Although most shopping cart systems are up virtually all the time, stuff still happens. Maybe the credit card processor is down…maybe your employee messed things up and now your cart isn’t functioning properly.

First, don’t panic. In the internet world, things go down. Customers understand – as long as they have an alternate means of communicating with you. Is your phone number and e-mail address clearly posted on your website? If not, make sure it is. Often, customers will e-mail you letting you know that they’d like to place an order, and then you can take their credit card number over the phone and not lose the sale.

Have a back-up page ready in case you go down. Prepare a page that can be quickly uploaded in case your shopping cart is down. It should say something like, “We’re sorry, but our shopping cart is currently down. Please e-mail us your order at info@xyz.com and include your phone number and a representative will contact you shortly to take your order. You may also call us at 1-800-555-5555 to place your order. We apologize for this inconvenience and are currently working to resolve this matter.”

If this page is prepared ahead of time (now is a good time), then it can be uploaded immediately, so you don’t lose orders while the issue is being resolved. This is also a great back-up to have in the event of a hurricane or other natural disaster, disgruntled employee mess-up or any other business interruption.

If you want to sell a product or service online, there are various methods available to you. You may have heard the term “shopping cart” before, but what exactly is it? After reading this article, it’ll all make sense to you.

A shopping cart is a generic term that simply refers to the presence of a payment system in some form, on a website. You need to know the different options of shopping carts since they vary in cost of implementation as well in the image they convey.

The following is a list of shopping cart options, from least expensive to most:

1. No shopping cart at all. Although technically this shouldn’t even make the list, it is worth mentioning. The cheapest method is not to accept payment online at all, but instead have a payment form on your site that your customers can print, fill out, and either fax or mail to you with their credit card number or check. (Or they simply call you to place an order over the phone.) This costs little to nothing to implement, and also looks unprofessional, but may work well in certain situations.

2. Payment via Pay Pal. You customers select the items they want on your website, and when they click on the “pay” button, your site takes them to Pay Pal, where they can pay with a credit card or their Pay Pal account. This method is convenient for many of your customers who may already have a Pay Pal account, and the cost of paying your web design company to set it up is very affordable, maybe $100-$500 depending on how many products you have and the complexity of shipping calculations required. It is not the most professional looking, since your customers have to leave your site to make payment, but can work well in many cases.

3. Payment via a 3rd party payment gateway. This method is similar to using Pay Pal, except that instead of Pay Pal, your customers pay on another 3rd party website. The reason to use a 3rd party website is that it will provide a secure and encrypted payment, giving your customer piece of mind, and act as the credit card processor. This website can often have your logo on it and other features which make it look just like your website. An example of such a gateway is Linkpoint Connect. Many customers may not even realize that they’ve even left your site, and after paying you can set it up so they return to your site. This is more professional looking than Pay Pal, but costs a bit more to implement.

4. Payment on your site. Using this method, a payment system is implemented on your site to accept credit card payments with a secure and encrypted process. The customer never leaves your site, making this the most professional-looking method. There are many shopping carts available, or your web design company can develop a complete custom cart for you. The cost to implement this is the highest of all the methods, and may range from $750 to several thousands, depending on how much customization is needed, the number of products you have, and other features you need.

Keep in mind that any shopping cart will have recurring costs of $20 to $30 per month which is paid to the processing company, and sometimes a one-time set-up fee of $25 to $200 as well.

I wish I had a nickel (actually, a nickel won’t get you far these days – make it a $5 bill) for every time a client said to me, “OK, now that you’ve designed our website, I want to be #1 on Google.” And I think to myself, “Really? No kidding. Who doesn’t??!!” So here are a few good tips to increasing your ranking on the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN):

1. Content is King! Good content drives traffic – and the search engines pick up key words on content-rich web pages.

2. Add meta tags to your web pages. A meta tag is simply a snippet of code that tells the search engines about your website. This code is inserted onto the site and isn’t seen by viewers. Have a web designer add it for you – it’s very simple. (The trick is knowing what to put in the meta tags – that part is more art than science.)

3. Increase the number of external links to your site. Basically, the more links on other sites are pointing to yours, the more it looks like you’re a major player. This can be accomplished by submitting your site to web directories (the ones in your industry are best), joining online forums, or my favorite method – by writing articles. In exchange for your article – which will be used for content on their site – most site owners will include a link to your site at the bottom of your article.

There are more ways, but those are the basic and most effective. Above all, remember that this takes time – you won’t get to the top overnight. Do these consistently over time, and you will be amazed at the results!

E-mail marketing is an extremely effective way to get in front of your prospects, send a message, and eventually turn some of those prospects into customers. It is among my favorite forms of advertising, because it’s a subtle way to get your message to them – no gatekeeper, no annoying phone call interrupting their day. If they don’t want to read it right away, they can leave the e-mail in their inbox for later. Here are some ideas for an effective e-mail marketing campaign.

Send monthly e-mails. Vary the length – some can be newsletters, some more like flyers, but in general keep them short and to the point. Some companies send weekly e-newsletters – for me, that’s too many – but it may work in some circumstances.

Offer something other than a sales pitch. Don’t just be selling, selling, selling. Offer your readers some interesting information, some free advice, some educational material. A link to an interesting website works. If you give value, this will make your e-mail more likely to be read, so when you do send something a bit salesy, you increase the chances that it eill be read too.

Always have links to your website. Your e-mail newsletter or flyer should always include links to your website, blog, and e-mail address.

Use contests or interesting surveys. Contests motivate people to action. Try a creative contest or survey.

Include a coupon or special. Give your readers an incentive to call or e-mail you.

Give these a try! Want to subscribe to our newsletter? Call me at 1-800-250-8233 and I’ll sign you up.

On my entrepreneurial journey, while building a successful business, I have come to learn something which is critical to success that I’d like to share here. I believe that most of us are afraid of change – not just negative change, but even positive, life-altering, earning lots of money type of change. It is that fear which results in self-sabotage, complacency, and resistance to growth, both personally and professionally.

I have gone through it myself recently, and had to confront my fears and face them head-on. What exactly was I afraid of? Changing the way I do things, growing my business too much and what that would mean, but most of all, if I am to be honest, my biggest fear was that my beliefs are were all wrong, and that everything in my business – the way it was designed, the way we operate, the way we market ourselves, might need to change. That is very scary!

I sincerely believe that for true success, you must be willing to question everything. Every belief should stand the test of scrutiny. Things that worked yesterday may not work today, and you must be willing to evolve.

Develop a business system based on proven sales methods in your industry, implement it, carry it out, but always come back, analyze its effectiveness, and don’t get emotionally attached to any methodolgy – be willing to change when you need to. For me, that was a lesson well learned.

At Watt Media, we often consult small business owners on the best ways to convey a professional image. Many start-up business owners don’t realize the signals they give off that make it obvious that they are a small one-person business. Here are 5 things NOT to do that just scream, “I am a one-person business”:

1. Don’t have kids screaming in the background during a phone conversation.
Have a home-based business? Many of the most successful businesses started that way, but nothing will make you look more “small time” than making it so obvious. (same goes for barking dogs!)

2. Don’t use a cell phone.
Does your business phone number ring to a cell phone? Calls breaking up, echo – it’s obvious to people you’re on a cell phone. If being a one-person business is not something you want to promote, use a land line.

3. Don’t answer your phone, “Hello?”
Nothing screams “small time” more than answering your phone with a mere, “Hello.” You’re running a business – answer with your business name!

4. Don’t have a personal voice-mail outgoing message.
What do customers hear when you’re not there? If you use your home phone line for business, they will hear your home answering machine – talk about small time! Same with your cell phone – “Hi, this is John, leave me a message…” – small time!! Invest in a separate phone line and leave an outgoing message with your company name. Better yet, get someone else to record it for you!

5. Don’t have business cards with no address.
You know what I think to myself when I go to a networking event and am handed a business card with no address listed? I think, “Small time!” Don’t want to use your home address? Get a P.O. Box – for a little extra, you can get one that looks like a real address, such as the ones at The Ups Store.

Most small business owners are under the impression that they cannot actively control the amount of business that comes in – rather, they feel that they are basically at the mercy of current market conditions. While it’s true that business flows in cycles which we cannot control, it is possible to create a certain amount of predictability by creating a system. What is a system? Simply put, a system is a planned way of doing things that always leads to predictable results.

For example, if I open the yellow pages and cold call 100 businesses, will my results be random? On any given day, they might be – but over a long period of time the results become predictable. If, over a span of several weeks, I record how many calls I make, how many “decision makers” I reach, how many of those I set appointments with, and then how many of those lead to a sale, I now have a system of predictable results.

After reviewing my results, let’s say I find out that in one hour I make 25 calls and speak to an average of 5 business owners (the rest are not in, unavailable, etc.), and out of those 5, I set 1 appointment. Then, according to my statistics, I make a sale every 4 appointments. Now, with this wealth of information based on the numbers, I can figure out exactly how many calls I would have to make to get a sale! There will be good days and bad days…but overall the statistics will be the same over a week or a month.

Keeping track of statistics is essential when developing a system. If you keep good stats over a long period of time, you should always achieve the desired results by simply duplicating your previous efforts.

The great thing is, systems can be applied to many aspects of your business – hiring employees, placing an ad in a newspaper, and sending out mailers. With your results recorded over a period of time, you can have a system which will predict future outcomes….and the more control you have over your business, the less you leave to luck or chance.

If you are a small business owner or are self employed, you have no doubt run into the challenges of designing a newspaper ad, sales pitch, or direct mail campaign. The tough part is deciding how much information to advertise, and many such marketing campaigns fall short or fail due to a lack of basic planning.

Whether you are soliciting prospects by telephone, direct mail, door to door, television, radio, or internet, the campaign must be appropriate. What is your particular goal? Would you like your prospect to pick up the phone and call you? To visit your store? To send in a tear-off post card requesting information? The answer will determine how much, and what information should be advertised.

Here’s a good example that illustrates the point: Several years ago, I had some great success with a direct-mail campaign I designed for my business. I mailed out 3,000 postcards at a time to a list of prospects. My goal was simple – to get them to call so that I could set an appointment to meet with them and demonstrate my company’s services.

The postcard was simple – on one side, it had a picture with a catchy slogan, and on the reverse, a list of features and benefits of our services. On the bottom, it said, “call today for more info,” and listed our phone number. We got many phone calls, which led to appointments and sales.

A friend of mine who is a business owner tried the same thing, but did not get the same results. Frustrated, he asked me to look at his postcard to determine the reason for the lack of calls. As soon as I looked at it, I realized the problem – in an attempt to seem more professional, he listed his website on the post card. Since it was much easier for the prospect to simply look at his website and get the info, only a few people called and therefore there were not many appointments set.

This was a missed opportunity to speak to the prospect personally and gain her trust. Had my friend planned by asking himself, “What is the purpose of this postcard?” he would have realized that it is sometimes appropriate to include less information. In sales and marketing, there are times to saturate your campaign with information, and other times, it seems, less is more.

These days, when it comes to customer service, “good enough” seems to be what most businesses strive for. Franchises have been hugely successful, revolutionizing the idea of a “cookie cutter” business where every aspect is systemized to produce a specific result. Visit any McDonalds or Starbucks in the country, and you should get the same friendly level of service and the same tasting product. These businesses don’t “wow” us when we visit, they just provide a good, predictable product.

So what’s the problem with all this? We have been so programmed to accept “good enough” service from so many franchises and chain retailers, that this phenomenon has trickled down to the small business as well. For so many retail stores, small businesses, or restaurants I visit, the goal seems to be to get the job done, but nothing more – and as a society we have lowered our standards and have learned to accept it.

Here’s a personal example: For years, I had been going to the same dry cleaner every week. I’d bring my clothes in, the lady at the counter would proceed to give me a ticket, and I’d turn around and leave. I’d return in 2 or 3 days to pick it up, hand her the ticket, she’d return with my clothes, and I would leave. It was the same routine week after week. On a lucky day I might get a brief smile, but nothing more.

Don’t get me wrong – I was happy with the service. My shirts always came out clean and nicely pressed – but there was nothing else keeping me coming back. One day I saw a coupon for another dry cleaner offering 25% off, so I decided to try it out. When I entered the store, I got a nice “good morning, how can I help you, sir?” with a big smile. There was a bowl of candy at the counter. There were some funny signs hanging up which made me laugh as I waited for my ticket. When I returned in a few days to pick up my dry cleaning, that same person at the counter greeted me by my name! I was handed my clothes, and again was wished well with a smile.

I must say, I was wowed by that experience. My clothes were just as clean as they had been with my previous dry cleaner, but the experience made me feel entirely different. Today, even if I see a coupon for cheaper dry cleaning, I don’t go anywhere else. That dry cleaner has truly earned my business. Why? Because he understands that it’s not about dry cleaning – anybody can do that – it’s about how I feel doing business with him.

Do your customers have a reason to keep coming back to you? Will they leave you for the next competitor that undercuts your price? Are you providing them with just “good enough” service? How can you make them smile? What can you give them that goes beyond your product? What can you do to wow your customers? Start coming up with some answers, and the result will be loyal customers that will come back to you time and time again.

The new year is an exciting time to strategize and plan for your business. Here are 15 marketing ideas that may help you think “outside the box.” If just one creates a spark and helps you, then I’ve succeeded in this article.

1. Always carry business cards with you. You never know when an opportunity will arise to hand one out.

2. Publish a newsletter for customers and prospects – people trust an authority.

3. Hold a seminar at your office for clients and prospects.

4. Send hand written thank you notes.

5. Promote your business jointly with other professionals via cooperative direct mail.

6. Sponsor and promote a contest.

7. Get a booth at a tradeshow attended by your target market.

8. Follow up on your direct mailings, and e-mail messages with a friendly phone call.

9. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. (you’ll find me there!)

10. Call your clients “just to say hello” and see if they are satisfied. (how rare that is these days!)

11. Put time aside each day for “cold calling” prospects. All you need is 15 minutes a day – if you make just 5 to 10 calls a day, think of how much you can accomplish in a year! (This is something that will guarantee results, but 99.9% of business people don’t do it.)

12. Join an association of a particular industry (niche marketing).

13. Place an ad in your church or synagogue newsletter.

14. Sponsor a little league team.

15. Is there something that you know will get you results, but you’ve been putting off? Do it today!