Is Your Website Confusing?

When planning for a new website your design team should spend considerable effort in analyzing the navigation structure. A common mistake is to organize the website into general categories instead of your customer's needs.

For example, most navigation structures are organized in ways that seem logical to you and your company - by "products," "services," "solutions," etc. But if your prospect doesn't already know what your product or service names mean, they're not likely to find what they need. Guide your readers by using rubrics based on customer challenges, pains or desires, such as "Planning for Retirement" and "Reducing Taxes," for a financial planner. In short, think like a customer.

A good example of end-user navigation can be found on the Bigelow Homes website where we categorized the navigation based on homebuyer needs (finding a lot, floor plan options, etc). If you're not sure you "have it right", show your navigation structure to someone unfamiliar with your business. Based on their reactions, you'll be able to tell right away if they are confused about where to go.

Source: www.marketingprofs.com

My Inbox: Count Your Lucky Stars

I seem to be getting plenty of forwarded email about people who have much to be thankful for. After having a son born at 1 lb 11 oz, I seem to appreciate the little things in life so much more. On to the email which shows a white truck that left the roadway and flipped over a culvert:


My initial reaction at this point was, "Wow, that guy totally skipped that culvert and landed on the other side. Considering the obvious drop off right there he sure was lucky." I then continue on to open the second image, which clearly shows how lucky he really was.


At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, "I knew there would be a really big cliff there". You've got nothing on me! For those of you who are never satisfied, I've thrown in two more videos of very lucky people.



He doesn't even think twice before running back to the car... blowing the whistle and calling for help. Yet another reason to plant a tree.



Enjoy your day and remember to count your luck stars!

Secret Santa Dead at 58

America lost an inspirational hero on Friday. His name was Larry Stewart and he gave away a total of $1.3 million by roaming the streets and anonymously handing out money in December of each year. He gained international attention in November after he revealed himself as the Secret Santa. He was diagnosed in April with cancer, and wanted to use his celebrity status to inspire others to make random acts of kindness.

His private holiday giving started in December 1979 when he was at a drive-in restaurant nursing his wounds from having been fired. It was the second year in a row he had been fired the week before Christmas. Hmmm, does that sound like some local folks who experienced a similar problem last month?

"It was cold and this carhop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, 'I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,"' he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.

I find it interesting to see how different people react to similar adverse situations. As the saying goes, "Things can always be worse, so be thankful for what you have". If you think to yourself that things can't get any worse, spend some time volunteering at a hospital. There are plenty of people there that would love to have your good health.

It's a shame that we often don't hear about people who make a difference until they are gone. In his memory, do something nice for a co-worker today or consider becoming a Secret Santa member yourself.

Hey Doc, Don't Kill Me

According to Time Magazine, sloppy handwriting kills over 7,000 people annually. Even worse, 1.5 million people are injured by the mistakes made while quickly scribbling abbreviations and dosage information on prescriptions.

I'm sorry, but this is unacceptable to me.

There have been so many advances in technology that this type of behavior should not be tolerated anymore, in any part of our country. After some quick research, I was able to verify that our very own Mayo Clinic has been using an electronic prescription system which "types out" orders for several years now. I would be interested to know if Olmsted Medical Center has a similar policy.

The article goes on to discuss a new free web-based service which will allow doctors to write electronic prescriptions for free:

The National e-prescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) will offer doctors access to eRx Now, a Web-based tool that physicians can use to write prescriptions electronically, check for potentially harmful drug interactions and ensure that pharmacies provide appropriate medications and dosages. "Thousands of people are dying, and we've been talking about this problem for ages," says Glen Tullman, CEO of Allscripts, a Chicago-based health care technology company, that initiated the project. "This is crazy. We have the technology today to prevent these errors, so why aren't we doing it?"

I agree 100%. In the most technologically advanced country in the world, nobody should have to die (or be prescribed Viagra for a migraine) because Dr. Scribbly never learned to write.

Your Company Vision for 2007

If your company is falling short of its vision, maybe it's time to view it with new eyes. This article is a must read for any small business.

EVERYTHING YOU DO reflects how you see the world - whether implicit or explicit, consciously or unconsciously. Consider your vision. Does it inspire you to do the things you must? Does it fill you with energy and get you out of bed in the morning? Is your vision large enough? Will it provide you and yours with the life and lifestyle you want? Will it help you change the world - even a little bit?

Does your vision still match your beliefs about your market? Does your vision still make sense? Clarify your vision and put it in writing. Then, follow these five steps to transform your vision into a reality:

1) Scan Your Market Conditions. I know you think your market has changed, but don't run your business on hearsay and gossip. What specifically is different? Are there more competitors or fewer? Have selling prices gone up or down? Are customers spending less or more? Are they taking more or less time to make decisions and place orders?

What has changed in your customer's business? What new trends affect the way you can or should do business? What product or service requirements have changed? Is there new technology you can and should apply? What new business opportunities can you uncover? What do your prospects need now that they didn't need before?

Is your market position still viable? If it is, look for ways to strengthen it. If it isn't, what's wrong with it?

Is your target market shrinking? Are your perceived benefits no longer as valuable as they once were? Has your market advantage been eroded by hungry competitors? Have you become obsolete?

Scan the market and figure out what's what with your customer and prospect base, and what changes you need to make to capture more business.

2) Set New Results Goals. Results goals produce an end; they are about what you will have. These include goals such as $5 million in revenue in 2007, 15% profit on product x, 50 new customers by July or a 5% direct response rate.

Set new results goals that are in line with your current vision and current market conditions, then make sure you have a way to get them by following the next steps.

3) Develop a List of 20 Actions to Take. With your vision, market scan and results goals in hand, write a list of at least 20 actions that will help produce your committed results. Don't just jump into the first thing that comes to mind - it is probably the same tired old stuff you've been doing all along, and will not get you anywhere. Shift your brain into gear, push out your thinking, stretch your mind a bit. You might come up with something radical. Don't stop at 10, 15 or 17. Go for at least 20 ideas.

4) Set New Action Goals. With that list of 20 actions in hand, set new action goals. Action goals are what you will do. For instance, you'll contact 300 prospective accounts or send out 50,000 mail pieces. You will write and send two press releases each month, or contact 20 possible strategic partners.

Don't set too many action goals; instead, define a few critical action steps you can work on right away. When those are accomplished, you'll set new ones. Only set goals you are seriously committed to accomplishing and have a clear link to your results goals. With action goals, you have total control over whether or not you do them. You can do what you say you are going to do. And if realizing your action goals doesn't give you the results you want, you can do more and different actions until you achieve your results.

Before getting started, answer this question: What exactly are you using your time for? Will the things that fill your day help you realize your vision and your results goals? If your goal is to increase your new account base by 20%, you must contact prospects, right? But if you are only speaking to existing customers that goal is never going to happen. Detail what you are doing each day - check if your daily actions and your committed results are a match. Stop doing all the things that don't make a difference.

5) Put a Measurement System in Place. Finally, put a measurement system in place for each results goal and each action goal. You can use fancy software for this, or you can use something simple like the United Way thermometer that sits in front of Town Hall. Or just write on a piece of graph paper. However you do it, measure your accomplishments against your goals often - at least weekly. If you find yourself falling short, question what else you can do differently to make your numbers.

That's it. In any economy, following these timeless steps - Vision, Market Scan, Results Goals, Action List, Action Goals and Measurement - will help you turn your vision into a reality.

By Paul Lemberg

Paul Lemberg is the President of Quantum Growth Coaching, a business coaching franchise system built from the ground up to rapidly create more profits and more life for entrepreneurs. Paul is also Executive Director of the Stratamax Research Institute, specializing in helping entrepreneurial companies increase short-term profits for sustainable long-term growth. He is available for keynote speeches and workshops and can be reached via Lemberg.com.

My Inbox: Do You Take Risks?

I received an email today from my mother-in-law who lives in Arizona. It brought back memories of my trip to the Grand Canyon last year. While I was browsing the gift shop, I noticed a 408 page book about all the people who had lost their lives by falling "over the edge" into the canyon.

The book was arranged by category: falls, dehydration, floods, the Colorado River, air crashes, freak accidents, suicides, and murder. At the end of each chapter is a chronological list with names, descriptions, and causes of the accidents. The authors show that most of the deaths, whether of tourists, prospectors, or experienced adventurers, occurred when people failed to pay attention to warning signs or did not use common sense.

Common Sense? Let me get back to the email from my mother in law.





The email explains the pictures further:

This is a case of photographer photographs photographer. The following photographs were taken by photographer Hans van de Vorst at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The descriptions are his own. The identity of the photographer IN the photos is unknown.

I was simply stunned seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock in the Grand Canyon. Watching this guy on his thong sandals, with a camera and a tripod. I asked myself 3 questions:

1. How did he climb that rock?
2. Why not taking that sunset picture on that rock to the right, which is perfectly safe?
3. How will he get back?

This is the point of no return.

After the sun set behind the canyon's horizon he packed his things (having only one hand available) and prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes.

At that point he had the full attention of the crowd.

After that, he jumped on his thong sandals... The canyon's depth is 900 meters here.

Now you can see that the adjacent rock is higher so he tried to land lower, which is quite steep and tried to use his one hand to grab the rock.

We've come to the end of this little story. Look carefully at the photographer. He has a camera, a tripod and also a plastic bag, all on his shoulder or in his left hand. Only his right hand is available to grab the rock and the weight of his stuff is a problem.

He lands low on this flip flops both his right hand and right foot slips away... At that moment I take this shot.

He pushes his body against the rock. He waits for a few seconds, throws his stuff on the rock, climbs and walks away.

Luckily, he won't be in the next version of the book.