Website Review Webinar

Last Friday was a great day at ChiefExperts.com.   We hosted a webinar addressing the new world of marketing and how critical websites are to your marketing efforts.  We had a very informational session with over 100 people enrolled.  Dan Baumann led the discussion on marketing as it evolves from the traditional 4P’s of - Product, Price, Place and Promotion to the new world of social marketing and the 4R’s – Reveal, Reward, Respect and Retain.  He also discussed all the mental triggers that your marketing efforts, especially your website, should address. 

We also offered to review your websites and offer our advice on areas of improvement.  Wow – we were overwhelmed by your response!  We had over 50 requests to review your websites.  We loved it and have really enjoyed visiting your sites and giving them a critical eye.   We have seen some excellent sites and some not so great sites.  We talked about a few during the webinar, with much more to come.

There is so much contractors and designers can do on your website:

• highlight amazing galleries and portfolios, 
• promote your awards,
• video testimonials from clients, subs, employees,
• photos and bios of your staff,
• private client areas,
• your contracts,
• education for your clients,
• your community involvement,
• & blogs, of course. 

The list keeps growing every day, it’s really exciting.  Your website is a great place to differentiate yourself in the competitive construction industry.   

If you want to hear the whole webinar, current members can check it out at ChiefExperts.com, it’s very interesting and will get you thinking about how you can adopt these new marketing strategies and enhance your website to make it more effective.

Good luck!

What to Blog? – Good Question

One question we get from contractors often is – “What should I blog about?” 
Good question.  Let’s see if I can give you a good answer. 

A blog is a new format to share “news”.  What is “news” is pretty subjective, but that’s the beauty of the internet, if you don’t find a blog or website newsworthy, then you don’t have to read it.  That said, if you think something is newsworthy, great, blog about it.

Some suggestions for contractors or designers -

• Open House – talk about an upcoming Open House you are hosting
• Trade Show – tell people where you’ll be, what contest you’re offering, invite them to come by 
• Community Event – talk about one you’re participating in, even if it’s for a favorite charity
• Post Event – after the event is over, talk about what you did, what was interesting, surprising, or even disappointing
• Green – it’s the new buzz word.  If you’re doing something in this area (a project, your business, your home), talk about it
• Designers – talk about a particularly nice design feature you’ve done, show pictures, talk about how the client loved it, quote them too
• How To – talk about a fairly simple home repair or project that homeowners can do, include pictures or video if you’re ready.  It makes you the expert & if they struggle, maybe they’ll call you to take over.
• You – if nothing else, talk about you & what you’re doing, build a relationship with your future clients.  If they like you, they’ll hire you.

Hopefully these ideas will give you a start.  Go ahead, have fun with it. 
Let us know what you’ve blogged about.  We’d love to hear about it & read it.

My First Blog

This is my first venture into the world of blogging.  It seems to be the way the world is moving, so why not. Plus, ‘my boss’ asked me to do it.  We wanted to see how easy it would be for contractors & designers, with limited internet experience, to start your own & I’m about as inexperienced a user as you could find.

I am amazed at how easy it was.  I tried a couple blogging sites & decided that this one, WordPress is the easiest to get up & going. 

A couple things I learned:

• think about your username – that’s how you’ll be found – use your company name if possible
• there are a lot of options – start simple & just jump in
• play around – it’s easy to delete, change, or start over
• if you don’t like writing – find someone in your company or family that does & use them
• write about something you know – your business, the industry, you

Blogging is a great way to increase your company’s exposure.  It also gives your clients and potential clients a more personal glimpse into you & your business.   They get to know you better & when they have a project to be done, they’ll turn to someone they know & trust – you! 

At least that’s the idea & since it takes just a minimal amount of time & effort, why not?

So, give it a try & let us know how it goes.  I’d love to hear about your experience.  Good luck!!  Let us know if we can help. 

Have Fun!
Caron
www.ChiefExperts.com