Category Archives: Marketing

iphone

Mobile Website Vs. Mobile App

I got a call today from a nonprofit here in Westchester. We had an interesting conversation about creating a mobile website vs. a mobile app. It’s a question lots of businesses and nonprofits are asking lately so I thought I’d share some of what we discussed here.Feel free to ask follow-up questions or share your experiences. What is a mobile website? When mobile devices first started getting smart you needed to create a special mobile version of your website so visitors could see things properly on their tiny, little device screens. Then more devices started getting smarter so you needed to have multiple versions of your mobile site – in addition to your “real” website – so that they rendered properly on all the various smart devices. Now, design standards are getting smarter and developers are turning to what’s referred to as “responsive design.” Responsive design allows website designers to create one…
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What Does A Website Cost?

“How much will this cost me?” It’s one of the first questions most folks ask when they begin thinking about redoing their business website. Fair question. We all live in the real world and we don’t have money to burn. To answer the question lets begin by looking at what you’re “buying.”

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Jann Mirchandani On “Westchester Means Business” [podcast]

It was my pleasure to talk to Dr. Marsha Gordon, President and CEO of Business Council of Westchester on her radio show “Westchester Means Business.” I headed down to New Rochelle, to the WVOX studios, to talk about how businesses can use online marketing to grow. We talked about how online marketing might work with traditional marketing, social media marketing and email marketing. We covered a lot of ground in 30 minutes! In case you missed it you can listen to it right here! Listen to interview on “Westchester Means Business”.

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social media explorer

Your Foder’s Guide To Social Media

I was recently speaking about social media at a graduate course in marketing communications. One of the students in the class, who’s owned several successful businesses during his career, asked if he “really needed social media to be successful.” He said it felt like a foreign language to him; no small comment coming from a man who speaks five languages already! What’s the answer? In a word? YES. Yes, you do need to learn how to speak social media. Your clients and prospects and business partners expect you to be there. It’s a simple as that.So consider this your Foder’s Guide for social media. Learn The Culture Just like you might become acquainted with some of the customs of a foreign country you might be visiting, you should learn the customs of the social media channels in which you will be moving. To do this, spend some time hanging around to get…
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google blackout for net neutrality

WWW Blackout?

You may be wondering what happened to Wikipedia today (January 18, 2012) or where the Google doodle went. Or perhaps you noticed nothing amiss because you’re a small business owner and are busy trying to make a living! Whatever the case, Wikipedia and many other websites have “gone black” in protest over the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP ACT (PIPA). Google’s doodle was hidden in support of the protest. “SOPA, the House of Representative’s version, and PIPA, its Senate counterpart, target foreign websites that intentionally steal copyrighted material and intellectual property for their own profits. The bills are strongly backed by the U.S. film and recording industries. Legislation already enacted — the Digital Millenium Copyright Act — protects intellectual property and provides for that content to be removed from sites when its use is unauthorized. SOPA and PIPA are different in that they would allow the…
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Using Coupons To Improve Sales

There was a feature by Carolyn M. Brown in a recent issue of Black Enterprise magazine that offered some good advice on using coupons to improve sales. I thought I’d share her list and add some insights based on our clients’ experiences. 1. Offer a percentage or dollar amount off each purchase. This is a great suggestion. It rewards more spending with greater savings. It also discourages “customers” that come in and spend up to your coupon value and no more. 2. Offer online discounts We have one client who offers free shipping for orders over $30. It’s right there in the sidebar! Another client, SoundEarth, includes coupons in their newsletter providing subscribers with a “thank you” for being loyal readers. These are both easy to implement and again, reward spending with savings. 3. Tweet discounts and daily deals Carolyn offers some great suggestions here: offer one-day-only or just-for-the-next-3-hours deals…
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Interview on WorkAtHomeSuccess.com [podcast]

Jann Mirchandani recently completed an interview on WorkAtHomeSuccess.com. The full interview is 30 minutes long and covers a variety of topics around running a small business, marketing for small businesses and social media. For more information about starting and running an at-home business, visit WorkAtHomeSuccess.com Listen to the podcast.

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Which Social Media Account Should You Use?

It’s Not Personal…Unless It IS; Which Social Media Account Should You Use?

I had a unique opportunity recently; I was selected, along with my sister, for a “Cheap Chic” makeover courtesy of the Nate Berkus show. It was a tremendous amount of fun and a great experience. When I compared notes with my sister, also a Facebook and Twitter junkie, we were both tweeting and posting about it nearly non-stop for the better part of a week. But we were taking different tacks on it. She was using her business page on Facebook to share her experience while I chose to use my personal profile. Who was right?Both of us.

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It's Not All About You

It’s Not All About You!

No offense, but your website is not all about you. We talk to small business owners all the time that rattle off a list of the features and benefits to be highlighted on their website. But that’s not what they should be thinking about when developing a website. They need to be thinking about the User Experience.User Experience (UX) refers to how a user feels about using your product or service, or in this case your website; do they find the experience easy, pleasant, and useful, or was it frustrating and difficult?

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responsive design concept drawings

Hiring A Web Designer

Hiring a web designer or web developer is often a leap of faith; faith that they know what they’re doing, faith that they’re going to do what they say and faith that you’ll end up with something that will help you grow your business.With most things technical it may seem like faith is all you can go on, after all, you’re not a geek – you’re a business owner. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s look at some of the questions you should be asking to assess whether the web developer you’re thinking of hiring is worth your trust – and your money. Can I See Some Samples Of Your Work? This is the question you likely ask almost at the beginning of your conversation. And it’s a good place to start. Most designers have a style that can be seen from project to project. That doesn’t…
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