B6
Thursday, August 14, 2014
business
calgaryherald.com
CAPITAL IDEAS CAPITAL QUESTION:
UPCOMING: The Business Link’s Network and Learn
What is the key to doing business online?
AUG
Entrepreneurs share tips for success on the web
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19
Network and learn how to put together a business plan When: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Calgary Public Library, John Dutton Theatre (616 Macleod Trail SE) Admission: Free. Details at canadabusiness.ab.ca
Small Business Tuesdays
AUG
An evening providing resources for small business financial planning When: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Where: Calgary Public Library (616 Macleod Tr. SE) Admission: Free. Details at canadabusiness.ab.ca
Startup Weekend: Solutions for your City
AUG
22-24
A weekend event hosted by Startup Calgary and the City of Calgary When: 4 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Sunday Where: The City of Calgary Municipal Building Atrium (800 Macleod Tr. SE) Admission: Free. Details at startupcalgary.ca/calendar
Startup Drinks
AUG
27
Network and learn how to put together a business plan When: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Calgary Public Library, John Dutton Theatre (616 Macleod Trail SE) Admission: Free. Details at canadabusiness.ab.ca
Have an event that Capital Ideas should know about? Contact us at hello@capitalideascalgary.com.
Richelle Skrilec, founder and CEO of ShopandShare.ca, says the key to running a successful online business is great customer service and attention to detail. “As a solely online-business with thousands of subscribers and partners across Canada, we enjoy great success by: Using consistent messaging with human touches throughout our websites, customer support, and social media interactions; ensuring our desktop and mobile websites are esthetically pleasing, interactive and user-friendly; providing outstanding telephone and email customer support; and sending quality newsletters and posting interesting content to our social media sites to educate subscribers and reinforce the reasons they want to keep using our website.” Photo by Roth and Ramberg Photography (rothandramberg.com) “First, set goals. Those goals could be items sold, views or how many times people fill out your contact form. Be sure to set up analytics so you can track those goals. Plan how you will reach your goals through online and offline campaigns, and continually analyze, adjust and improve.” — Shawn Alain, president of Viral In Nature — viralinnature.com “If you answer all of [your customer’s] questions on your site so they don’t have to pick up the phone to call you, and if you have an easy and safe way to make purchases, you will eliminate barriers to purchase. It also helps to have credibility by being consistent across social media platforms, and some published media you can link them to — like videos or magazine articles — to reduce their nervousness about buying from you.” — Janise Bachler, stylist and speaker at The Closet Diva — theclosetdiva.ca “Delivering value in as few steps or clicks as possible is the key to a successful online business. Focus on taking away the friction from whatever your customer’s goal is.” — Colin Chong, product strategist for Wmode Inc. — wmode.com “There is no difference between a business operated in a bricks-and-mortar establishment or online — either way, customer service is the key. Answer customer requests within 24 hours, and keep a professional tone in your response. Cyber civility is exactly the same as faceto-face civility, and it should be an essential part of creating a brand online.” — Maria Doll, style and etiquette consultant at Leadership Matters Consulting Services — leadership-matters.biz “Track everything; the truth is in the numbers. One of the many benefits of being able to do business online is that you can generate measurable results and gather actionable insights. This is a great way to identify which online efforts are paying off and which are not. Set measurable goals and work towards reaching them. At the bare minimum, if you have a website or app, make sure to set up an analytic tool, such as Google Analytics, to track it. It’s free and provides an abundance of information that you can take actions on.” — Kita Eserve, Internet marketing expert at Metrik Marketing — metrikmarketing.com
These answers were collected from Capital Ideas members. For your weekly opportunity to share your business advice the way these members have, join us at capitalideascalgary.com.
“The key is simplicity. The fewer keystrokes required by your customer, and the easier the experience without compromising online security, the better. Customer experience online is as important as it is in real life — a crowded online space will turn off the customer just as cluttered aisles and overstuffed shelves do in a store.” — Bruce Leslie, executive director of The Conference Board of Canada — conferenceboard.ca “This is a huge question for business owners, and there is no one easy answer, but there are guidelines that can help with success: Be authentic! No one wants to hear from a robot, so speak in your own voice and be yourself; share, don’t sell — no one wants marketing messages bombarding their feeds; and participate! You can’t expect people to connect with you if you’re not engaging in actual conversation… The general public doesn’t appreciate online marketing zombies — let’s keep it real!” — Trina Lo, marketing director of FreshInk Communications — freshink.ca “Doing business online is the same as doing business offline. The tools may be different, but the principles and strategies remain the same. It’s important to know your target market, so be clear on how you are different from your competitors, be consistent with your branding, and put customer relationships before sales. Keep your online content relevant and timely, and most importantly, do not fall into the trap of ‘build it and they will come’ — you have to make it easy for customers to find you and do business with you.” — Brenda Mahoney, owner of Vin Gogh Paint & Sip Studio — vingogh.ca “Remember two things: First, that your product or service is not for everyone, so find your ideal clients and offer them value ... And second, connect online as you would in person — sincerely and authentically.” — Paula Onysko, success coach for women in business at Paula Onysko Coaching & Consulting — paulaonysko.com “Ask yourself if your customers are spending time online, and if so, where? The social media world, until recently, has existed primarily for the purpose of creating relationships and community, not selling. Ask yourself what would be helpful to your customers and what you could do to build relationships, create engagement and establish credibility and trust with them. Then offer something of value, share ideas and resources, build community, and the opportunity to sell will arise from these interactions.” — David Saxby, president of Spark Communications Inc. — sparkcommunications.com
“Don’t be daunted! At first it can be overwhelming — social media, email lists, developing your website and making it all work for you — but there is so much help and support available to you. You really can learn to navigate it all without being terribly computer savvy, and there are some great solutions to integrate everything at the touch of a button. At the end of the day, social media is just another way of developing that all important word-of-mouth promotion, and once you get over the overwhelming start, it’s actually very fun.” — Sam Tattersall, owner and founder of Mamaita’s Journey — mamaitasjourney.com “Do what works for your customer base and be patient. There is a lot of advice out there, but in the end, no one knows your business like you do. Focus on the areas where your customers go, and interact with them in a way that’s natural to them. Don’t give up — online marketing is a long-term strategy of building relationships and trust online, and that doesn’t happen overnight.” — Kamea Zelisko, partner at Red Queen Creative — redqueencreative.com
NEXT QUESTION:
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