These days the talk-of-the-town is the East Coast blackouts. And isn't it amazing just how many of us were affected by it? - regardless of whether or not we were the ones caught in the dark. So as I stood in front of the fax machine for the third time trying to send out the same silly fax, it finally dawned on me that the receiver was probably at home mopping up previously frozen foods. I had to rethink my plan...

Although neither Globi nor our hosting clients were affected by the outage, many people were. Ecommerce ground to a halt, causing a very crippling impact on those companies that rely on it. It lead me to wonder what backup plans could have been implemented - perhaps it's a customer service number posted front and center on the website for alternate support during this crisis. Consider as well, that this is the time you want your website to be easily accessible to dial-up.

Either way, our thoughts go out to our friends and clients in the east and hope that all your veggies and Canadian beef are not completely lost!

Global to Local Marketing

All evidence indicates that within the next 5 years there are going to be huge changes on the Internet that will shift from the global markets to local markets.

Why haul your groceries everywhere when it's right at the tips of your fingers. In fact, even as we speak some smart grocers are allowing you to get all your grocery shopping done from your own computer. No more wasting time running between stores, trying to find the best deals. You simply let the computer do all the footwork for you... at no additional cost to you!

In fact, consider the cost savings of not having to house these massive grocery stores. Store employees could be dedicated to shopping the isles of store warehouses where produce is fresher and handled minimally.

Your car needs new tires? You simply go to your computer, do some price comparisons, and then book your appointment using the real-time schedule displayed on the screen. An hour before the appointment the mechanic arrives to pick up your car, takes it to the shop, puts on the new tires, and then brings it back to you. And presto! You never once had to take valuable time away from your personal or business life to change tires.

So consider the common response, "I don't need to be on the web - my customers aren't in Timbuktu." You're right! They're not - they're right here in your own town and they're looking for you right now!

Many of the things that we normally have to leave the house for today will all soon be done via the Internet. Realizing the power of this can only help you to capitalize on it!

Visa and MasterCard Welcome Here!

At Globi Web Solutions, we are continually striving to serve our clients better…. finding ways to help you collect those Aeroplan® Miles ... and... to keeping the loyalty of our clients for life... Priceless!! For everything else, there's MasterCard... and Visa!

Clients will now note a convenient link on their Statements allowing the option to pay via credit card, if they prefer.

Who's your Target Audience?

Within our businesses we generally have an understanding of the demographics of our customers. After all, they're probably the reason that we're doing what we do today!

Now look at your Website and then ask yourself "Who does my website target? Does my website speak to that audience?" Remember, if we're too general and try to capture everyone we end up giving barely half the message to all of our visitors rather than giving the whole message to the clients or visitors that we truly wish to appeal to.

Set aside time this month to reviewing your Website. Put yourself in your customers' shoes and then let the content unfold from there. Your visitors will appreciate this and reward you with their business!

Ta-da! New Website Unveiled

Here at Globi Web Solutions, we continuously get a charge (no pun intended to our Eastern folks) when a client's new or refreshed website has a Go-Live!

A change of face or feature on your Website is, indeed, a huge unveiling - something that should be celebrated and shared with your clients and the network of people you do business with. Frankly, it's an excellent excuse to stay in front of those faces that know you or do business with you!

... And it's yet another good reason to have a newsletter.... but that's another subject.

If you would like to receive a sample email from globi to help announce your new Website Launch to your clients and contacts, just send us a blank email to Launch@globi.ca and we'll be happy to send it to you.

Online Forms

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

We've all seen a version of this pop-up that appears encouraging us to take time out of our already busy day to give our contact information away so that we, too, can download the latest and greatest software to allow us to 'best view' this particular website that they should be so lucky that I landed on!

So the questions linger: If I don't download this latest crap what am I missing on this website? Will the website still work properly, if I don't? Besides, how many people really know their current browser setting?
Worse yet, as website owner, what message are we really giving to visitors to their site?

In today's technological evolution, it's no surprise that there are always bigger and better versions of software than the one we may be using on our computer right now, but yet that is no reason to shut out the masses or create just another 'click' in the visitors' enjoyment of your website.

At Globi Web Solutions, we take the utmost care and attention to ensure that your Website is viewable by everyone - including extensive testing in all Browsers and, in the end, you can be rest assured that your website is W3C compliant**.

**'W3C' stands for the 'World Wide Web Consortium' and can be essentially compared to as the Geneva Convention of the World Wide Web. For more information on how your Website measures up just call Globi Web Solutions at 403-229-3800.

"It was nice to see you at MKS. I enjoyed your presentation. The concepts you presented had great applicability. I found them to be extremely relevant in web-design. The concepts could apply to the work that I am doing as well. Thanks for the helpful pointers. I have several specifics of what worked for me. The part about wasting a front page or not was well illustrated when I took a look at the web-sites I have visited since your presentation. Also, the importance of the first two lines, title, and intro really jumped out as obvious, but after you pointed this out :-) I had heard that before, but it was nicely reinforced in your talk through the clarity of the examples you used.

I'll be in touch when the web-design stage arrives :-) Hopefully it will be soon."

- Paul Wishart
Spirituality Research Institute (Sri) Inc

If you would like to invite Globi Web Solutions to provide a Presentation to your group, please contact us at seminars@globi.ca.

Have a question or comment?
email feedback@globi.ca

We're always happy to hear from you!

As some of you know already, Globi has a new addition to our family!

It's GlobiTemplates.com and it's designed to help our more adolescent clients who normally couldn't afford to take their business to the web with Globi's more custom solutions.

"For years I wanted a personal website for my images, one that would help put me in touch with the globe, and be accessible to my clients. As soon as I came across GlobiTemplates I knew I had found what I was looking for: a professional system, one that I could use well without any prior website experience, consistently update, and for a low price I felt comfortable with for a long period of time.

From the moment I began creating my website, I was in immediate contact with the operators of GlobiTemplates, who were ready to answer all my questions within minutes via email. Since I have been on the web with GlobiTemplates, my business has sky rocketed. I have sold more work in one week than previously in the last five years. It is a very exciting time for me, and I am updating my images all the time. This is a wonderful way to connect with people, and it's safe, easy and so much fun to use! "

- Joanna Foster
www.RedPhenixImaging.com

Hey - share the Wealth!

People you care about could be benefiting from the wealth of information on new and solutions on the Web. So help them by forwarding this issue of Globi Web Solutions Newsletter!

Privacy

As our subscribers, we respect your privacy and will never make our mailing list publicly accessible.

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.