measuring return on investment from your lead flow? In other words, do you know what is working and what isn’t in regards to your marketing dollars being spent?
  • Are you building a database of all leads that come into your business and marketing to these leads each and every month to help establish familiarity and trust? Remember, not all in-bound leads will buy from you initially. Groom your leads over time and they may become customers or referrals at some point.

Web Site & Web Marketing

  • Does your web site have an updated, professional appearance that is easy to manage, easy to navigate, and easy for a visitor to take action?
  • Are you updating your web site regularly with new content and/or blog posts?
  • Where do you rank in the search engines with your core group of keywords?
  • Are you being proactive with your SEO and/or PPC to ensure that Google finds your site relevant and boosts your rankings?

Deliverables

  • Is your product or service experience the same each and every time?
  • Do you have established policies and procedures for your employees to work with that are easy to follow and allow them to be successful?
  • Are you delivering on your promises and “WOWING” your customers?
  • Are customers giving you good testimonials and referrals?
  • Does your company have an easy way for customers to communicate product and service support issues, problems, feedback, etc.?
  • What can you do to improve your overall customer service experience?
  • Would you buy from you?

Product and Service Development

  • Are you spending time each week or month keeping up to date on the latest developments in your industry?
  • Do you keep a watchful eye on your competitors to see what they’re doing and how you can learn or improve from them? What are they doing that you shouldn’t do?
  • What do your customers really need and want? Are you developing the products and services that really matter to them?

Taking action on one or more of these items is a big step. It takes time, but remember that there is no time like NOW. Your business, your employees, and most importantly…your customers will thank you for it!

Have a very safe and Happy New Year!!

-The AutoWeb Technologies Team