This patient has been seeing this dentist for 16 years, so you might guess that they were already happy with the service. However, having this secondary presence – a website with information about the staff, procedures offered beyond the basic cleaning, and several dental health articles, further cemented the patient’s happy relationship with the dentist.

The patient commented that the site (Carle Place Dental)  was overall “easy to navigate and very informative.”  They found the FAQs helpful and the articles about various dental health topics enlightening. So while the patient has been seeing this dentist for years, they now have more evidence that the dentist is knowledgeable and experienced.

This deepened trust can then extend to an increase in additional services. Maybe a patient has never considered teeth whitening – it doesn’t seem safe, it’s for celebrities, who knows – but when they see that their friendly and trustworthy dentist offers it… they might reconsider.

So, in addition to helping bring in new customers, a well-designed and informative website can also work to keep existing customers, strengthen the level of customer satisfaction, and increase sales with regular customers. And that’s something to smile about!

I know it seems strange, summer is over and here we are… In no time it will be December. Not to panic, try this handy guide to get through the gift giving season.

Month by Month Holiday Survival Guide
October – Start Planning for the holidays with ideas
November – Place orders and review samples
December – Holidays arrive, begin shipping gifts!

Each month brings us closer to the holiday season. Gift giving can be difficult for us all. Trying to find a corporate gift that will please everyone and trying to fit within a budget is a challenge.

This never fail holiday formula has worked successfully for many of our clients that rely on us for promotional gifts. Some clients even start planning as early as August and September. We have learned over the years to plan ahead, avoid shortages and last minute holiday pangs.

First, plan a budget including the number of recipients. Second, list some of your favorite corporate gifts, and some not so favorite.  Ask your co-workers for suggestions. This will put you in a good position for step three: focus on the actual gift. It is easier to accomplish corporate gift giving in steps, rather than trying to do this in one giant leap.

At CS Designworks, holiday gifts are an opportunity to say thank you and extend good will to our clients and vendors.

Each year we try to reach further with popular trends. Whether it is technology, traditional, eco friendly or executive toys, we look for corporate gifts that will be remembered.

Take that first step with us, think Holidays!

Considering this small business had been around for over 20 years, it was a surprise to hear, but up until now they had just gotten by on their reputation. This got us talking, it turns out the reason that the company was ready for a website now was because they had just lost a potential new client. After a few good phone conversations their client was impressed, but wanted to do a little more research about them before entering into an agreement. That’s when she headed to her computer to make her final decision. The companies lack of a website made the client nervous. In an age of technology how could any company rely only on what others said about them when they were face to face?

Even with a great reputation in your field without a website, new clients, especially ones who may not be able to meet you in person, judge you by it. Now I’m not saying your reputation isn’t important, rather your website helps to solidify your reputation.

Back to our clients dilemma, they spent the next few months working on their site with us, all the wile keeping what had happened in the backs of their minds and considering their clients reactions at every turn.

The result was a great, client focused custom website that even many months after the launch of the site, still receives rave reviews from their current and potential clients, including that very client who push them into creating a website in the first place.

Not too long ago, a tote bag was a standard business gift and a great corporate advertising vehicle. The tote is a useful promotional giveaway. Whether filled at a trade show or lugged around town, it is meant to carry on with your message.

Our perspective has changed with the times. Now a logo tote can be a fashion statement as shown by the wide variety of designer totes. We can buy them from fancy european boutiques or at the local bookstore. The message can be as subtle as “buy local” up to a “limited edition” bag that makes women crazy!

The old plastic water bottles were a mainstay for walkathons, picnics and other fitness events. Today’s water bottle has gone hi-tech with materials ranging from Stainless steel to BPA-free polycarbonates. With so many colors and styles, it is really amazing.

It is also amusing to see how far we have come in such a short time. Thankfully, these items are simple, easy to put into our daily routine. Eco-style can be serious or fun. Change your message, add your logo or create custom art for a thoughtful corporate gift or promotional item.

The trick is trying to relate the item with what you want to promote. Branded Kool-Aid packets, clocks, towels or even Magic Eight Balls can all be used to promote your business if it relates to either your company or a special event you’re marketing. Fox Searchlight gave away branded hamburger phones to promote the movie “Juno” and now even the unbranded hamburger phones are selling. As long as you make the item fun and useful, they can continue to use it and they see your company’s logo when they do.

After you know what you want to use, figure out how best to distribute it. Conferences and trade shows are good places for distribution. You can also get a mailing list going of clients and potential clients and mail you promotional item.

Promotional gifts are fun and easy to do. Almost anything can be used to promote your start-up. Plus it’s free! And who doesn’t enjoy a free gift?

You like to travel light, you say, keep things simple. You’re exicted and you’ve already looked at possible office space!! That’s great, but do you know how much you can spend?

That’s just the sort of detail that writing a business plan will help you figure out by organizing the descriptions about your new business. Not only will it help you better define your company (which will help you pitch it to investors now and market it later), you’ll have a clearer picture of strengths and weaknesses, and, very importantly, where you plan to take the company. Formalizing all of your ideas in writing will give them more shape and make them more executable. As your business gets going, you will be able to refer to your plan to help make decisions (or to change the plan!).

So what’s all in a business plan? Here’s a basic outline of a sample business plan:

• A summary of your business. Keep this brief.
• A more in-depth description of the company including the purpose (or mission statement), info about your background, key employees, and goals.
• A description of the industry and your target customers.
• Description of products and services, including pricing info. Include photos if possible!
• Organization details: who’s involved and how everyone is organized, your legal business structure (such as LLC or INC), info about how sales are generated.
• Marketing and selling strategy. Good idea to start thinking about how you’ll promote your startup.
• Finances. If you are looking for a loan or investors, this will be important. Be realistic about startup costs and earnings projections.

That’s a basic overview. For more on how to write a business plan, see this sample business plan outline. Once you’ve really nailed down the details, you’ll feel better – because you have a plan for starting and growing your business. Trust us, you don’t want to be wandering aimlessly, in whatever industry it is, without a map.

Figure out if you can promote your business using coupons, rebates or contests. Social media outlets like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook have also become inexpensive ways of getting the word out on your business. Other methods like TV or radio commercials, magazine ads and mailers can be a good idea.

Knowing where and when to market is important. You must plan and ask yourself: Does the medium suit the brand? Is the ad running where the target market will see/hear it? Is the mail/email targeted to interested prospects? Is it running often enough for the message to sink in? Can you afford to run it often enough for the necessary exposure?

Planning will take some time, but once you have an idea about what you need to do to market your specific business, you’ll be in a better position to reach your target market and start raking in the dough. Especially if you’re in the catering or landscaping business.

In an age of new technology we don’t have as many business lunches, golf outings, and other traditional networking events like we used to, but that shouldn’t stop your clients from talking you up to their friends, coworkers and beyond, should it?

We’ve all heard from SEO experts (like myself) that getting listed in online directories such as Yahoo!, DMOZ, and others will help to improve your search engine rankings; but there are some other places to be listed that can work twice as hard for you, if you put in a little time. A few of my favorite places are listed at the bottom of this post. Take the time to ensure your listings are correct then take it one step further….ask for some help.

The three sites I list all have the option to let people review your products/services. Every review or recommendation can set you apart from your competition. So go back to your best client and ask them for a few minutes of their time to rate, recommend, and/or praise you. I’m sure that if you have forged a good relationship with this client they won’t mind helping you out, even better, offer to help them to by writing a review in return.

These personal recommendations get added to your listing and the next person who comes across you will take what is said into consideration. This concept works just like social events where people can interact and talk about you only now you supporters can touch every interested person in the room instead of just one or two. With praise coming from current clients you’ll be guaranteed to capture more awesome clients without ever leaving your office. So in this competitive market, remember to get by with a little help from your friends!

What are you waiting for? Get listed!

Google Local Business Listing – http://www.maps.google.com
To have clients write a review on Google Local Business map listing pass them the exact link where they can review you.

To do this: Search your company name on Google maps, click the send link towards the top right of the page, follow the instructions and send the link to yourself. Now keep it in a safe place and pass it along the next time you get a compliment from a client. Instruct them to click on the link “Write a Review” below your companies name. They will need a Google User name but if they use Gmail or Adwords, or are just an avid google user they will already have one. If not the setup process is quick and painless.

Yelp – http://www.yelp.com

YellowPages.com – http://www.yellowpages.com

Both Yelp and Yellowpages.com often have standard listings on companies but to enhance your presence on the web and give your potential clients more info on you, create a username/password then add to your listing. To have clients write a review on either just pass along the link from your direct page.

What tactics do you currently employ to get new clients interested in you? Share with us!