Never Send Your Local Customer, or Even a Local Warm Lead, to Your Website - Even if They are Not Local

Never send your customer, or even a warm lead, to your website - Why?  Let's set the stage first.

Do you ever get the feeling the "Internet" is spying on you as it knows exactly what you are doing, even offline?

Maybe you have been doing some home improvement or some car maintenance in the last few days; maybe you have been doing a little research on how-to.  Then, all-of-a-sudden, it seems like every web page you visit has very specific ads for items you have searched; maybe an air filter or a circular saw - the very one you were researching or searching for - scary...

You need to understand - Websites do know what you are doing and it is not scary.  When you are are researching a product or a service, "cookies" (small bits of data and information) are planted on your computer. They are not harmful and there is nothing you need to do (or can do about it). Cookies are designed to improve and enhance the user's Internet experience (your experience).

Let's get to why you should not be sending your customers and warm leads (or any referral) to your website.  Very simply put, the same Internet spying that happens to you, happens to them.  Let's say you are the local Sherwin Williams paint store and you get a phone call (warm lead) asking, "Do you carry "X-Quality Paint" and rather than answering them immediately, and potentially writing up an order, you send them to your website, after they look at your website, that warm lead will likely be exposed to ads from other websites that will not only be specific to the product they wanted to ask you about, but  even more specific ("X-Quality Passion Blue at Lowe's").  It's gets even worse if you email the answer to a public mail service like GMail - the ads are email specific - all these ads pop up IN YOUR EMAIL that say"ME TOO - WE HAVE X-QUALITY PASSION BLUE TOO".  This is called Intelligent Ad Delivery.  Obviously I am embellishing my point here, but the question still is, who wants to expose their customers to the competition.

Why does the Internet work like this?  Very simply put, it is the Internet companies that have an interest in you buying there.  Advertisers bombard us with information because they have identified us as A BUYER.  Whats even worse, the Local Sherwin Williams Paint Store, can't profitably compete there, even if it knew how.

Sometimes we need an analogy - It's like sending a caller (warm lead) back to the phone book to see the list of colors you carry.  Think about how dumb that sounds.

This situation seems so obvious if you understand all the ingredients, but so few of us do.

Make your website is a one way path - from your website to you.  That is its purpose - to make your phone ring. If people are calling, they want to talk to you and get questions answered - answer them and take their order.  Your website did its job.

So what inspired this article?  I called a local HVAC company who I knew carried the AprilAire air filter I needed (high-tech air filter not available at Home Depot or Lowe's).  Instead of giving me the information over the phone (I was a buyer), he told me he would immediately email me if I gave him my Gmail address (collecting email addresses).  He did immediately email me the pricing information as well as pricing for removal of the old filter and installation of the new filter.  Up popped ads with similar pricing and detailed removal/installation instructions - stupid-is-as-stupid-does - convenient local instantly became very inconvenient.  Don't repeat his mistake.

Lesson Learned.  You have zero privacy anyway . . . . Get over it."  ~ Scott McNealy

Bob Leonard

Why Branded Websites Don't Work With Any Business, Especially with Local Printing

Several of the larger trade printers will provide their customers with somewhat sophisticated websites for them to call their own.  There are several problems with these which are listed below.

1 - When there are more and more websites, especially websites that are both functionally and visually identical, the net result is noise in the market place (web market place).  The only people that are going to find these sites are people that the local printer tells.  This is a big negative in my mind as the job of the local printer is to service the local customer; sending the customer online is reducing service levels and introducing your customer to the online competition.

2 - Maintaining the website (just the prices) is a job in and of itself assuming the branded site allows you to determine prices.  If you have the time to spend on this, you may already be out-of-business.  My most commonly used 'line' for printers that say "We already have a website" is "how many orders have come in from your website" or "Have you ever had ANY order from your website?"

3 - Limited Product Line - Typically limited to the trade printer providing the branded site.

4 - Getting Traffic - As was pointed out in the first problem, you do not want to send your face-to-face customer to your website (EVER IMO).  SEO is a very very expensive process as it is a job, not a task - don't be sold SEO by the "expert around the corner"; in my opinion, 99% of the people that sell SEO are fraudulent and don't know the meaning...  Just my opinion ... as a friend of mine says, "tell me how you really feel...!!"  The other way to get traffic is Pay-Per-Click which is expensive, but very real; you will be competing with the big boys and you must position your products against the big boys to convert that click into an order.  Just a note, we estimate the cost of a converted lead in the printing business to be about $150 - How does anyone make money at it?  They do - maybe for some future blog entry.

Finally, I ask,  does anyone know a local printer whose website (branded from a trade printer, or their own home grown) makes them money?  I don't.  All I ever hear is people complaining (always off the record) about Vistaprint - sometimes they will spend 20 - 30 minutes telling me how Vista doesn't effect them - touch a cord..!!

What makes LightsOnGraphics.com different?  Follow me.

I need to start talking about the business rather than the business plan - soon.

Who Me, “Who Three” - Fixing the Local Print Business – Part Three

Just in case you did not read the last blog entry, “Who Three” is the franchise local printer and the independent local printer.  Forget for a moment that this group is the second of the target markets as the obvious (IMO) is explained here.

Why does the local printer need to collaborate with printers in other local areas?  Then, why do they need to become part of the LightsOn network to do so?

The local printer can't compete alone with the online companies like Vistaprint, PSPrint, Over Night Prints, etc, etc, etc.  Why?  Very simply those companies have invested heavily in Pay-Per-Click and SEO marketing for their online sites.  Pay-Per-Click has lower cost of entry but has costs for every click through to your site.  SEO has high development and maintenance costs but minimal to no cost per click. Both are very complex and expensive and are a game of numbers.  In addition, when many many try alone, they simply end up being noise in the search.

The first step is to collaborate with other companies that are providing copy/print/graphic services; not only local to you, but local everywhere.  Regretfully, this is much more than providing a franchise website - just ask yourself how much business you get from that website; is ZERO the right answer?  Maybe this website thingy doesn't work.  Ask Vistaprint...

LightsOnGraphics.com has been built, from day one, as a site for collaboration with the objective of taking back and to stop the encroachment of that business that Vistaprint is taking from the local print service provider.  Our expertise in print, SEO and collaborative systems will make print local again and make you locally, the printer again.

The second step is to collaborate locally with other service providers.  Local printers need to recruit local graphic designers, web designers and advertising companies; there are many locally everywhere.  Make what you perceive as competition today, your sales rep tomorrow.  Collaborate with them a variety of products and services that let them make more money as well as you make back some of what you are currently losing.  This will take some proactive marketing, sales and networking.  Franchisors - make these non-retail mini-franchises (biz-ops) around your franchises - Please - Steal This Idea.!.!.!

Our objective at LightsOn is not to move your business to our website.  When a client calls you from the our LightsOnGraphics.com website (I include you in "our") we strongly suggest you provide the service and sell that customer directly, bypassing the LightsOn site.  Our objective is not to get your foot traffic, but to get the traffic you are losing to online.

Take a look at our affiliate information, how we protect you, your client and your territory.  We are taking back business, not taking your business.

Next, "Who Four" - why local postal stores may be the local graphics shop of tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading

Bob

561-371-4113