Solutions:

I have put together a list of 8 things to look out for while running your website beneath a magnifying glass.  And as a bonus, I’ve added a nice infographic to help put things into perspective.  Some of you may shed a tear or two at the shear pain of what you discover and some of you may hit your head on the ceiling as you jump for joy.  Some of you might even realise that your social networking outreach offers such great opportunities that updating your website isn’t really in your best interest.  The point is that you try to benefit from what you read in this blog and develop upon new ideas and new ways of communicating your services .

1. Your content is out of date

   If your website has grown, and now you want to be able to manage it more easily, then perhaps you’ll want a Content Management System, or CMS. This will make updating your site and adding new pages much easier, and mean that you can do it yourself without needing to consult your web developer to make any changes for you.  This means the maintenance of your website can be very  cost effective, making it more agile.

2. You now offer more products or services

   If you’re selling more or different products, then you might need to update your website accordingly. Perhaps you’ll want to offer more pre sales advice, or buying guides so that more visitors become customers. Maybe you now offer rental services, or now need to meet other legal requirements.

3. Your competitors sites look better than yours

   You’ll want to make sure that other sites in your industry are not wooing your customers and stealing sales with a better website.  How does your website look and function in comparison to your competitor’s?  Are they constantly updating their site with products and information?  Do they offer more services than you do, or does it only seem as though they do?  If these questions are hard to get a friend whose opinion you can trust to help.

4. You have no social interaction features

   What about if you want to offer your visitors more than just products? Perhaps you might want to think about adding a blog, or testimonials, or product reviews, or allow visitors to post their own comments or recommendations. Communicate with your prospects and create a platform to demonstrate your expertise outside of your ‘official’ presence. These platforms offer new ways to engage with other people and raise your business or personal profile. If nothing else, they help you effectively distribute news and other information which is an excellent first step.

5. Your message lacks purpose (No Call to Action)

   Your website is great. It has lots of useful information. It looks pretty. But so what? Why did you build the website in the first place? Was it supposed to be the showcase it has become, or did you build it to achieve something? More sales, sign-up to a newsletter, generating leads?  My guess would be that it was the latter, but over time or through lack of clear direction it has failed to achieve or wandered away from these objectives.

6. You have no video content

   Video content is currently one of the fastest growing sectors on the internet. If you want to help your visitors and customers make the most of your products, or help them to choose the right model, then why not add videos to your website? You might even want your visitors to upload their own videos to your website.  MusicMing’s video content will be coming soon – We practice what we preach here at MusicMing!

7. Your audience expectations have changed

   Maybe your target audience expects certain things from your industry, or sites selling the products you sell. If you’re appealing to teenagers, then you’ll want to make sure your site has the things that teenagers want, like sharing content with their friends via social media. If you’re appealing to organisations, you’ll want to reassure them that you have their best interest at heart.

8. Your online services don’t match your company services

   What services could you present to your visitors? What sort of things will they be looking for? What else would make them more likely to buy, or likely to come back? Would online payments be useful on your website, or the ability to download multi-media? What about being able to book online?

Have you finished crying? Well dry your eyes and see how you can reshape your website’s future.

If your still not convinced of the importance of a good online presence, take a look at the some of the points illustrated in the infographic below.

See how you can create a website that reaches your customers expectations.

As service providers, if we take the time to listen to our customers desires and focus upon providing for their emotional needs instead of just the products and services they ask for, we will then improve their customer experience and increase the chances of retaining their custom.

Here some information that we found that we thought may be of some interest to you that we’ve arranged in this nice little info graphic.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Whats happening in your area?… Thats what we’d like to know!

The MusicMing Events listing is currently still in development and will be with you very soon, and when it launches the days of waiting around for the weekend will all be over.  Over the years we have we have been inundated by hundreds of your event invites for gigs, parties and exhibitions (apologies to those who didn’t receive a reply).  The level and variety of musical talent has been amazing and well deserving large audiences.

The trouble is many of us (including myself) have missed these unique gems that glisten our nights throughout the week, not just the weekend.  This is unacceptable for the artist who deserve the support and public who deserve a night out away from the TV and bland dinners.

The MusicMing Events listing will bring you all the gigs, showcases, clubs and stage performances in your area.  If you know of an music events including dance and musical theatre let us know and we will promote it for FREE and even help you to sell tickets also.

Contact us to find out more.

We are in the middle of our biggest development ever and are in need of your help.  MusicMing, the fastest growing open source music directory is expanding to deliver more than just listings to our users.  Our plan is to assist in the enrichment of thousands of emerging artists and young professionals with a wealth of information (much more than our team combined can can muster up) and most of all we want it told by the thousands of hard working sound engineers, stage managers, music co-ordinators, A&Rs, choreographers, technicians… basically anyone who believes they have a strong arsenal of information that could help others develop in their chosen career.

We are looking for MusicMing Experts.  With rolls comes great responsibility.  Many may already know who you are and will come in search for advice like many of your customers and clients have in the past.  Based on your advice, many may become customers or clients in the future.  The goal is to strengthen the industry as one unit so we grow together… Also we’d be more than willing to through in some MusicMing marketing goodies for your trouble.

Register as a MusicMing Expert today to find out more.

Capturing the customer’s attention quickly is essential to turning visitors into customers. It doesn’t really matter whether your video’s live action, animation or a textual infographic.  The aim is to instil the confidence in your customers that what you have to offer is perfect for them.  One of the easiest ways to do this is through testimonials – Having your customers share their own experience in their own words, telling their own story.

We are all a little hesitant about trying new things.  But once we are able to see someone testing the water and watch as that “thing” works great for them, we’re much more willing to take the plunge.

If your interested in having a video promotion for your services take a look at what we can do for you.

Marketing has evolved over the years and MusicMing is growing with it.  Consumers no longer rely on billboards and TV spots — a.k.a. outbound marketing — to learn about new products, because the web has empowered them.  It’s given them alternative methods for finding, buying and researching brands and products. The new marketing communication — inbound marketing — rests upon communication via social media or otherwise.

Another reason why inbound marketing is winning is because it costs less than traditional marketing.  Why pay high rates for advertising on TV, radio and generic directory listings when these outlets don’t cater to your target market?  Here are some stats from the infographic below.

This infographic from Voltier Digital highlights the differences between the two kinds of marketing.

Infographic courtesy of Voltier Digital