1) Use merchant account processing to reduce advertising and web development costs.
Because most companies process credit cards for their business and have a website presence at the same time, it is best if they choose to work with a web developer who can offer credit card processing at the same time. Since there are profit opportunities for any processing agent who carries the merchant account, it creates an opportunity to pass savings of up to 100% onto customers who are currently processing payments on or off line.
2) Maintain business development spending for your company during stressed market conditions.
Right now your competitors are refraining while the market "recovers", so now is a great opportunity to gain traction in your space. Some of the largest and most successful companies on the planet were founded and flourished during recessions/depressions (i.e. IBM, Microsoft, UPS). The aforementioned companies were either founded or experienced their greatest periods of growth during very difficult times. Imagine IBM a fledgling technology company trying to make a go of it (before people valued technology) during the great depression. They could have very easily folded, closed their doors, and quit. Instead, they persevered, kept their focus during the tough times, and used those tough times against their competition and eventually they owned 80% the computing market in the mid 1900s. With Microsoft and UPS similarly founded during down markets, we have more evidence that dominant industry leaders can be born when there are unfavorable market conditions.
3) Increase market share through improved brand awareness. If your company identity is somewhat embarrassing, there is hope.
If your brand isn't really something that calls out to your customers, and you are being dwarfed by the brands of your main competitors, then you need to make a change today. I have said this before, and it will always ring true: a picture is worth a thousand words and the marks that define your company are worth many more thousands and possibly millions of dollars. The visual impact that elements like your logo, website, and all client facing communication have on your current and potential customers is one that may surprise you. Either way, there is no use ushering your customers away to explore other options while your website is stuck in the mid-90s.
4) Make better use of web traffic by increasing conversion rates on your site through custom web design.
This is an easy one. You may very well have the best product and the best ideas in the world, but if you're unable to communicate how valuable it is by not showcasing it the right way, or by making your customers guess what to do when they come to your website, then you are leaving a lot of sales and potential customers on the table.
5) Utilize social media like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in your internet strategy.
If you have watched ESPN, HGTV, or you know who Shaq is, then you at least know what Twitter is. I've blogged and tweeted about the new way (web 2.0) of advertising and brand building. Office Max has great commercials. They always have. Their latest ad campaign was focused on dollar deals and back to school, so they showed fake transactions where customers paid for very expensive items using pennies to pay for school items: an appealing concept when things are tight financially for folks. Rather than directing people to the Office Max website, they send them to their channel on YouTube. They get their customers to look at their commercials for 20 minutes rather than sending them to their company site and losing them after 20 seconds. Gaining loyalty with customers is different now than it has ever been.
6) Capture the attention of potential customers, clients, and search engines through ramping up your blogging efforts.
Search engines and customers love blogs. If you don't have a blog, get one. Start posting to it at least once a week. Enough said.
7) Make your website an extension of your business that speaks to customers, leaving them with a warm, fuzzy feeling about doing business with you. Now more than ever, business relationships matter.
Whether I visit your website or walk into your business, I should get the same vibe about your brand or your company culture including colors graphics, and overall feel. This perception of your business is the fork in the road where you either make the money or lose it. Will that initial impression be positive or negative?
