INTERON

Promotions

2010-11-24T15:27:00.002+02:00

Businesses have been running promotions since the invention of advertising, to either get more business or launch a new product.

Well! We are no different from the rest and have currently opted for a "year-end" closing promotion to keep our staff busy over the festive season (remember Scrooge) and to give the potential customer something in return (Oh! and Santa)

How is this? We give an iPod to everyone that sends us a lead that is converted to a sale. Not bad hey!

Over the past year we have had numerous small businesses complaining of how expensive it is to get a website up and going, well you and I both know it doesn't have to be expensive because we have evolved since 1999 and we are now able to put a "No Frills" website, which has the visual appeal of the best on the internet for a lot less than expected. So we decided to give the small business a break as well and offering 4 page website for half the normal rate. YES! Just R1750.))

And for those who have websites that need a facelift or rediesign we are offering a 20% discount for redevelopment.

How is that for a good festive give-a-way.

And it's about time too

2010-11-16T22:19:00.006+02:00

Oh! It has been a while.

What should it be, cut prices and close my business in six months or help people to understand what it takes to have a successful web development company behind them.

Our sales staff say that they are consistently told on how companies are taken for a ride by the web design or development companies who offer services and don't come through.

How do we prove the predecessor wrong? With difficulty.

My experience in business has proven that everyone will take either the shortest or cheaper route, the same experience has also proven that those that choose either route are unhappy 80% of the time.

Go figure!

My daughter has this fascination for branded “ladies” accessories and she certainly pays the price for them. She recently acquired a well branded ladies handbag – for the price of a good watch- as a birthday present from her mother, this added huge value to her life as well as the status it brought her amongst her peers.

We -as normal human beings- put some credit to the creation of such an item but not essentially getting the same value for what the purpose it is supposed to serve. But others enjoy the value- if so short lived – it adds to their lives. Very often we are taken for a ride by the glamour an glory of status, but is it practical? It most likely is.

On the other hand, when an organization goes to extremes to provide a superior service-without a name tag- to enhance the status of their clients business it is seen in the same light as an expensive accessory, which losses value, instantly.

Marketing a business should demand no short cuts or high price, just value for money.

We have had two recent experiences with good clients that have blatantly told us that we are too expensive. My daughter had the option of purchasing her handbag from the vendor on the side of the road for a tenth of the price, with the same label but she didn't, why? Because her friend who competed for the same status, did buy from the street vendor and her bag has a broken zip and a torn inner lining.

What do we learn from this?

Don't buy branded products?

Don't buy from street vendors?

BZZZt!! Wrong.

Buy from who you can trust to deliver what you expect.

My Example:

We have a set price to all our prospective clients for website development and we put the same amount of enthusiasm and effort into them all; to provide functionality, internet presence and user friendliness to their visitors. When a client tells me that he can get the same website for 300% less than our quote, my mind goes to “street vendor”, broken zip or “no lining”.

If you were offered a loaf of bread for 10 cents would you buy it?

I say no more. Get the cheaper version and pay the price...twice.

http://www.interon.co.za/production.html

A little about SEO

2010-08-17T17:34:00.003+02:00

Consider these few facts before deciding on your SEO approach

Look at the information below to help you make a good and informed choice:

Be aware of SEO companies that guarantee you a 1st position in the search engines:
No one can guarantee you a top position on any keyword search. Your competitor is trying as hard as you to get to the top and strategies change all the time to get their. The only way your site will show on top is when applying a pay per click campaign and even then the you have to throw enough money at it to keep it there.

Don't trust SEO companies that offer you extremely low prices:
Search Engine Optimization is a long and time consuming process which requires time and lots of research. Anything that comes cheap is just that, cheap.

We can do Search Engine Optimization in-house:
SEO doesn't just mean changing keywords and Meta tags. Search engine algorithms change all the time and it requires those that keep in touch with this ever changing technology to be able to make the changes for an optimized website. The SEO has the right resources and tools to analyze your site and apply the necessary changes. It really is a matter of finding out the logic behind search engine "reasoning". Finding out what "instruments" to influence search results, within the boundaries of "best practice" are available.

Search Engine Optimization is too expensive!:
expensive compared to what? It would be more beneficial to initially invest money in your website than run a brief advertising campaign that has a very short life span. The website will be there for a lot longer than the ad and will benefit the next campaign plan with its presence.

Search Engine Optimization doesn't give a good ROI:
the ROI for SEO is very good in comparison with other marketing methods such as direct mail or banner ads. You can simply use the maximum commercial costs you can afford per new client/ purchase as starting point and eliminate through a testing period all marketing / promotion ways that result costing you more then your maximum, to only stick with what suits you best.

Website vs Traditional Advertising

2010-06-16T12:42:00.000+02:00

Traditional advertising is still alive and well and will remain so for long as we have TV, Radio and printed media available to us. Although traditional advertising is more targeted the media wastage is still quite high.

With a website your products and services information is available on demand.

Let’s look at a simple scenario…
I am looking for an environmentally friendly method of supply hot water to my home and I would like to make comparisons with various methods and pricing. What form of media is going to give me the information I want, on demand, at no cost. There isn’t a TV program I can tune into or a radio station I can listen to or even a magazine I can buy that will help me with this decision BUT the internet surely will.

I might have seen an advertisement somewhere for a solar or gas hot water system but I can’t recall where I saw it or who the manufacturer or supplier was, I could search through the many newspapers magazines TV channels and radio stations to try and find it but that is just too tedious and probably won’t result to much.

However if I go to one of the many available search engines I will definitely find the information I am looking for to make comparisons and do research on specs and prices.

When it comes down to it, a reasonably sized website costs less than the price of a can of Coke a day.

Let’s look at the numbers:

A 10 pager cost R6250.00 ex VAT.

SEO R2500.00 ex VAT

Total R8750.00 ex VAT

This includes search engine optimization and layout design. The lifespan of a web design is about 3 years or 1095 days which equates to R7.99 per day - Now who can’t afford that? Add basic hosting at an extra R3.00 per day and you are on the internet.

So you can’t afford to layout the full amount up front you can purchase a rental license ( R2190.00) and pay it off over 6 (R1095.00 + R150.00 hosting per month) or 12 (R635.00 + R150.00 hosting per month) months after which you just pay for the hosting.

Do it NOW! Before we change our minds. http://www.interon.co.za/

What is Your Window to the World

2010-06-03T21:58:00.000+02:00

Retailers pay fortunes for retail space in shopping centres to make their products visible to passing trade, this is their window to the world.

Some industries strive for visible locations that have high volumes of passing traffic along free-ways or busy roads and intersections.

Others pay huge sums for billboards, print and other media advertising, this is their window to the world.

In order to stay in business we need to advertise in some way or other and what better and less expensive way than to establish a website on the internet.

In 1996 when I first got involved with web development, technology was a lot different, there were very few people that had internet access because it was expensive, slow and not very well understood however these hurdles have been overcome. 5.3 million people in South Africa have access to the internet on a daily basis this has doubled since 2000 and will double again by 2012 who are tthese people and why are we not taking them seriously.

I did a presentation to a local chamber of commerce a little while ago and was astonished to find how business people perceive the internet or how little they knew of the value the internet has to offer their business.

For those that are not convinced that a website will benefit them ask your customers what they think.

In conclusion a business without a website loses out on a lot more opportunities than those that do have one.

It's your window to the world, let them look in.

Why Refuse To Have a Website

2010-06-02T17:53:00.000+02:00

I have had a frustrating past couple of weeks trying to understand why some companies still refuse to believe the value of a website on the internet.

The first objection is always about money and it's obvious businesses do not have extra money to splash out on something they don't believe adds value to there business, but this is probably the weakest excuse of all.

Website development doesn't have to be expensive, an online profile of your company with the products and services you offer is way cheaper than printing brochures, flyers or publishing a printed advertisement.

Here is an example:

One of our clients provides plumbing and bathroom renovation services and was adamant that no one will ever look at his website on the internet, so we provided some search statistics for plumbers. The average monthly search for plumbers on Google in South Africa is 49500 per month. If you are one of the plumbers without a website you won't see any of this business.

Who is mad enough to throw away 49500 opportunities?