Happy New Year from the Avatar team!
We're just lovin' the start of 2006! Foolishly optimistic resolutions have been broken already, there are more sales in the shops than you can shake a stick at and the Avatar team is fitter than ever, having raced around various parts of New Zealand and the world in the last two weeks. View some of Rocket's snaps to the right.
This month we discuss revitalising Web sites and online shopping trends. We have the usual Interesting Tidbits and Sites of Interest and this month's impressive Whizzy Widget packs a helluva punch fighting the good fight against spammers.
Rock on, 2006!
Revitalising Your Web Site
Why not start the New Year with a resolution to take a fresh look at your Web site? It doesn't have to be an extreme or a costly exercise. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Look like this year's catalogue! Make sure all the information on your site is up to date and relevant to 2006 and beyond. Check all your prices, dates and testimonials.
- Keep 'em coming back for more! Specialist knowledge, a glossary of terms or informative, up-to-date newsletters and articles will encourage people to value your Web site (they may even bookmark it).
- Are your words winners? Ask friends, family and colleagues if they enjoy reading about your business and your services on your Web site. Would they buy from your site? If not, why not?
- Schedule in link building. Spend some time every month swapping links with new business partners and sites in related industries. Don't forget to make sure they're quality links.
- Keep in touch. If repeat business is important to you and you're not already touching base with your contacts every 90 days in some way, make another resolution to do just that.
If you want our assistance with your Web site review, link building, new content, Web marketing initiative or any other Web site design or marketing idea, simply contact us for more information.
Shopping Online
Traditionally, January provides consumers with the perfect excuse to shop till they drop. Nowadays, however, more and more consumers are leaving the days of pounding the pavement behind them and turning to the Internet instead. Shopping online has become the hassle-free way to shop or to compare prices.
In March last year, it was reported that 87% of US online shoppers were comparing the offerings of online retailers against catalogue merchants and retail stores to find the best deals and items in stock. 71% of these online shoppers reported that they were able to find better sales and discount offers online than offline. Source: shop.org
If your Web site sells products or services, you need to make sure that your Web site offers a complete shopping experience to site visitors. A good starting point is to ensure that their online experience reflects what physical stores do for their customers.
Not only does your Web site need to attract online shoppers in the first place through effective Web marketing, but it needs to offer:
- Welcoming surroundings — stylish site design, easy to use navigation and functionality.
- Well-presented product — including useful description and images.
- Persuasive sales person/process — engaging and convincing sales copy.
- Easy, fast and secure check out — clearly-outlined safe steps for the shopping process.
- Great customer service — product guarantees, acknowledgements of orders or enquiries, confirmations of reply dates, fast delivery, information about freight costs (perhaps by region), currency and size conversion charts and comprehensive returns policies — they all help.
- A reason to repeat the experience — encourage repeat behaviour by keeping in touch with your customers through permission-based promotional mailings/emailings.
Get these things right and you'll be making great strides towards getting a share of the online shopping market. Get them wrong and you could be missing out big time!
Whizzy Widgets
Do you get too much junk email? This month's whizzy widget is all about stopping spam or junk emails. If you're wondering why junk emails are referred to as spam, think about luncheon meat! No one wants it or asks for it, no one owns up to eating it and only occasionally is it useful (in emergency earthquake supply boxes, for example).
With spam emails often taking up valuable bandwidth, time and patience, it's a great idea to actively restrict the amount of spam that you or your company receives. Spam filters, such as Rocket Spam, automatically remove spam emails and viruses out of your inbox, so you can get on with doing the real business of the day rather than spend your time filtering mail.
Rocket Spam is currently offering a free two week trial for individuals and companies based in New Zealand. If you're interested in creating a happier inbox read more about it.
Sites of Interest
Here's a selection of sites we've designed, updated and/or promoted recently...
- Adventure Travel Specialists (design update)
Ski, snowboard, snowmobiling and heliskiing tour specialists offering quality, action-packed snow adventure package holidays to New Zealand.
- Hydrangea Cottages (site update)
West Coast cottage accommodation situated just five minutes from the spectacular coastal rock formations of the Pancake Rocks.
- New Zealand Rent A Car (marketing update)
With car hire offices across New Zealand, New Zealand Rent A Car's Web site now features a currency converter and translation tool to make online booking even easier.
- Opononi Lighthouse Motel (site update)
At this beachfront accommodation at Hokianga, north of Auckland, you can enjoy views of dolphins playing in the waves.
- Rugby Mad (marketing update)
Official travel agent for the Rugby World Cup 2007 offering tickets, tours and accommodation packages.
- Rural Discovery Tours (site update)
Choose from high country agricultural, photographic or beach walk tours from Rural Discovery Tours in Glenorchy and the Catlins.
- Waimana Point (promotion)
A luxury Northland lodge offering superior and secluded accommodation, conference and wedding facilities one hour's drive from Auckland.
