Learning What Marketing Works – The Hard Way!

Having being in business for a long time I have learned many lessons the hard way. The purpose of this blog is to point you in the right direction when it comes to marketing, so you don’t make these same mistakes!

In the past I had many sales people call me and say that their marketing would bring me more clients. I would say how many? They would say no marketing company can give a guarantee. So, if I liked the sound of what they were saying and they showed some empathy, I would usually “give it a go”. Guess what, apart from the hayday of Yellow Pages, nothing worked. To the point where I wouldn’t even make the money back on the investment I laid out.

There is a clue there. Marketing MUST be an investment, you must get some kind of guarantee. I was so annoyed at being ripped off by big National companies that I decided to put my electronics and software training to good use. I decided to do all the marketing for my companies myself. That was a long time ago, and I have never looked back.

Around 2005 a close friend said why don’t you offer these services to other businesses? And I now do. Over the years there has been many changes on what works best, but here on the cusp of 2014 is my advice for all you business owners.

1.     What works best today is a powerful mix of onsite optimisation together with a flexible, fully managed online ad campaign. (Flexiads)
2.    All this is great to know, but 100% useless unless you give it a go.

The marketing that didn’t work for me included: All paper advertising, email campaigns, linkedin, facebook, facebook ads, having someone else run an adwords campaign for me, Yell.com now hibu and still as bad, BT customer street and lots of others.

My mission is to help businesses like yours achieve your goals, get more customers and get the reward of more profit for a job well done. Some of you are scared to invest, I know, I have been there. This is why I came up with FlexiAds.

Starting at just £59 or the Dollar equivalent you get one months worth of online marketing which I guarantee WILL get visitors to your website and even calling you directly! After one month we will know whether your campaign has been a success or not. One business who started with us in November received 98 visitors to her website and converted these visits to 8 new clients worth £2,400 per year! For just £59. The thing is we know that by doubling her investment we can get even more visitors and more new clients and more profits! Isn’t this what you want?

We listened to people and they told us they didn’t like contracts. So FlexiAds don’t have a contract. You just pay for a month at a time. This gives you confidence as only companies who are unsure about their services would LOCK you into a 12 month contract. FlexiAds also give you FLEXIBILITY. If like our lady with 8 new clients, if that was enough for now you can stop your ads. If you wanted more clients and more profits you could increase your budget. This has the effect of smoothing out those peaks and troughs in your business cycle.

Also with FlexiAds you get a Duncan, a me on the end of a phone 9am to 9pm everyday! I’m also on Skype or you can visit me, whatever is best for you.

More information on FlexiAds can be found by CLICKING HERE.

10 Interesting Digital Marketing Techniques - CLICK HERE

Thank you and Happy New Year 2014

About the author:

Duncan Malloch is an entrepreneur from the UK with specialism’s in online marketing, website design and search engine optimization. If you are looking for a one stop shop to promote your business online, visit the PWP Web design website by CLICKING HERE. Thank you

Why are You Sabotaging Your Happiness

I am looking to help someone, a business owner who maybe recognises that they are like this:

·         You’re not happy and you blame everyone but yourself for your situation.

·         You even put your own blinkers on because even you don’t want to realise how silly you’ve been.

·         Your next action will determine if you are really ready to stop messing about and sort your business and your life out.

**WARNING **Please IGNORE this blog if you are NOT ready for change. IGNORE this if you are deluded into thinking your current LOT, is the best you can hope for. Please IGNORE this blog if you can’t make a decision. IGNORE this if you are beyond help. IGNORE this posting if you put ANYTHING before your complete happiness. This is your last chance if you want to stay an also ran, IGNORE this now!

***********************************

Now then, would it be fair to say that if you had enough money to pay for your car, your mortgage, clear your bills, pay for your children’s education and have plenty left over to afford a great holiday twice a year – YOU and your family would be a lot happier?

Unlike the majority of people YOU have a way to achieve this dream of a happier life. YOU have a business! Your business and how you run it is the KEY to your future success and happiness. I know it, even if you haven’t realised it yet.

But You Have a Big Problem, Don’t You?

You are not making enough money to pay all your bills, let alone go on two exotic holidays a year! If only someone would come along and show you the way to increase your profits, bit by small bit until you grew in trust and confidence and realised that BIG increases in profits are possible. All these things YOU need to be happy are obtainable. You’ve been offered ways out before and turned genuine opportunities away – The worst of it is, you don’t really know why! YOU could be living a life of bliss right now. I hope you are ready, FINALLY, to change, man up and bloody do something about it!

Here is the Offer

I can guarantee that I can increase your profits, increase your feel good factors by helping you get more customers. What I need to know is?

·         How much is your happiness, and that of your family, really worth?

·         How many customers do you need, who are they and where are they?

·         How quickly can you grow?

·         What would make you and your family really happy

My Promise to You

If the answers to the above questions are worthy, I will guide you towards that happiness, if you are determined, I can make it happen.

Your Action

Reply by email by answering all the questions above, or IGNORE it and go watch TV

Email address is duncan@pwpwd.co.uk - Thank you

Knock Three Times

The Art of Creating Customer Loyalty.

In a conversation with a business coach today we got around to talking about what it takes to impress a customer, so that they stay loyal. Research carried out by political parties in the US, have found that if you can get someone to vote for you three times in a row, then they will stay loyal for their lifetime.

What a powerful idea this is. When you adapt this idea to your business, imagine that if a customer buys from your store 3 times, they would be loyal to you for life. So know that you know this, the question becomes, how do you get a customer to purchase from you three times? To answer this question think more long term. What advantages would having a loyal customer give your business? Do you know how much it costs you to get a customer in the first place?

A chain of hairdressers in the UK went about it like this. When they opened a new salon, they would give customers a free haircut, together with complimentary champagne. This went on for around a month. Then they offered a half price cut which again lasted for about 8 weeks. You see the average women in the UK likes to revisit a hair salon every 8 weeks, so this was factored in to their marketing plan. For the next 8 weeks returning customers were given a further 10% discount, and now they were loyal.

They were used to the surroundings and atmosphere, they were used to the stylists and already had their favorite. They were used to the quality and the customer service. They even knew the best places to park and easiest routes to the salon!

These clever hairdressers knew what the American politicians knew. If we could only get someone to engage with us three times in a row, they would be loyal for life.

As with all forms of marketing, there is a cost to offering free hair cuts, or haircuts at discounted rates. You have to offset these costs against what it would have cost to advertise on the radio, local press, over and over again. Of course with your business you don't have to offer anything for free. Be creative and think if you were a customer, what kind of things would tempt you to give your business a try.

Just remember the story of the £1,600 toilet!

A celebrity hairdresser in London moved to a very upmarket address, paid a fortune to have the salon fitted out, everything was perfect. Well almost. On a visit there I asked to use the toilet, unfortunately it wasn't very clean. I told the owner my concerns and he said he couldn't afford a cleaner, as he had spent so much on the refit. I suggested he should do it himself. He said by the time we close I am too tired and I just want to go home.

The point to this story is you can spend thousands on refitting your business, moving to a swanky address, even spend on getting those clients to come to you three times in a row. Then one day a customer asks to use your toilet and all of a sudden, great service, free champagne, free haircuts, they all mean nothing. All because one little thing let you down, a dirty toilet.

We later calculated that one customer who stayed away because of that toilet would lose the business around £1,600 a year. Please ensure that every aspect of your business is up to the closest scrutiny of your customers.

More information on Coaching can be found by CLICKING HERE. 
How to build a brand that wins - CLICK HERE

About the author:

Duncan Malloch is an entrepreneur from the UK with specialism’s in online marketing, website design and search engine optimization. If you are looking for a one stop shop to promote your business online, visit the PWP Web design website by CLICKING HERE. Thank you

One way to Improve Your Website Bounce Rates

What is bounce rate:

According to Google analytics, “bounce rate is the percentage of visits that go to only one page before exiting a site.”

Factors that influence bounce rates:

Improve Website Bounce Rate

If you stop and have a think about it there are just a few reasons why someone visiting your website would hit the back button, rather than browse more pages.

·         Your website does not contain what they are looking for.

·         They believe your website does not contain what they are looking for.

·         Page load times are too long.

·         Your website is designed in a way they cannot see it properly, like some flash sites.

Any website designer worth their salt could quickly design out the last two items on the list. If your website is about dry cleaning and the browser was looking for wet suits, there is nothing you can do. So, this only leaves one way to improve your website bounce rates. You have to convince people coming to your site that it contains exactly what they are looking for. How can you do this?

Compelling website visitors to stay:

Recent research by business coaches and marketing analysts says that you need a statement at the very top of each page that engages with people browsing it. This statement is not your business name, nor is it your profession. I call it a descriptive marketing statement where you are selling the sizzle not the steak. In other words this is matching the benefits of your product or service with the needs of your target audience.

A cleaner might say – “we don’t cut corners we clean them - thoroughly”

An Engine Tuner– “save money on fuel and gain extra performance”

A photographer – “a lifetime of beautiful memories, captured forever”

How to double the effectiveness of descriptive marketing statements:

Your website visitors have to be subtly led if you want to increase the effectiveness of your descriptive marketing statements. We do this by linking them with strong calls to action. A call to action simply tells your visitors what you want them to do. “Click here for latest offers”, “ Call now to reserve your place”, “download your free diet plan here” .

We all live our lives at a thousand miles an hour and know what we want and if we can’t find it we move on. Or click back! This is why on every single page you should have a descriptive marketing statement in pride of place at the very top of the page. Research suggests that if you can fit in other statements and calls to action, the visitors to your website are more likely to stay longer. The longer they stay the more likely they are to become a customer.

About the author:

Duncan Malloch is an entrepreneur from the UK with specialism’s in online marketing, website design and search engine optimization. If you are looking for a one stop shop to promote your business online, visit the PWP Web design website by CLICKING HERE. Thank you

Boost Your Online Performance for only £99

Boost Your Online Performance for only £99

Boost Your Online Performance

Have you noticed listings with pictures in the Google search results? Like these?

Get Your Picture in Googles search results

Which listing would you be more likely to click on?

For only £99 you can have your picture included with your search results, gaining you a bigger market share. But there is more. The onsite html code, (which we provide) and the link we build for you also BOOST you higher up the search rankings, generating even more customers.

Can you see how, for a one off £99 this is the best investment to boost your online performance?

It’s a simple three step process

1                   Call Duncan on 07795 681 507 to get things started

2                   Send your picture to our email address info@pwpwd.co.uk

3                   We will add the code and verify your email, then that’s it – Your BOOSTED!

Visit our website by clicking our name here: PWP Web Design

Microsites and Their Benefits to Business

Today’s business world comprises of several amazing things and one of them is the ability to create sub brands of the main brand. Traditionally, companies who had a strong brand could translate this into sub brands. These individual sub brands served to strengthen the company’s overall image, and add consistency. Now with advancements in website technology, the modern business age has added its own trends regarding the marketing of these sub brands and a popular way to promote them is known as microsites.  

So what exactly are these microsites? Basically they are smaller, more focused websites which concentrate on a specific product, service or geographical area. A microsite when used as a single individual web page that functions as a discrete entity within an existing website is referred to as a landing page. Today many top businesses have various websites for each product or sub-brand they wish to market. These targeted websites provide many benefits not only to the specific product but to the parent brand and its umbrella of products or services. A microsite should carry across the design theme and feel of your main website and be tightly focused. Usually the webpage is very heavily and highly optimised using identified and specifically targeted keywords or phrases, to attract specific customers.

As there are several benefits of creating microsites, many companies are now jumping on this successful bandwagon. There are thousands of microsites online all over the world. Many feature great content and use creative techniques to promote your services or products. In order to increase your sales of particular products or services, businesses continuously develop new targeted microsites to gain amazing results. Let’s have a look at the benefits that you can expect by having a microsite designed for your business:

• ·         As a business owner the first thing that you should consider when thinking about your professional website is SEO. Search engine optimisation is the key factor in successful online marketing. Microsites have their own unique URL’s, or web addresses which help your customers to find your products and services more easily. Keyword analysis will allow you to choose a rich domain name that will give added power to get found in the popular search engines like Google.

• ·         Microsites are an effective branding option for those businesses who are looking to launch new products or services. You can use them to specifically focus on your target market which will make you stand out as an expert.
• ·         Creating microsites are recommended should you wish to update detailed information about new products and services, resulting in more engagement and contact with customers.

• ·         Microsites can be designed to market seasonal promotions that may have short life span. There are several businesses that use this technique successfully to market their at key times of year.
• ·         A microsite makes the perfect experimental marketing tool. If you want to experiment with your online strategies then this could be your best option.
• ·         The best benefit a small microsite gives you is that it is the cheapest way to get your business online. Because these microsites have less pages and are highly targeted means that they can usually be developed and designed easily, quickly and cheaply.

Above are just some of the benefits of microsites. Your business can gain much more by hiring the services of a web designer with microsite design experience. The one aspect to remember is to focus on just one product, one service or one geographical area. Figure out who your target market is and then your designer can combine this information with keyword analysis to create an effective, fully optimised online presence for your business. 

Duncan Malloch is the microsite specialist at PWP Web Design

You Can Have Great Web Designs and Great Customer Service

Web design services have gained immense popularity as an effective way to boost customers to your business. As one of the best internet marketing techniques, various website design companies have sprung up as everyone tries to find a niche in this lucrative industry. While this is commendable, it has presented a whole new challenge to potential clients and consumers. How do you choose among the plethora of web page designers available?

PWP Web Deisgn Services

To ensure that you get a transformational service which will help your business to the next level, web design skills on their own, are simply not enough. There is need, as with any business, to ensure that your chosen web design company has impeccable customer service. While most of the companies offer a great web design service, their downfall comes with very poor customer service. What should you look for? Customer services which offer easy access between the client and the designer. Thus enabling you to get the best overall product to promote your business online. To arrive at the perfect combination of the two, is surprisingly easy when you think about it. You have to choose a web design company, not have them choose you as a client. If when you call your company you here “sales chatter” in the background, then you know it is a call center. The chances of getting through to the person designing your website, is almost nil, once you have handed over your bank details! The smaller web design companies offer well executed, functional designs and excellent customer service, all at a great price.

Helping with Your Bottom Line

Like everything in life, to get the best out of your web development company, you just need to be a little careful. This ensures that you find a company that meets your needs and one with which you can build a long standing relationship. Building your website is a step by step process which takes both time and some basic homework into things like keyword analysis. In order that you benefit fully from web design services, it’s critical that your business goal and company message comes across and your branding is recognizable across all advertising. To achieve this, you need great two way communication, the value of this should never be underestimated; you must be able to communicate directly with your web designer inside and outside normal working hours, say from 9 to 9 everyday.  As opposed to larger, national companies who seem to care more about profit than customer service, you will have no call center to speak to, charging you high telephone rates just for being on hold!

Example websites

You don’t want that, so with a smaller independent website company you can chat to the actual person designing your website and you’ll be able to discuss  your, ensuring  every aspect is  integrated into each web page design. The message you want to get across to your customers is also vital, it is this message that will turn a website browser into a prospective customer. Make sure that you understand the full cost of your website and that there are no hidden extras. Most companies stick to their original estimate and cost only increase if extra web pages or significant redesigns are necessary.

Search Engine Optimisation

Once you have defined your business goal and have a budget in mind, choose a web design company which has the prerequisite experience and expertise to ensure you get tailored-made website designs, not rehashed templates. When evaluating your designers’ experience, look at the websites they have completed for other clients, their “portfolio” and see whether they resonate with what you want. If not, then speak to the designer and find out if they have the ability to handle what you want. Optimisation is important so you must check to see that previous clients are ranking in the top pages of Google for their target keywords.

Variety of high performance websites

To achieve an engaging design together with first class customer service, is an investment that often works out cheaper than the big companies too, just be choosy. This is the only way to meet your goals, budget and web design needs and………………………….Be Happy.

Happy people please call 07795 681 507 to speak direct to Duncan Malloch website consultant

For web design services please click here

For SEO advice please click here

For Microsites please click here

Adobe Muse: How to add the Google plus Button

This "how to" video shows  Adobe Muse users how to add the Google +1 button to their websites. More videos are available on our you tube channel CLICK HERE

If you are looking for a professionally designed website, optimisation for your current website, reliable web hosting or just need some friendly advice pop along to:

PWP Web Design at www.pwpwd.co.uk

You will find direct numbers to the consultants listed on the website

Improve Business Profitability with Competent Web Development & Design Services

Today nearly every business or company owns a website. With the increasing access of internet technology whether from PC or smart phones, a website acts as an integral element of a business whose desire is to secure extra profits. As you know, a website is one of the most powerful marketing tools that make your business easily accessible to millions over the World Wide Web. It endorses your business presence and promotes your products and services for your audience locally and globally.

Web development services offer a lot to the business world, as anyone can achieve their goals in business by developing and maintaining their web presence in an effective and efficient way. So what exactly these services are? Web development services are the services offered by professional web developers and designers. Proficient in creating business based websites from continuously evolving online marketing strategies that help to create attractive and dynamic websites that can run on several devices. As new strategies are being developed on daily basis, the main aim of web development services is to recognize these changes and use these innovations to increase your market share.

With dynamic and engaging websites, many companies and businesses gain advantages over their competitors and maximize their sales. A professional web development company will understand your requirements and knows very well that your website represents your brand, the identity of your business, for the whole web audience and also represents improved ROI. An experienced development company has a team of qualified and skilled team members such as developers, designers, consultants, business analysts etc; which together will provide you with the appropriate online solution for your exact business needs.

Before hiring a professional web development company you must check out following points:

•          Firstly, determine why you need a website. Do you need it for selling products or services or for strengthening your brand awareness or both. In this case you need to hire a reputable and experienced company, as only true experts can develop the right kind of website for you.
•       Secondly, determine your target audience, because to improve business profitability you must know who your actual audience is. If you are hiring an experienced company, they should help you in identifying your target audience and design your website in such a way that they are attracted to your website, driving more traffic to your business.
•        Thirdly, determine what kind of website you need? Is it required to be accessed by mobile devices? Were you aware that today’s generation access your site on their PC, laptops, their smart phones and tablets as well. In this case you can create separate websites for different devices or you can create responsive web designs. These responsive websites adjust the viewing experience according to the size of the screen being used. It is important that your selected designers should have experience in this new format of web development.
•    Fourthly, determine how much marketing experience the company has. Too many companies are all about the design, but lack the knowledge to get potential customers to call, email you, or make a purchase.  An ideal firm has experts in all these disciplines and can design you an exclusive website that supports your business goals completely.

To get a great ROI, to build brand, to increase your bottom line should be the aim. Try to meet face to face to discuss all these points before hiring an experienced and reputable web development service provider. Then you can be confident that the company you choose will take your business to the next level. 

Independent Blog with tips on how loyalty can increase profitability - CLICK HERE

If you require improved profitability through professional web design:

PWP Web Design

Web: www.pwpweb.co.uk

Email: info@pwpwd.co.uk

Twitter: PWP_Web

Facebook: pwpweb

About the author:

Duncan Malloch is an entrepreneur from the UK with specialism’s in on line marketing, website design, search engine optimization and coaching.

Get Success – Get a Website!

If you don’t have a website, it’s the same as trying to compete with a farmer who has acre upon acre of land, and you have a small back garden. You are simply missing out. That said it doesn't mean that by having a website, you are guaranteed business success. You need to recognise its potential and commit resources to take advantages of all the benefits. If you want to increase your brand recognition, or want more potential clients to visit you online, your website is the ideal place to make this happen.  Most businesses conduct themselves in ways that are professional, efficient and ethical, yet their image, as portrayed by their website paints a completely different picture. If this rings any bells, please consider the following advice:

Despite what People Say – A Book is Judged by its Cover!
Your website is sometimes your first impression prospective clients have of your company. What does it say about you? Not so much in words, but in the design, the overall feel of the site? We’re not saying your website has to be a masterpiece winning design awards. What we are saying is if you fall below the standard of design quality set by your competitors, you can’t expect to win business from them, can you? If your website looks like it was put together by a school boy, then people will correctly or incorrectly assume that your business is unprofessional, incapable and untrustworthy. You only have 2 seconds to Wow your potential customers. If you were a client, would you be compelled to stay?
A well designed website that engages with your clients can work wonders for your business. It instantly feels right and that your company is professional, reliable and trustworthy – top quality. This professional, polished look for your website doesn't have to cost you a lot. It should be looked at as an investment; you just need to find a web design team that can give you these benefits.

Content is King!
Your potential client will most probably have found you by typing specific search terms into Google. Make sure that the web page they land on gives them exactly what they are looking for. It’s important to understand your target market and know what they want and how they like to be treated. Are they visual people? Do they like images, or detailed text?

Your home page should be about your company, tell the world who you are, what products and services you provide, and the benefits of choosing you over your competitors. Keep the text short here your customer could be put off by information overload. You can always add Click Here for more product information. Give your potential customers reasons to keeping coming back to your website. Engage with them by offering things like tips, tutorials and special offers. Keep your content interesting and informative.

Guide Your Client with Excellent Website Navigation.
No-one likes being lost, do they? Your web designer should make sure that no how complex your business is, your website is easy to follow. Being able to effectively direct clients by channeling them to the products and services they need is of the utmost importance.  We suggest creating a plan, like a family tree, to understand the navigation aspects of your website before you do anything else! Make sure that it is user friendly and allows customers to easily find exactly what they are looking for.

I’ve Got a Ferrari!

Actually, I haven’t, but, if I did I would want people to know that I had one. It would be no good tucked away in the garage 24/7. It’s also the same as having your business card sitting on your desk or in your wallet, they do no good there! A great website gets you noticed, gets your business out there and this aspect of getting your website found is called SEO or Search Engine Optimisation. It is the fine tuning of your website so that the search engines, like Google, find it and place it in front of all those prospective customers. Search Engine Optimisation is a difficult subject to keep abreast of. But you don’t have to be a specialist; you hire one to make sure your website is found by the search engines and your target audience. PPC (Pay Per Click) is another way that can get you in front of them. You control your budget, keywords etc; under the umbrella of a campaign. If SEO isn't for you, maybe this will enable people searching for your products or services, find you more easily.

Link Juice
Link Juice is how some people describe the effect obtaining a link from another website to yours affects its ranking. An easy way to add link juice is to add your website link to your listings on online directories. Most directories will also give you the option to give a brief description of your business too. Adding your web address will help direct prospects to your website where they can find all they need to know about your business. Be careful though, other websites which take payment for links, or, all they do is provide links and nothing else are sometimes called link farms. A link from one of these link farms can damage your website, sending it the wrong way in the rankings. This is one reason why we would recommend professional help from a specialist SEO consultant.

Would You Prefer New and Fresh, or Old and Withered?
There is nothing worse than being out-of-date. The same is true for your website; it has got to keep your customers informed of new product lines, new offers and new services. There’s nothing worse than visiting a website in Easter to find all the Christmas offers still there! Make sure you choose a web designer who will manage these updates for you as frequently as necessary.

Have You Heard About The Latest Movie? 
Facebook and Twitter are the places where you hear about the latest happenings. New movies, new albums and your new products! Yes today, more and more businesses are using these forms of social media to inform online communities about their line of work. You can create your own Facebook page and post articles about your company, promote new products and offers and invite people to follow and like you. These forums, tweets and blogs provide a means for customers to interact directly with you and each other. It is this ability to share knowledge with others that will help to build your company’s brand and elevate your company’s position within your specific sector. It is easy to post press releases, hint and tips onto your website and then share them to your blog, Facebook and Twitter. When visitors see them, they too can share with their friends. Utilising these social media facilities also has the added benefit of giving your website SEO links which help you rank even higher in the search engines.

Summary.
There are many things you can do to make your business website more successful, and reflect the professional qualities of your products and services.  Your website is a marketing asset, a true business investment.  Take time and ensure the design feels appealing. The content is interesting, informative, and the site is easy to navigate. Next see what you can do to promote your website using SEO techniques to get it found more easily by the search engines.  Don’t forget the simple things too. Things like adding your web address to your business card and including it on other forms of advertising like posters, brochures and your company vehicles.

Links:
Newcastle Website Design Middlesbrough Website Design Darlington Website Design York Website Design
Search Engine Optimisation
Facebook Web Designer
Google Plus Web Designer

Where Do Your Customers Come From?

How to keep Track of Phone and Email Enquiries

When you receive a phone call or email into your business, it is vitally important to track the original source. Tracking of all your marketing activities is absolutely crucial. Once you know what is working and what isn’t you can reallocate your marketing activity for maximum effect.

If you have Google analytics installed into your website you are provide with a fantastic tool to tell you what is going on there. But and yes, this could be a big one. Analytics doesn’t tell you if a prospective client rang your phone number from your call to action in your websites description. Because they can do this without even clicking on your website!  If they send you an email from your website, you can set up goals to measure this. I like to set up a goal as reaching the thank you page for this purpose. But once again analytics does not tell you if a customer decided to call your business from the phone number they got off the website.

The challenge seems to be figuring out where your phone call enquiries come from. There are several ways you can monitor this. The most effective, fool proof way is to have a separate telephone number for different marketing activities. One for leaflets, one for advertising in local press, and another for your website. Each month you can get an itemised bill which will show the volume of calls received from each marketing source. The second and cheaper alternative is to ask everyone who calls where they got your number today. Then log them all on a simple tally chart like this.

Day/Source	Leaflets	Press	Website	Word of Mouth	Saw Van
Monday	II	I	IIII	I
Tuesday	I	I	III		I
Wednesday	II	I	IIII	I
Thursday			IIII	II
Friday	II		IIIII II	I

A more comprehensive method of tracking would be the use of a sales funnels like this one:

Name/Source/Action	Source	Enquiry	Follow Up 1	Follow Up 2	Sale
Mrs Smith	Website	Phone			£59.99
Mr Brown	Leaflet	Email	28 Jun 13	1 Jul 13
Miss Jones	WOM	Phone	28 Jun 13		£215.00
Mr Black	Website	Email	29 Jun 13	3 Jul 13	£87.49
Mrs White	Press	Email	1 Jul 13	4 Jul 13

Using these simple tools will make your business more profitable! Without them you will never know where your customers are coming from, and by association you will not know where your profits come from either.

Duncan is an Entrepreneur with specialist skills in website design, search engine optimisation, marketing, photography and electronics. Please do subscribe to our channel to keep up to date, you can also follow PWP Web Design on Twitter and Facebook