The ramifications of the recent discovery of a case of Mad Cow Disease in Alberta was felt all across Canada - especially in Alberta's beef industry. If you have been following this in the news then you know that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency quickly responded to the situation with a predetermined plan of 'attack'. This quick action enabled the Canadian government to inform countries who import our beef that the situation was under control and that globally approved procedures to protect them were being initiated.

This got me thinking about how the rest of us handle adverse times within our own businesses. Do you have a contingency plan should something as catastrophic (heaven forbid) happen to your industry? Will you be able to assure your clients that they will still have access to the same excellent service and quality products they are accustomed to receiving?

Having such a plan doesn't mean that you will ever have to implement it. (knock on wood) In fact, your clients don't even have to know that you have one. The point is that should anything drastic occur, clients will soon find out that you are prepared for such a situation and also that they can count on you to be there for them. The results will mean keeping you existing clients and probably even acquiring some new ones in trying times.

Eye of the Beholder

Did you know that:

• There are approximately 10 to 11 million blind and visually impaired people in North America.
• Every seven minutes, someone in America will become blind or visually impaired.
• 5 million Americans age 65 or older are severely visually impaired.
• In 2002, the CNIB served 104,187 blind, visually impaired, and deafblind Canadians. This almost doubles the number of people served as recently as 1987.
• At least 1.5 million blind and visually impaired Americans use computers. This figure is climbing every day.

(These statistics gathered by the American Foundation for the Blind and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.)

So ask yourself this:
Given a choice, would you intentionally cut more than 10 million people and 1.5 million potential clients out of your market simply because they couldn't read your website?

These days it is more important than ever to be aware of the changing demographics of the internet and the technology that is available to meet these challenges. Last Thursday Yours Truly and my partner, Andreas, had the privilege of meeting with Mike Hambly of Braille It to demonstrate how his software, JAWS, works to read websites to the blind and visually impaired. We were happy to see that Globi's website passed with flying colours!

I suppose this shouldn't really be a big acknowledgment if you know that your website was designed with W3C compliance in mind. W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium and could essentially be described as the Geneva Convention of the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, very few web developers are actually aware of these standards and, as a result, may inadvertently design heavy graphic laden websites that create challenges to their clients' businesses on the web.

So the onus is on you!
Be aware of the wide variety of clients you may need to serve and make sure that your website takes them into consideration. In turn, this tells your clients that you are ready, willing, and able to work with them.

Call globi to ensure that your website is Visible to the World!
(403) 229-3800

To have your Business Cards Brailled, please contact Mike Hambly of Braille. Email braille@telusplanet.net or call (403) 266-6840

Ad Tracking

Do you track the response to your advertisements the first time they run, then forget about it? You could be losing money. You never know when an ad that is doing fabulous will lose relevance or become "tired". Keep tracking your response so you know when it's time to try something new.

On the other hand, you'll probably get tired of your ad before your potential customers do. Continuing to track your ad response will show you when your ad is doing well, and should therefore continue to be published.

Tracking advertisement response is ridiculously easy to do online. If the advertisement is a banner, you can track it with a cookie. If the advertisement is a link, you can use a unique URL or tracking code to track it through your referral logs.

Tip provided by Dawn Gray of Busy Marketing - busymarketing.com

Globi Web Solutions can help you track your advertisements' response.
Call us at (403) 229-3800 or email us at AdTracking@globi.ca

Name Branding Belongs to Your Clients

"As far as I'm concerned, branding is defined as identity communicated. One thing that brand stewards tend to forget is that the brand is owned by the customer, not the company."

- Kenn Boostrom of Hotwire Inc. interviewed by Erika Germer in Fast Company

One major mistake that some corporate owners often make is that they get bored of their logo and decide to change it. Wait!! Your customers aren't bored of it - in fact, this is the familiarity that they need to feel safe and secure about doing business with you.

Say, for example, you get another business card from someone and notice that it's changed. To them this means growth and development; to the client this can reflect indecisiveness. This can also cause the customer to ask: Are they changing their line of business? Is this change going to effect how they deal with me? Am I going to still be able to get their services and/or products?

Let's take a look at Nike as an example. Their well-known 'swish' has been around for over 30 years now! Today you don't even need to see the name of the company to know that means Nike.

Let globi help your website be as distinctive as your business.
Find out more at http://www.globi.ca

Online Forms

From time to time, we come across websites that work against their visitors' surfing enjoyment and so each month we cover some of these faux pas to avoid.

Anyone been to Air Canada's website lately? Something tells me their web guy has never actually used the online order form they created for them. What makes me think this? Well, if you miss a field or type incorrect info in it, you have to fill in the WHOLE FORM - AGAIN before it can be accepted and then submitted! Ack!!

What a great way to discourage visitors from contacting them or even ordering products and services. This tends to make me wonder if this isn't just another nail in the proverbial coffin.

As for your own website, be sure that you periodically try it out from a visitor's point of view. In particular, fill out the Online Form, become familiar with it, and ensure that it's intuitive and easy to use. And remember, statistically over 75% of people would prefer to fill out a simple form, rather than draft a whole email message from scratch. This is also a splendid opportunity to up-sell your customers, or ask them to receive your informative Newsletter.

Don't have a Contact Form on your website yet?
For just $150. Globi Web Solutions can create an Online Form with as many fields as you need. Make it easy for your clients to contact you!
Contact us at (403) 229-3800 or OnlineForms@globi.ca

"Globi can cater to both small and large size companies!! No matter what you need they'll get it done at a GOOD PRICE! Globi has been such good value for money, for our small or large Projects!
A pleasure to work with, and GREAT PERSONAL support that is hard to find these days!"

Gabi Harkham - LuxeHotels.com

Have a question or comment?
Email us: feedback@globi.ca

We're always happy to hear from you!

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Hey - share the Wealth!

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Until next month, we remain your humble messenger to the internet.

Globi Web Solutions
1023 - 12th Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta, T2R 0J5
Phone: (403) 229-3800
E-mail: admin@globi.ca
Web Site: http://www.globi.ca

Copyright © 2010 Globi Web Solutions. All Rights Reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part without the inclusion of Globi Web Solutions' Reprint Permission below.

Reprint Permission

Although this material is subject to copyright, please feel free to reprint this publication, in whole or in part, in your company publication, in training, presentations, or wherever you feel this would be of benefit. This also holds true for members of the media. All we ask (actually, we insist) is that you use the following credit line:

Reprinted with permission from Globi Web Solutions, a leading Website Design and Development Company based in Calgary. For further resources and information, go to globi.ca. Copyright © 2010 Globi Web Solutions.