Website design: what every dog rescue organization need to know.

Most dog rescues do a phenomenal job in helping abused and neglected animals. However, apart from a few bigger organizations, they are for the most part cash strapped and get barely by with small donations from kind souls around the country. Adoption fees hardly cover even a small portion of the cost of veterinarian bills, and having the dog in a kennel. Most rescue websites do little or nothing to improve upon their financial situation, and they lack the careful balance of emotion and information that is needed for a professional and successful website. It does not have to be that way!

The HSUS estimates that animal shelters care for 6-8 million dogs and cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million are euthanized. And, allegedly over 100 dogs are abused every day in the US. Horrible! So I do understand why some people are getting desperate. It’s a fight that is almost impossible to win. At this time, there is no central data reporting agency for animal shelters, so these numbers are estimates. We will make still greater progress by working together to strike at the roots of animal overpopulation. So spay and neuter your pets.

How can the rescue organizations be more effective online? What is the magic ingredients that make a dog rescue website successful? We have created successful websites for dog rescues and other companies for over 10 years, and have a good understanding of what works and what doesn’t. The top ten most important points for a great rescue site are:

1) Professional: Contact a professional company. The cost is worth it. Remember that it’s the Return on Investment is what’s important when it comes to development cost.
2) SEO and Advertising: make sure you can be found on the internet. With over 183 million websites out there (according to VeriSign 1st quarter 2009), it is important that people know how to find you.
2) Engaging: The site needs to be inviting and create an action by the user.
3) Navigation: It needs to be easy to understand and navigate.
4) Database: Build a back-end database where all entries can be made for each dog.
5) Easy: Make the site easy to update even for people who don;t know anything about programming.
7) Content updates: The best way to get people to come back is daily updates. More if possible.
8) Contact and follow up: Make sure there are several ways to contact you, and answer them within 24 hours.
9) Display dogs: make it easy to search, view, sponsor and send in an adoption application .
10) Social Media: Make sure you have a good presence on Twitter and Facebook.

Don’t forget, looking professional online and not in real life is a turn-off. You have to be branded and consistent in everything you do for people to notice you.

Visit German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (www.gsroc.org) and German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California (www.gsrnc.org) as examples of how to design successful websites for a dog rescue. I am a long-time board member of the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.

NOTE: If you thought these points are only for dog rescue sites, you are wrong. It’s for everyone.

It’s spring and time to clean out your website

How do you know that your website needs “spring cleaning”?

Take a long look at your website. After you have browsed through most of it, collect all your company materials, including businesscards, brochures, presentation materials and anything else you may have created in the last few years, and spread them all on the floor or conference room table. Kinda like what kids would do.

Now take a long look at all your beautifully printed materials and then go back to your website. Now compare all the touch points. (A touch point is whenever a potential customer is in “touch” with your brand.)

Is everything consistent, or does it look like ten different companies? Does your website reinforce your image, or is it like every other vanilla site out there? The dime-a-dozen template? How many people visits your site every day? Do you know where they are coming from and which pages they have been looking at? Do you act on that?

The answer to these questions will determine if you need ‘spring cleaning’ or not. Sometimes it can be very difficult for someone to see if their image has been compromised by what they have created in the last few years. Then it’s time to call in a professional cleaning crew. Someone who knows about cleaning or upgrading your brand and marketing. You will be amazed by how big the difference can be, on all levels. Just make sure you don’t use cheap bleach/cheap designers… you will wipe out your uniqueness and colorful image in a second. Yes, but of course… you will save some cash, but at what price?

Now be honest, does your site need spring cleaning?

Are you standing in the dark, winking at women?

A business without advertising is like a man standing in the dark winking at a beautiful woman. He knows what he is doing, but no one else does. For some reason marketing is one of the first “expenses” people cut when times get tough. It should be the last. I see marketing as an investment, not an expense. I believe a lot of business owners and top level CEOs choose not to see the obvious. In marketing, advertising is just one of many elements. So how do you turn on the light to let people see what you are doing when your electricity bill is so high? Well, with some creative thinking and a dash of guerilla marketing, companies could easily extend their budgets and get a better Return On Investment. Here are three of several important keywords in my bag of tricks: “COMMUNICATE” – sounds obvious doesn’t it? However, good communication skills seem to be missing from a lot of companies. “FREQUENCY” – if you can’t afford those big ads, divide them into many smaller. It’s better to be in front of a target audience all the time than once in a while. “TEAM EFFORT” – I am not talking about people, but media channels and your marketing materials. Strengthen your message by “teaming up” your marketing efforts towards a common goal. Hint: your website will play a big role in this.

So, are you ready to turn on the light and let people see what you are doing, or are you waiting for women with flash lights to find you?

Hotels love empty rooms and people that aren’t even there.

I see it every day and I am sure you have too. But you may not have consciously thought about why a business that exists to service people never actually show pictures of people. I checked out quite a few hotel websites in Los Angeles this morning and the results even amazed me. The short list is at the end of this little blog entry.

They all have a lot pictures, which is good. I saw beautiful pictures of hotel rooms, empty lobbies, exterior beauty shots, meeting rooms with pads and pencils, and empty restaurants. I am sure they spent a ton of money on getting just the right amount of furniture into each shot. I did notice that one thing was missing from all the photos; people.

I am sure you have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. It is definitively true in the hospitality industry. In most hospitality websites and brochures the empty images tell a different story; “We are desperate, no one wants to stay with us so please come.”

Actually, I have seen a few photos of people on hotel websites or brochures. But they are all photos I have seen before as promo shots for other hotels. How come? Oh, that’s right. They are using stock photography. Pictures of people that have never even been to the hotel.

Where is the professional marketing mind, the warmth, the emotions, the reasons to stay? Photography should trigger an emotional desire to book and stay. With more and more people using the web to plan their next trip, it becomes increasingly more important how you market yourself online.

By the way, I am not a photographer. I am a professional marketing expert.

This is just a few of the links for the hotel websites I browsed this morning. Please note that I am sure these are great hotels with wonderful management, employees, rooms and restaurants. As a matter of fact, I know these are great hotels. To see how we did it for a restaurant client, please visit our last project: http://www.bacidiroma.com

The list:

http://www.metroplazahoteldowntownla.com

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1004&EM=VTY_WI_bonaventure_1004_overview

http://www.kawadahotel.com

http://www.millenniumhotels.com

http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/LosAngelesCaliforniaPlaza.aspx

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1598

http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-0937-sofitel-los-angeles/index.shtml

http://www.crowneplaza.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/laxca?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/cp/1/en/hotelsearchresults

and the list goes on and on and on…

Step away from the templates

It’s very easy to create a website these days. Even if you don’t know anything about programming, marketing or design, you can have a website up and running in a few minutes. Sites like wix.com and hundreds of companies that offer so-called “professional” templates, have made it very easy to establish an online presence. Seems pretty good doesn’t it? Cheap, fast and “professional”. So what’s wrong with this picture? Well, let me put it this way; how many times have you found something generic that is as unique as you are? Generic and template means “not unique”. Stock photos and generic designs have made thousands of potential stars into “a dime a dozen” company online.

If you are serious about your business, it’s time to step away from the template factories and the website designers who really don’t have a clue about marketing. There is no such thing as a free lunch, and it is as true here as in any other industry. You cannot expect to pay for a bicycle and get a Mercedes. It just doesn’t work that way.

The only way you can get a unique web presence that really works is to personalize your site. A website needs an idea and a marketing concept. Brand it. Make it real. Make it you. A good example is our latest website creation for Habitat Hospitality Design (in progress). Check it out at http://www.habitathospitalitydesign.com – I am sure you can see why generic designs and stock photos would never work for a business like his. If you are a business, think twice about templates and cheap website designers with no marketing background. They will do you more harm than good.

“I can put you on top of search engines” – blah!

Who haven’t received emails (or spam) from people who tells you that they can put your website at the top of all the search engines. Oh, forgot, they also promise IMMEDIATELY! Interesting isn’t it? Last time I checked there is only one place at the top. So I guess it’s for one keyword? I hate to burst your bubble, but being on the first page doesn’t guarantee you any sales. Who cares if you are among the five top sites, if it doesn’t generate sales. That’s what you want right? Sales. So, what is more important than placement then? One word; conversion. How many visitors can you convert into a sale? That’s what’s important. I wonder if they can guarantee the conversion rate instead. Wouldn’t that be something? Well, if it sounds to good to be true it usually is, and there are no short cuts to converting visitors to actual sales. And it all starts with your website. Is it set up according to the right strategy and concept for you and your company? Or is it a template or a “design” site that just looks cool and is a waste of money? Think about it. How’s your website and how are you promoting it?

Emergency Marketing

When your business is on its way to the ER, it’s time for some EM. There are two directions you can take the EM-bulance; one is the easier road towards existing customers, and the other direction towards new customers. The latter is much longer, but may be more profitable in the long term. So what kind of life support system do you hook up your business to? Well, it depends a little upon what kind of business you are, but since more and more consumers are making their decisions at home (up from 60% in the first quarter of 2008), we should take a close look at the web, e-blasts and direct marketing. A good media mix could do the trick if done right – in the right order and frequency. One thing is for sure, don’t wait until your company is unable to move before calling the EM specialists. Too many companies go under because they don’t know that there are actually people who can help out there. This is definitively not a time to NOT ask for directions. Where is your company heading?