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At 9Rains Technology we specialize in helping small & medium sized businesses grow their business by increasing both market share and customer share utilizing a website with functionality like opt-in newsletters, email marketing, e-commerce, customer feedback and ratings, product comparisons and many others.
9Rains Technology is based near Bismarck, ND and we work with clients throughout the United States performing website tasks such as website design, website hosting, website maintenance and website SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
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Latest Posts
- Five Helpful Hints that Boost Value in your Web Site!
With our fully-inclusive web solution, any small- and medium-sized business can take advantage of user-friendly features that empower them to create the kind of professional Web presence that larger companies pay thousands of dollars to build! They can stand out from their competitors who run static and un-engaging Web sites. That’s why blogger Marcus Sheridan asks entrepreneurs to examine their own sites for quality."…is it just like your competitors, just different words, pictures and fonts but essentially the same old boring information?"
Take your site to the next level. Here’s a list of suggestions inspired by some of Sheridan’s tips!
Tell site visitors about yourself.
If you are interested in boosting the credibility of your business, adding information to an "About Us" page using our web solution is extremely easy. Sheridan points out that posting unique and personal information or photos to a Web site "can go a very long way in establishing relationships of trust with a customer before they even start to deal with the company."Use e-mail campaigns!
Any successful Web presence – whether it belongs to a smaller business or a giant corporation – will always offer site visitors the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates. Do you know about the earning potential available through this marketing medium? If you think it’s too tedious or that you can’t afford to pay an outside firm to generate your e-newsletters, our e-mail campaign tools available in our web solution are the perfect answer! There is no extra charge or setup fee to begin connecting with your customers through e-mail.Monitor your success.
Our web solution features a comprehensive site statistics section! You can measure the success of your online marketing efforts and adjust your site accordingly to ensure maximum results!
Add video!
Placing videos on a Web site gives the overall presence an entirely new dimension. Videos allow site visitors to learn more about products, services and businesses without reading lengthy blocks of text. And our web solution makes embedding media so easy, anyone can do it!Include Testimonials!
This feature will lend you instant credibility! Whether you choose to add an entire page devoted to customer feedback or simply add testimonials to every page of your site like Sheridan suggests, the drag-and-drop capabilities of our web solution allows site owners to accomplish this task quickly and effortlessly. Sheridan’s also got a creative tip that integrates two powerful site features: add video testimonials! This is a great way to earn customer loyalty! Your customers will love the idea of being featured on your Web site, and they’ll appreciate that their voice is being heard! - Fast, Easy, Profitable E-Mail Marketing
2009 is behind us, but it provided plenty of online retailing trends to keep an eye on this year! One of the 2009’s most popular movements was the use of e-mail marketing, and companies are expected to place greater importance on this method of advertising in the months ahead!
According to Internet Retailer’s Guide to E-Commerce Technology for 2010, e-mail marketing was a major asset to many businesses, as it allowed them to reach customers during the lagging economy. In fact, IR’s Bill Siwicki found that 51.6% of retailers surveyed planned to increase e-mail marketing campaigns to connect with consumers and clients!
If you recognize the value of e-mail marketing but you’re concerned that it’s too time-consuming, tedious or costly, you need to check out our web solution!
You can keep up with those retailers Siwicki wrote about, and you won’t have to break your budget or waste hours on end to do so!
- What can effective content do for a Web site?
It can make all the difference between an ordinary Web site and an engaging Web presence! And because our web solution is designed to allow easy site modification, you will discover for yourself how content impacts your overall success on the Internet. Here are some tips about effective content: - Add Feedback and Testimonials. Web users don’t just demand valuable content from businesses…they want to read content generated by other customers! With our web solution it’s easy to allow and post user feedback! Doing so will boost credibility in your business and help you learn about the needs of your customer base!
- Keep Content Fresh! If you have a stale, static Web site, or you’re depending on a Webmaster to make changes to your site, you’ll love how easy it is to make real-time updates to your site with our web solution! Have you added a new product? Did someone recently join your firm? Is there a store event coming up? Any news you want to share with your Web audience can be posted immediately! This will also benefit your site promotion on the search engines. After all, adding new content will catch the attention of Web crawlers, boosting your site ranking and allowing greater visibility on the Internet!
- Add a Call to Action! Not only is this an important tip for your Web site enhancement; it’s something you should include in e-mail marketing campaigns, too! With the user-friendly e-mail campaign tools in our web solution, you can send targeted messages to your contacts featuring a specific call to action – you can ask customers to write a review for a particular product, add a recommended item to their wishlist or urge your readers to take advantage of an exclusive discount! It’s a great way to maintain ongoing interaction and provide incentives for customers to return to the site!
- Why Have An Engaging Web Site?
Do you know about the inherent benefits and opportunities that engaging websites offer? We’ve assembled a list inspired by Craig Sullivan at the UK’s Business Computing World!“It is fair to say that the Internet offers businesses an unprecedented opportunity to increase revenue, expand customer reach, drive loyalty and improve margins,” writes Sullivan. He explains that an online presence enables businesses to…
…Appeal to new global markets
“Offering an online sales channel can have an immediate impact on revenue,” Sullivan tells readers. With our web solution, not only can site owners attract local customers to their business; shoppers around the globe will find their site and make a purchase! When a business leverages the Internet, Sullivan writes, “Geographical barriers are removed, making business opportunities exponentially bigger.” You can use the site promotion tools available in our web solution to get the global reach that will increase your bottom line!…Reduce costs
We often emphasize this in our articles and supplementary material because it’s such an enormous benefit for cash-strapped small businesses! Our web solution is the low-cost advertising method that’s more effective than any of the traditional channels (like direct mail or phone books), and it will also help small- and mid-sized businesses in any industry streamline their customer service process!…Boost Sales
According to Sullivan, “E-commerce today involves much more than offering an online catalogue and a shopping cart.” He writes that today’s e-commerce features facilitate “targeted marketing campaigns,” “sophisticated merchandising techniques,” and the “collection and analysis of data to fuel the continuous improvement of such processes.” These needs are exactly what our web solution was designed to address! From its e-mail campaign tools to customer review and wish-list capabilities to its comprehensive site statistics section, we are offering a system that includes everything needed to accomplish the objectives described by Sullivan!…Gain a competitive edge
Sullivan offers this simple truth to businesses about using the Web: “Even if you’re not doing it, you can be sure your competitors are!” Regardless of your industry, a professional online presence will level the playing field between your business and its larger competitors. If you prospects are concerned about your competition, let our Product Specialists demonstrate how our web solution can give you a viable advantage! - Fix It Fast And They Will Be Back
The latest research from the National Association of Retail Marketing Services shows that for every one complaining customer, a business may lose ten more!
Kristina Knight at BizReport says this means “many more consumers are experiencing problems than are reporting them.”
But it’s not all bad news! The NARMS study also found that 95% of lost customers will return if a problem is resolved “in a timely manner.”
If you receive occasional complaints about your business, it’s important for you to know how to resolve and prevent these issues! To that end, Knight provided several suggestions, such as asking customers about their overall experience and offering “an easy outlet” for them to communicate.
The complete web solution we are offering is perfect for that! It allows site visitors to provide feedback, testimonials and reviews! You can use this information to ensure you’re providing the best customer experience possible. With the help of our web solution, you’ll keep more customers coming back!
- The Ultimate Customer Service Representative!
Our web solution offers a myriad of ways to help small- and medium-sized businesses operate more effectively. One of its most valuable aspects is that it functions as a customer service representative that’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! - Create an FAQ Page – We know how busy you are, and that’s why we developed a user-friendly platform that allows busy entrepreneurs to add as many pages as their Web site needs! A page dedicated to Frequently Asked Questions will help you reduce the amount of time you spend answering customer questions and establish a higher level of professionalism in your business at the same time!
- Send E-mail – There are so many ways for a business to capitalize on the e-mail campaign features available in our web solution! Along with e-coupons and industry news, experts suggest filling e-mails with content that addresses customer concerns. Whether you add new product information, menu changes or price quotes, every industry can use e-mail newsletters as a customer service tool!
- Add Videos – Consumers appreciate visual aids; that’s why online videos have become so popular! You can show customers how to use, assemble or install a product simply by adding a video to your Web page…and with our web solution, it can be done in minutes! You’ll never need to wait for a costly Webmaster to finish the job- you’re in complete control!
- Build an Image Gallery – Would you benefit from an online image portfolio? Many industries including interior designers, landscape firms, beauty salons and many more service-oriented industries can boost credibility by adding a series of photos that showcase their work. Odds are you get frequent requests from potential customers for examples of finished projects, so adding a portfolio or gallery to your site will meet those needs before the customer has to ask! Most importantly, our web solution keeps it simple. So if you are worried that adding images will be a tedious process, we offer a web solution that eliminates the hassle!
These are just a few ways that our web solution can be a business’ best customer service representative. As consumers increase their demand for attentive online service, features like the ones listed above are becoming more important all the time. How is the quality of your customer service? Let our Product Specialists demonstrate how our solution will improve the way you assist your customers!
- 5 Essential Elements Of A Successful Web Presence
You may already have a Web site for your business, but is it outdated, unfinished or inactive? It is an “online brochure” that offers no opportunities for consumer interaction. Today, we are featuring several of Peter Moore’s “essentials for your business Web site.” These important features are all completely included in our web solution!
- Contact details and map – If you run a brick-and-mortar location for your business, you’ll draw more customers just by using our web solution’s tools to add their e-mail address, street address and phone number to each page of your site! Our web solution also allows site owners to add a map and driving directions, so online visitors won’t have to leave the site to find out how to reach the business! Moore points out that Web users “won’t spend hours looking for you and trying to trace you – they’ll just go elsewhere and find another site.” This is definitely true these days, as people now expect quick and easy access to information!
- Photos and videos – Adding these features will lend to the credibility of a business, as Moore explains. “It means that people can see who you are and it assures them that you are real!” Moore writes that featuring videos on the site (such as a tutorial or tour) “can add a three-dimensional look to your site and is just another way to show people that you are real and that you understand their needs.” Our web solution is designed to allow the easy addition of images and videos, and these tools are beneficial for any business in any industry!
- Newsletters - Sending e-newsletters to opt-in contacts serves a number of functions. Above all, they facilitate ongoing communication between a business and its customers. By using the e-mail campaign tools in our web solution, you can send targeted newsletters on a regular basis to everyone on your contact list. You can do it in minutes…on your own time!
- Feedback & testimonials – Web users place profound importance on the opinions of fellow shoppers. Our web solution allows site owners to add pages for receiving feedback and displaying customer testimonials. What’s more, business owners can also take advantage of our solution’s customer review capabilities! It’s all available through one convenient, comprehensive system!
- Make sure it’s complete! – According to Moore, businesses with incomplete sites stand to lose credibility. With our web solution, that’s never an issue! It’s easy for any small- or medium-sized business to update and edit their site content, and those changes happen in real time! The site will never show up as “under construction,” and Web visitors will always be able to access a professional online storefront that enhances your prospects’ reliability.
- The Competition’s Already Online!
Whether you are competing with a larger business or you’re trying to gain an advantage over local establishments, a top-quality Web presence will not only level the playing field…it will help you get ahead! The experts at BigClick tell entrepreneurs, “Chances are that your competitors are already online. If they’re not, it’s a fantastic opportunity for you to seize market share.”
- Online Sales Will Continue To Rise!
eMarketer is forecasting that online retail sales will grow 7.5% next year, totaling $141.3 billion! And the numbers will go up again in 2011 and 2012, according to the research firm. In fact, by 2013, online retail sales are expected to reach over $189 billion!
With numbers like this, it’s clear that the opportunity to boost profits is available on the Web!
- A Web Site Is The Best Customer Service Representative!
As we’ve mentioned in the past, a Web site can be used to answer common questions from customers. This will help small- and mid-sized businesses reduce the time and resources devoted to processing returns or fielding customer service issues. For instance, you can easily add an FAQ page to your site. The writers at businessknowhow.com also advise adding an online video demonstration to enhance customer service!
“If you’re spending a lot of time on the phone giving directions on how to use your product, a video demonstration could save time. And because nothing beats a visual demonstration, an online video will be more helpful to your customers than a phone conversation with you.”
Get started providing great customer service today!
Posted on October 14th, 2009 in e-Commerce
