Making decisions that have a huge impact on your business isn’t easy, but it’s an extremely important part of running any business. You need to be able to think on your feet and make key decisions quickly and decisively. How do you do that? There is a great deal to be learned by studying CEOs and how they make decisions. Based on Data and Experience A CEO knows everything that’s going on in their company and in the market. They know the numbers. They also have accumulated experience and knowledge from the past. All this information is at their fingertips at any time, and they can access it when needed to make decisions the right way. Inner Knowing Along with data, a CEO makes decisions with a good dose of internal knowing. They have a gut feeling that has been honed through years of listening to the right voice, experience and learning from missteps they’ve taken in the past. A good leader also has high emotional intelligence, which allows them to accurately judge a person’s character at first glance. Strategic Planning and an Eye to the Future One reason CEOs can make decisions so quickly and decisively is that they’ve already considered that the issue at hand might arise. CEOs think strategically, always calculating what could possibly happen and how to react to it. With a plan already in hand, they can make snap decisions for maximum benefit with the least amount of risk. CEOs think proactively, not reactively. They make decisions not from a defensive position but based on what they want to see happen in the future. Unafraid to Make Mistakes CEOs aren’t ambiguous or wishy-washy. They don’t hesitate and ruminate. The downside is that you might make the wrong decision on something important. But rather than fearing failure, a CEO makes that decision based on the best information available, and then accepts the mistake as a great learning opportunity. Even failure is better than indecisiveness. Don’t Do It All Alone Although a CEO looks like the strong individual leader of an organization, they are nothing without their team and network. A good CEO is acutely aware of what they know and what they don’t know. When they need help making a decision, they’re not afraid to ask. They rely heavily on the expertise of trusted partners and team members. Core Values in Mind One of the unique roles of the CEO is protector of the company’s core values. They need to keep these values in mind at all times and make each decision so that it’s in line with them. You don’t need to be the CEO of a company in order to make decisions like one. Whether you’re leading a team, running a small company, or simply working for yourself, you can learn to make decisions like a CEO and lead your business in the right direction. Enroll Now and Transform Your Mindset Take the first step towards becoming a strategic thinker by enrolling in our "Think Like A CEO" course today. Unlock your potential for success! Check out the course HERE Pat Simes is a Business Strategist, blogger and Founder of Innovative Business Solutions and Innovate Academy. She currently resides in the Midwest and is committed to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs to transform their vision to reality.
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 If you're putting in the work to plan and build a website, you should optimize it to get the best results. The best way to do this is to build it around an effective sales funnel. Planning your site so that it fits into your sales funnel can help you in a number of ways. It can draw new targeted leads to your site where you can start engaging with them, provide content to help visitors make the right purchase decisions, or upsell to your main offer. No matter what your goal, connecting your site with your sales funnel is what makes it happen. How Sales Funnels Work A sales funnel is a marketing concept that refers to a customer's journey with your business, from initial awareness to lifetime loyalty. They enter at the wide end and move toward the final offer. Then, you qualify them with content and offers as they go along. This qualification process helps you separate non-buyers from buyers. You also learn about your leads to better meet their needs. Define Your Sales Funnel Stages A sales funnel has 4 clearly defined stages: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action. The lead starts with Awareness. This is where the potential customer first learns about your brand. Then, during the Interest phase, they learn more about your products and services. Next, during the Decision stage, they're ready to buy and are considering their options. The final step is Action when they make a purchase. For example, at the Awareness stage, you may have free content such as articles, blog posts, or videos posted on various websites that bring traffic back to your site. During the Interest and Decision stages, you offer more specific content and small-ticket offers, leading them to the Action stage and the big purchase. Where Your Site Fits into the Sales Funnel Consumers can use your website at the Awareness stage, where they first learn about your brand. You can do this by building a site rich with content offering help with problems your target market faces. You would then use a lead magnet to direct them to other places where you offer more content for the other phases. For example, you might get them to join your email list, webinar, or online group. Another idea is to use your website for the Interest stage. You would use content marketing, publishing information all over the web that leads back to your site. Visitors can learn more about your offers by exploring products and more targeted content. Content Considerations Once you decide how to use your site, you can plan its content. The key is identifying what you want visitors to do. Then create the content and calls to action that would lead them to complete that action. For the Awareness stage, content should be more general, while the Interest stage content would focus on more specific problems. Content for Decision stresses the benefits and uniqueness of your product and leads the person to take action. A Focused Approach Once your website is built, track its performance to know where to make changes. Then, as you interact with leads, you can learn more about your target market and find more ways to meet their needs. Want to learn more about planning and building a website that converts? Get the Website Content Planning Toolkit - DOWNLOAD Whatever your business, your website is the place to connect with your target market and show how your products and services can help them. With this planner, you’ll follow a step-by-step process to help you decide on all the details for a new or revamped site. I’m ready to create content for my website! About The Author Pat Simes is a Business Strategist, blogger and Founder of Innovative Business Solutions and Innovate Academy. She currently resides in the Midwest and is committed to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs to transform their vision to reality.   Your website is the anchor for all your digital marketing activities. Whether you're using it to sell products or drive traffic to an email list, it plays a vital role. It must offer a good user experience to show visitors where you want them to go. You'll see more conversions if your site is easy and satisfying to use. It's one of the essential parts of website planning. The Importance of User Experience Also known as UX, user experience refers to design meant to enhance your site's experience through better usability and efficiency. This makes it easier for your visitors to engage with the content. The key to user experience is perceived value. No matter how simple or complex a website might be, the user should come away from it feeling like it was a valuable experience. This is what you're aiming for with UX design. Know Your Users How do you create a website that delivers a good user experience and perceived value? First, you must understand your audience well to respond to their needs and provide what they want at your site. Create an ideal user profile that includes demographic and behavioral information. Next, identify the pain points, challenges, or questions that drive them to seek your products and content. Finally, consider what action you want them to take at your site, whether to buy or follow you for further engagement. Content Matters Your content should focus on helping people overcome problems and offering valuable tips. Think about the questions members of your target market have that you can answer through the material you provide. Before people can engage with this content, it needs to be accessible. Ensure any audio or video files can be accessed using all devices your target audience uses. You can improve accessibility by offering content in various formats. For example, add a video with a transcript for those who can't watch it now. Keep Your Site Simple One key to a good user experience is to keep design elements simple. Use a consistent color scheme and fonts so it's visually appealing. Your pages should have a clean, uncluttered layout so visitors can focus on content without getting distracted. Break up text with white space and attractive images. Straightforward Navigation Navigation of your website should be intuitive. People should easily understand how to find the information they want. You can do this by simplifying menus and using clear labels. You should add drop-down menus and sub-menus when they get too cluttered. The linking structure should also be as simple and streamlined as possible. For example, include only essential links and differentiate hyperlinks so users know where to click. A search bar is another essential element of good website navigation, especially if you have a great deal of content. Prominently display the search function and make sure it provides accurate results. How's Your Website's User Experience? How do you know if your website is offering a good user experience? Your visitors will tell you. Monitor their activity on your site, and you'll see what's working and what's not. You can then make the necessary changes to improve even more. Want to learn more about planning a website that achieves your business goals? Get The Website Planning Toolkit For Beginners HERE! About The Author Pat Simes is a Business Strategist, blogger and Founder of Innovative Business Solutions and Innovate Academy. She currently resides in the Midwest and is committed to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs to transform their vision to reality.   Visuals are important to your website because they help convey your brand identity. The visual aspect of a brand is its "hidden language." It dramatically impacts how your business is perceived and enables you to build trust with your audience. Are you working on planning and building your own website? Here's what you need to know about visual identity and branding. What Is Visual Identity? Your brand's visual identity is a collection of elements that present a uniform visual representation. Although you may not realize it, every brand you know has some version. This identity expresses information visually rather than as text. A brand's visual identity includes colors, logos, fonts, layouts, and detailed design elements. However, it's just one part of the overall branding. People often confuse branding with visuals, but it also includes voice, tone, message, content, and other factors. Defining Your Brand's Visual Language The first step is to define your visual language. This means the design features that convey who you are and what you're about. In your customers' minds, these design elements are memorable, and immediately tell them the website is yours. In addition, a consistent visual identity makes you look trustworthy and creates an emotional connection. The elements of your visual identity include your logo, imagery, color scheme, typography, and the layout of your content on the page. To define your visual identity, you can start by looking at design elements you've used before. Then, take what's worked and extend it. For ideas on what features to use, research your target audience, similar businesses in your industry as well as industry trends to get ideas. Consistency Is Key Consistency is the key to good branding. This is why visual branding is about so much more than a logo. All your design features must communicate the same image and be consistent across all marketing channels, profiles, content, and marketing material. The reason it's so essential is that inconsistency can create confusion in the minds of your target audience. They'll feel that something is "off, " which can damage the trust you're building. Be Unique, Be Authentic The point of branding is to create a personality for your business. The unique qualities that your fans love about you set you apart from similar business in your industry and give you memorable character. Your visual identity should help you establish these qualities. Choose a design scheme that's "you," and that sets you apart from others in your niche. Make them memorable so people remember who you are. Tell a Good Story Visual content is very powerful for telling a story. At its most basic, your visual identity communicates ideas. But those ideas must come together to create a story your audience can relate to. Through storytelling, you can create a strong emotional connection. A good story has a character the audience roots for. For example, businesses often create a story where their customer is the main character, and their pain points are the conflict to overcome. A Seamless Experience If your visual identity is consistent with your overall branding strategy, you'll create a seamless customer experience. In addition, you'll create a strong emotional bond with them that builds trust and engagement. Want to learn more about how you can plan your website for maximum results? Download The Website Content Planning Toolkit Ready to create a website that reflects your passion and purpose? Don't let inexperience hold you back. Get your hands on the Website Planning Toolkit for Beginners and embark on a fulfilling journey of web design success! Put The Website Planning Toolkit For Beginners In My Hands! About The Author Pat Simes is a Business Strategist, blogger and Founder of Innovative Business Solutions and Innovate Academy. She currently resides in the Midwest and is committed to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs to transform their vision to reality.  |
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