Mont Tremblant Chalet Search & Booking Tips - Travel - Vacation Rentals

Travelling to Mont Tremblant with your family or as part of a large group? Lucky you! Not only will you have a bunch of people to ski with, you'll have a bunch of people to share costs with - especially on accommodation. Booking a Mont Tremblant chalet is an extremely economical option for groups because they can split the cost. A chalet rental is also a ton of fun with large common area spaces for socializing and other great perks like private hot tubs and fully-equipped kitchens.

Now that you're thinking about a chalet rental and how perfect it will be for your group vacation, you'll need to know where to find one.

Mont Tremblant chalet rental neighbourhoods include:

Mont Tremblant Chalet Search & Booking Advice

Mont Tremblant chalets can be booked through a rental management company or direct from the Owner of the chalet. Renting direct from the Owner is best if you're looking to save a few bucks as it means you avoid the commission fees built into managed properties' rates. For this reason, the following tips pertain to booking Owner-direct.

You could search the local resort newspaper, but your best bet for finding a good selection of Mont Tremblant chalet rentals is to search online. Google terms like "Mont Tremblant chalets by Owner" to get a list of websites to look through. Stick to sites with a good selection of rentals (so that you find what you want AND get competitive rates) and ensure that the site you book through offers a rental guarantee or some sort of consumer protection.

Once you've found a chalet you'd like to rent, seal the deal! Each listing represents a single chalet. It's not like booking hotel rooms. Scoop the one you want before someone else does! Don't be too hasty though. Be sure to follow these safe booking steps:

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Value Proposition Workshop: Crafting Your Value Proposition - Marketing - Marketing Tips

After you've analyzed your customers, your competitors, and your own company, you should have enough insight to craft a value proposition for your company. The idea of a value proposition is certainly now new, but many business people still fail to understand exactly what it is. It is NOT a list of features and benefits, and it's not marketing fluff. It's a statement, usually several sentences, that describes what your company offers in terms of tangible business results defined from your customers' perspective. That last portion of the definition is where many companies lose their way. Your customers don't care what your company offers just because you think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. They care about what you offer that meets THEIR needs and helps them achieve THEIR objectives.

An effective value proposition plays a key strategic role in developing a company's brand strategy and competitive positioning. Once you determine your value proposition, all of your marketing messages can be cohesive. If communicated well, there is a clear agreement or understanding of the business exchange that will take place between your company and your customers. If backed up by the infrastructure to deliver what you promise, you have the ability to build brand equity: that intangible something that drives customer behavior and makes them prefer one brand or company over another.

Before crafting your value proposition, you need to determine the differentiator that will be the basis for your offer. There are really only three types, and you can use the following statements that apply to each one to determine where your company fits. Keep in mind that some companies fall into two of the following three categories; however, in order to have a truly strong brand strategy you need to focus primarily on only one.

1) Operational efficiency, or lowest price offer: Your customers just want a good product at the lowest possible cost. New technology or improvements aren't particularly important. It really is price that counts. You're not trying to come up with new or better products or services. You just want to produce more volume at lower cost. You focus on creating operational efficiencies to keep costs down.

2) Market leadership, or the best products or services, most advanced technology: Your customers care most about "the best" - period. Your company culture is completely dedicated to innovation and quality. You work constantly on improvements and innovations that you can bring to market first. You stay on top of what your competition is up to and make sure you stay one step ahead.

3) Customer intimacy, or the best overall solutions and service: Your market is flooded with products or services like yours and pricing is all across the board. However, your customers want more than a standard product or service; they want customized solutions. You strive to know as much as possible about your customers' businesses and needs and build successful relationships so you can deliver the ideal products, services and solutions over time. You know you can't just say "we offer great service." This is ingrained into your corporate culture, and your employees just do it; in every interaction they have with every prospect and customer.

Present the differentiators to your Value Proposition Team, and ask every one of them: which of the differentiators is your company currently equipped to deliver? After you have this discussion and come to an agreement, look back at the work you did listing your customers' objectives, the problems they are trying to solve in working with a company like yours, and their unmet needs. Recall the analysis of your competitors, and compare their offer to your differentiation. This is the tricky part of the process. In order to have a strong value proposition, you have got to match up your differentiator with your customers' needs, make it quantifiable and actionable, and explain what sets you apart from your competitors.

There are three parts to a written VP. Answer the following questions:1. What objectives or unmet needs does your company provide its customers?2. What is the quantifiable offer that your company provides to meet customer needs?3. Why would a customer select your company over your competitors?All of the discussions you've had and documented during your VP Workshop should now come to bear on the answers to the above questions. Just start writing . . . you can always go back and tweak and perfect it later. The hard part is done! Now, with your value proposition clearly defined, you have the core message that will be communicated through your Brand Strategy. Give your VP Team a pat on the back, and start thinking about how you can best bring life to your value proposition and begin building that coveted brand equity!

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The Key to a Great Industrial Brand Strategy? - Business - Industrial Mechanical

What do you think is the key to a great industrial brand strategy? After many years of creating marketing communications that were intended to take an industrial brands message to its target audience, I really believe the key is to bring the brand to life. So how in the world do you do THAT?

I love the rags to riches story of two brothers, Bert and John Jacobs, founders of the Life is good clothing brand. Their company began on the streets of Boston, where they first started hawking t-shirts at street fairs and going door-to-door trying to sell in college dorms. They weren't having much success until they came upon the simple drawing of the cartoonish grinning character they called Jake. After printing 48 t-shirts with Jake and the "Life is good" logo brand that they had used for a number of years, they went into Cambridge to once again try selling their t-shirts at a street fair. The 48 Jake shirts were sold by noon that day and they had discovered how to bring life to their brand. Soon after Jake was introduced to local retailers, sales began to skyrocket and the REAL company was born.

I know this story isnt about an industrial company, or even a BtoB company; but I get inspiration from all kinds of marketing success stories, regardless of the type of business. It may take a bit more creativity, but it IS possible to bring life to an industrial service or manufacturing companys brand.

Before a company can truly go forward with a brand strategy, it needs to go through a process of determining its value proposition and unique offering in the marketplace.From that, the desired brand image will emerge. There are really only three main types of differentiators in competitive positioning: lowest price; best product or technology; or best overall solutions and customer focus. Of course, each business will have a slightly different twist on how its offering is described in a value proposition statement; but regardless of the product or service you sell and the way you differ from your competitors, the bottom line is being able to state how THAT meets your customers unique needs and requirements.

Having an emotional appeal with your offering is always a plus. Statistics show that advertising campaigns that tug heavily on emotions are typically more successful.However, industrial companies cant rely on brand icons (like Jake) and emotional hooks (like life is good.) Manufacturers and industrial service providers are often selling to engineers, mid-level production personnel, and typically overworked, no-nonsense left-brainers who can be hard to sway, emotionally.

I think the answer lies in integrating the brands promise and personality into the companys corporate culture. The brand is defined, and comes to life through the companys PEOPLE. If a company is going to not only maximize the full intellectual capital within their organization AND deliver their brand promise so that it begins to build brand equity, they need to fully engage their employees with the brand promise and values.

A companys workforce is one of its most valuable assets. It is the companys employees who are the face of the brand, whether the business sells valves or providesindustrial safety services. It must be the employees who translate an organizations strategy into reality as they interact with customers and prospects, for it is in their minds that the brand is truly determined.

I have lots of ideas for integrating a company's brand vision throughout the organization - some I've used and some I have on tap for upcoming projects. What are some things you've done to infuse your brand's personality into the hearts and minds of your company's employees?

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What Are QR Codes and How Can Industrial Companies Use Them? - Marketing - Marketing Tips

So what's the deal with the bar codes showing up on ads, billboards, mailers, brochures, and just about any other printed marketing piece these days? Have you just wondered, or have you actually figured it out, downloaded a code scanner to your Smartphone, and scanned one?

Those bar codes are called "QR codes," short for [B]Q[/B]uick [B]R[/B]esponse code and they are the newest way for individuals to interact quickly with a product, service, or company. There are apps available for most Smartphones that can be downloaded and used to scan the code. Once scanned by the Smartphone's QR reader, the phone immediately jumps to an Internet landing page that provides whatever the marketer wishes: a coupon, a contest entry, registration for a "free" offer, or just more information about something.

It might interest you to know that a recent study conducted by a major marketing firm indicated:

QR scanning in North American increased 1,200% in the past six months.People who are aware of QR codes tend to be more educated and affluent, between the ages of 35-54.The two main reasons QR codes were scanned - about 53% for both - were getting a coupon or accessing additional information while away from a laptop or desktop computer.33% scanned to enter a sweepstakes.26% scanned to access a video.23% scanned to make an actual purchase.

Not surprisingly, as of today, QR codes are primarily being used by B to C businesses. However, even though Marketects is a small firm dealing exclusively with industrial businesses, we do have one client, an industrial service company, that is experimenting with QR codes in their ads, mailers, and brochures. Undoubtedly, as QR codes become more common, manufacturers and other industrial companies will see their usefulness and start integrating them into their marketing efforts.

But what about today? Why should an industrial company think about using QR codes at a time when they haven't yet been widely accepted within the industrial community? Perhaps your company would like to extend its messaging in printed media and be able to more accurately track digital response, or maybe you like being on the cusp of new marketing technology. If you are a manufacturer or industrial service company whose value proposition is based on offering cutting edge technology, the use of QR codes is one more way to build that image.

Even if you'd like to give QR codes a shot, you may not have considered all of their applications. They can be used on any printed media, such as brochures; mailers; ads; billboards or signs; trade show display materials; business cards - if it's printed, it's a spot for a QR code. One simple QR code can be the launching pad to:

Your entire product catalogYour Twitter or Facebook pageA video on your website or YouTubeA special offer page that requires registration (and a new prospect for your lead database)Your websiteDetails about a new product or serviceA landing page with a live chat box monitored by your inside sales or customer service personnelDirections to your facilityA special event invitationYour blogA technical paper (which could also require registration, and provide leads)A landing page that elaborates on one specific ad (great for gauging results)A landing page that promotes one specific product or serviceRegistration for a raffle or drawing at a trade showTrade show registration

QR codes give you the ability to track the "hits" on any given page. This is the kind of insight that marketers crave, but is usually elusive with print media. Knowing what brings the most response is the key to knowing where to direct your marketing efforts.

The reality is that QR codes are growing in use and where it goes, nobody knows. Is it just a fad, or will it become an important tool in the future for the industrial marketer? Just as social media marketing is starting to become more prevalent in the industrial arena, one day soon we may see QR codes on the majority of ads in trade publications. Unlike some marketing tactics, implementing QR codes into your printed marketing materials is a relatively inexpensive way to experiment with new technology. Why not give them a try?

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10 Success Tips for Industrial Companies on Facebook - Marketing

I've written in detail about ways that manufacturers and industrial companies can start using Twitter and LinkedIn for engagement and relationship building; but I've stayed away from the subject of Facebook. I've struggled myself building a community on Facebook, and honestly don't see many small to mid-size industrial companies building an interactive community, either. The word "interactive" is key. I see plenty of "likes" for posts on industrial companies' pages, but not a lot of comments or ongoing conversations. Granted, I follow a fraction of the industrial companies that have a Facebook page; however, everything I read and everyone I talk to seems to agree with me. With over 500 million active users on Facebook, why aren't more industrial companies fostering interactive, informative communities for their employees, vendors, customers, partners, distributors, and those looking for their expertise? How can industrial companies "do Facebook" and be more successful?

If you're an industrial company with a Facebook page that isn't really meeting your expectations, here are 10 tips that will help you build a more vibrant Facebook community.

1. Figure out the challenges your customers face, and provide them with expertise and solutions.

Whether you are the business owner, a social media manager, a marketing person, or something in between: find a source that will tell you what objectives and needs your customers have. That may be inside sales; manufacturers' reps; distributors; or if you are dealing with customers on a regular basis, you may have that knowledge yourself.

2. Don't just talk - listen.

Don't use Facebook simply to push out company news - be a resource and "go to" for your customers and prospects. You can be pro-active with your content by monitoring what is being said on Twitter (through your own group of followers or with keyword searches and hashtags) and in the LinkedIn groups you belong to. Take the time to listen to the questions your customers and prospects seem to be asking, then answer them with your Facebook content.

3. Repurpose all forms of relevant content from within your company.

Larger manufacturers and industrial service companies usually have a wealth of informative content at their fingertips that is not "marketing hype." Do your engineers write articles for trade publications? Do they give presentations with PowerPoint slides at conferences or symposiums? Do you have documented case histories of successful applications of your product or service? Have you ever done a webinar or podcast? What about a company blog? Use all internal resources at your disposal to provide value to your Facebook followers that they can't find just anywhere.

4. Ask questions to spark discussions.

Have you noticed that many blog posts end with a "call to action," or question to spark further discussion? Ask questions of your Facebook followers and give them the opportunity to share ideas, experience and opinion. They don't always have to be about your company or industry. Go a step beyond, and bring up questions and discussions in the broader context of what's happening in your city, our country or the world.

5. Don't get stuck in the traditional BtoB mind-set.

Industrial marketers are sometimes locked into a mind-set that what works in BtoC marketing rarely applies to them. That mind-set is becoming more and more outdated as opportunities to engage with customers and prospects through social media blurs the line between BtoB and BtoC marketing tactics. The whole point of social media marketing is to build relationships that benefit not only your company, but the individuals within your community.

6. Get creative with contests.

I know this is a radical idea, but what if the next time you were about to launch a new product or service, you held a contest on Facebook to decide its trade name? Offer an incentive to the contest winner like an iPad, or a $500 Amazon.com gift card. (You can ensure you end up with the "right" name by opening up the contest to employees.) Wouldn't it be worth $500 to engage a large number of your followers? Be sure to reach out to each person that enters the contest, and promote it like crazy!

7. Make it easy for followers to interact with your company.

Do you have an inside sales or customer service person who is usually at their desk? There are now Facebook plug-ins that allow your followers to chat, real-time, with someone in your company! Put that inside sales person to good use, and make them not only available by phone and email, but by "live chat."

8. Use "Polling" to gauge widespread response to a question.

Really not sure what your customers think about your company? Wondering if you should invest in R&D for product improvements? Want to know what your followers thought about a webinar or podcast you promoted? Facebook gives you the opportunity to poll your followers and get answers from them directly. It's one more way to engage your community and obtain insight into what's important to them.

9. Cross promote whenever possible.

Through social media, you will undoubtedly develop relationships with other like-minded individuals whose business offerings are either complimentary to yours, or possibly even slightly competitive. These individuals are often open to the idea of cross promotion. Not just on Facebook, but on Twitter, LinkedIn, and company blogs, you can use your social media platforms to promote other companies, while they in turn promote yours.

10. Humanize your company.

Facebook, for the majority of users, is still a place they go to have fun and engage with friends. No matter how technical your products or services are, you can still interject some light humor and human interest related posts into your content. Use Facebook to give a face and personality to your company. Examples? Highlight an employee of the month; give kudos to a loyal vendor; talk about your company's support of a community cause; post pictures of people in your company doing their jobs and briefly describe what they do; do a poll that's somehow tied to what you do, but is really just for fun.

If you are one of the fortunate industrial companies that are already successfully using Facebook to build important relationships, then hats off to you! However, in most instances, industrial companies have a long way to go in fully utilizing this increasingly important social media site for business. Learn to use it wisely now - and you'll be ahead of the curve when Facebook finally ranks up there with LinkedIn and Twitter as the social media sites of choice for BtoB marketing.

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How Industrial Companies Can Succeed With Social Media - Marketing

More and more, the conversations I have with industrial and manufacturing companies about social media dont start with questions like What can Twitter do for my business? But rather, OK, Ive got a Twitter page but how do I keep coming up with things to say? Im sure that if I didnt have a social media calendar and the help of some amazing tools, there would be plenty of days when I, too, struggled to come up with interesting posts for all of my social media pages.

Even though more and more manufacturing companies are stepping into the world of social media, very few that I talk to are approaching it strategically. Its more like theyre experimenting, and if they see any benefit THEN theyll start taking it seriously. For any company to be successful with social media, it has to be considered in the same way in which any other marketing communications initiative would.

Develop a social media content strategy; determine your companys social media persona; then make your social media campaign efficient and keep your posts updated regularly by utilizing a social media calendar. There are lots of ways to develop a social media calendar, from very simple (for those of us who are more right brain) to detailed and complex (for the true project managers!) Following are some basics to help you get started.

Start with a strategy

The very nature of social media demands more spontaneity and frequency in contact than other, traditional forms of marketing communications; but that doesnt mean companies should toss out basic principles of sound marketing or any other complex project. You need a strategy. Go back to Marketing 101 and ask yourself these questions in regard to social media:

Who is your target audience? Where are you most likely to find them? What objective (results) do you hope to achieve? How will you measure your efforts?

After you identify your target audience (and there may be more than just potential customers) you need to think about what kind of information they would want to hear from your company. This is critical to your strategy. You really have to put yourself in the mind of your target audience and think about THEIR needs their requirements their problems and how YOUR Company can communicate with them about whats important to THEM.

Create broad categories that will house ideas for future posts. For instance, if youre a company that provides industrial safety services to refineries, chemical plants, drilling companies and other industrial plants, your Content Categories may include:

Safety compliance How proper safety management saves money Safety regulatory issues Legislation affecting your customers industry Current events and news that would be of interest to your audience The latest safety equipment Managing shutdowns and turnarounds

The list could go on and on! Think of it as a filing cabinet and each of your Content Categories is a file folder full of content ideas. Since youve determined that all of these categories are of some interest to your target audience, you will want to intersperse posts related to all of them in your Content Calendar (more on that.)

Determine your social persona

If youre serious about a consistent brand image for your company, its key to consider the voice and perspective that your social media posts will reflect. Even if you have multiple people handling several accounts, there has to be a written policy about the content of all your posts. In fact, if more than one person will be posting and writing blog content, this is critical.

Will you post and respond from the first person I or from a more collective business perspective, We? What is the image (picture) that will be shown for your company on each site? The company logo or the individuals picture that is the voice of the company on that particular site? Will your posts be strictly on brand? (Will they deal only with your own company?) This is difficult to pull off successfully unless you are a huge, world-wide organization. Typically, a combination of on brand; industry news; media that applies to your business (books, webinars, trade shows, etc.) and a broader perspective of how the world is effecting your business works best. Will your posts personality reflect a light and friendly, or serious and informative tone?

Answer all these questions, and then keep all posts and responses to posts consistent.

Develop a Conversation Calendar

Conversation calendars achieve several important objectives related to social media marketing. They make your campaign pro-active instead of reactive. They alleviate the stress that comes from the ongoing question, what will we post about NOW? They ensure accountability for posting. They ensure consistent posting.Theres no magic formula for how many times you should post something on any social media platform. On some Facebook for instance blasts of posts all throughout the day can become a little annoying since the quantity of YOUR posts limit what a person sees when they check their news feed.

Twitter, of course, allows for more frequent posting but you also need to consider when your target audience is most likely to be checking Twitter. If your audience works 8-5, Mon-Fri, it doesnt make sense to post late at night or on the week-ends.

Ive heard it all when it comes to blogs. Some say a minimum of 3 posts per week. Others say once every week is fine. Personally, I think if your content has value and is truly relevant, the more often you can post to your blog, the better. A blog almost needs its own, unique strategy. Unlike Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, on a blog you are writing more than a few sentences about your subject. A blog post takes more time and effort. Many companies are enlisting multiple individuals from different departments so that their blog covers topics from different perspectives (not just marketing!) and posts are more regular.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding resources outside of your company for your social media posts. Find websites and blogs that contain the same kind of content you want to deliver. Register to receive information through email or set up RSS feeds so you are regularly getting information pushed to your desktop that can be used for Twitter tweets, LinkedIn discussion topics, even blog posts.

Once youve done all of the above: its time to create the Conversation Calendar

Heres a basic way to do it:

Use Excel (or Word if youre Excel challenged) and set up a spreadsheet one for every month.

Create columns for:

Date Day of the week Time Content Category Column for each social media platform (Twitter, Facebook, Blog, etc.) If there is more than one person posting, a column that indicates the individual responsible

Remember to post items for all of your Content Categories over a months time. Certain topics will appeal more to some than others. You can gauge which topics seem to be more hot by checking analytics through the month. For instance, if visitors to your website spike every time you post something about a certain topic, thats an indication you should post a little more on that topic. Give your audience what they seem to want to hear.

Measure your success

Youve already determined what you hope to achieve with your social media campaign with your strategy. Did I mention that gaining new customers should probably fall somewhere near the bottom of the list in terms of priorities? This is perhaps the biggest misconception about social media marketing: that the number one goal is to get new business. Of course, any company that invests in a marketing initiative has the ultimate goal of growing their business. However, social media marketing is unlike any other type of marketing. It is SOCIAL therefore, it is about RELATIONSHIPS. There are many positive things that can occur as a result of networking that do not necessarily end in a sale so be open minded when you decide how you will gauge success.

If you build a social media network and the people in your network feel you are providing value to them personally, I guarantee that eventually you WILL get new business. How long that takes will be determined by many different factors. Initially, start gauging success with easily measurable goals. Here are some examples:

A percentage of new likes on your Facebook page. A percentage of new QUALIFIED followers on your Twitter page. Only you can define qualified. My definition is a company that is a potential customer, strategic partner, industry influencer, potential vendor, and sometimes even a competitor. In this changing world of digital communication, the lines between competitors are blurring. Sometimes a competitor can become a strategic partner. An increase in visitors to your website and even deeper, visitors coming from specific social media accounts. An increase in the number of people who register to receive your newsletter or RSS feeds of your Blog. An increase in the number of comments you receive on your Blog.

All of the strategy and planning in the world can never generate the truly human moments when you or your social media ambassador is present, genuine, and delivers true value to someone. In the end, it may be the spontaneous moments that truly mark the success of your social media efforts. But as Ive said throughout my marketing career if you dont have a plan to tell you where youre going, how will you know when you get there? Its no different with social media. Plan for success!

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How Industrial Companies Can Make Their Websites More Interactive - Marketing - Marketing Tips

We may be living in a Web 2.0 world, but you'd never guess that looking at the vast majority of websites for manufacturers and other industrial companies. Especially for small to mid-size companies, the website still continues to function as an online brochure, built years ago with technology and SEO strategies that are now outdated and that ceased attracting search engines (and visitors) long ago.

Why does your industrial business need a more interactive website? Here are just a few reasons:

1. Perhaps the most obvious reason is that this is becoming the standard, rather than the occasional anomaly. Today's Internet users have come to expect immediacy and a certain degree of interactivity on the websites they frequent for online purchases, social media connections, and any other type of Internet use. Industrial companies have got to stay in step with culture's expectations of their Internet experience.

2. Interactive tools allow industrial companies to educate their visitors in more detail, which helps to build the desired image for the company and its collective knowledge bank and experience. It's not enough anymore to simply say, "Our widget is the best." In the online world, where information is seemingly unlimited, Internet users are looking for more solid evidence of a company's expertise. Blogs, Forums, Podcasts, e-newsletters, and other interactive tools help to provide that extra level of credibility.

3. Interactivity gives a company the ability to instantly address customer concerns. Today, toll-free "support" numbers have become such a dreaded experience that most consumers would do almost anything else to get a question answered or find a solution to a problem with a particular product. This may not translate exactly to the industrial world, but the bias is still there. Anything you can do to reduce your customers' anxieties in dealing with your company and conversely, anything you can do to make it EASIER for a customer to communicate with your company puts you ahead of the pack.

4. If you REALLY want to know what's important to your customers and potential customers incorporate interactive tools like polls and surveys into your website. Rather than pushing your customers to buy what it is you have to sell them, why not ASK them what it is they need, and then develop products and services that have already been pre-qualified?

5. An interactive website brings along with it a human element. It's clich, but still true: people don't do business with companies, they do business with people - people they like. Give visitors to your website a human connection through some form of interactivity, and your "company" has just taken on human characteristics: characteristics like friendly, helpful, concerned, interested, insightful, knowledgeable, and responsive.

6. Interactivity is good for search engine optimization. Simply put, the search engine "spiders" are looking for sites that are important. Nobody knows exactly what "important" means at any given time. The search engines are constantly changing their algorithms in an attempt to outsmart web development geeks who think they've figured out a way to get all their websites on the first page of Google's search results. One thing, however, is clear: a static site with low traffic numbers and very few back-links will NOT be considered "important." An interactive website will increase traffic, and you can use certain features (like a Blog) to build more back-links to your site.

7. There's a certain "WOW" Factor when you incorporate interactive tools into your website. They're just cooler - period. Wouldn't you rather spend time on a website that has lots of bells and whistles than some static, Melba toast site that hasn't changed in five years? Interactive sites appear more sophisticated and state-of-the-art. Important note: if your company's competitive differentiation is based on technological leadership, this is a MUST. You cannot convey the image of a technological leader with a tired, outdated website.

How can industrial companies incorporate interactivity into their websites?

There are literally dozens of interactive tools, plug-ins, and widgets that manufacturers and industrial companies can incorporate into their websites. Some of them are extremely inexpensive and if you have someone internally who manages your website and is even slightly Internet savvy, they can handle some additions without a complete site overhaul or outside assistance.

Depending on HOW outdated your current website is, you may be required to build a new site using current development technology and allowing for more width on each page of your site. Older websites were sized to fit within the frames of much smaller monitors than are being used today. Those websites look pretty weak when viewed on a 21" monitor!

Blogs

Blogs don't exactly rank high on the WOW! Factor scale, these days. They are probably the most commonly used form of website interactivity. Blogs allow users to participate in an online discussion about a post or to ask questions. Most standard blog software includes a comment feature, but not all blog software is created equal. Compare features and the cost to add to your website. If you're not building a new site, you'll have to use a platform like Google's Blogger that can be "designed" to look like one of your website pages, but actually has its own URL. Visitors to your site don't realize this, of course. When they click on your Blog link, there is a redirect to the Blog page that occurs behind the scenes.

Forums

Forums enable visitors (or someone in your company) to post questions and interact with other people who are also interested in the subject. Sometimes conversations can go on for weeks and provide in depth coverage of a topic, revealing a wide range of experiences and solutions. Forums usually work best on websites that are already generating a lot of traffic. Nothing is more pitiful than going to a forum that has never had any posts made to it!

Live Chat

I don't understand why more industrial companies aren't using this tool. If you have customer service or inside sales people (or even ONE person) sitting in front of a computer most of the day, this is a brilliant way to give visitors to your site the ability to instantly interact with your company. There are many different live chat clients available, even a free one from Google. Do a little research to find the one with the features you need. This is usually a simple plug-in to your existing website that shows a box that a person can click saying something like "Have a question? Chat with us NOW!" Depending on the platform you use, you can have one or multiple individuals available to take chat inquiries. No matter what they're doing on their computer, every time someone types something into the Live Chat window, that window pops up on their computer and alerts them. Then the conversation begins! So simple, and such a great way to make it easy for visitors to your websit e to get questions answered.

Forms and Auto-responders

This goes a step beyond the email address listed on the Contact page of almost every website. How about a form on EVERY PAGE of your website that allows a visitor to request a meeting - or a technical paper - or a free sample - or some ad specialty item that promotes your company? The form can capture any information you want in terms of follow-up. Just remember that unless you're offering something pretty special, most people won't take the time to fill out a lengthy form. Name, email address, and if they're requesting a meeting, a phone number are about all you can reasonably hope to get. The purpose for the form is two-fold: first, make it super easy for someone to connect with you and second, gather enough information so that you can hand it off to sales for follow up.

Auto-responders do exactly what the name implies: they provide an automatic response to a form request. Auto-responders send an instant reply to users without human intervention. They are especially useful if the user filled out a form requesting a technical paper, a newsletter, or some other digital document that can be attached to the auto-responder.

Surveys and Polls

Industrial companies can view the use of surveys and polls two different ways. They can either be a feature that is intended to entertain, or they can be a strategic marketing tool that provides insight into the minds of potential customers. They can take on a light hearted or tongue-in-cheek tone, or a very serious tone. The only real requirement is that the poll question or survey is somehow related to your business or industry, otherwise visitors to your site may not be interested. This requires a bit of creativity, but it's worth experimenting with.

Several blog platforms offer poll plug-ins, but you can also do something more customized with other 3'rd party services. Polling allows users to vote and then see the current results immediately after their vote. Surveys are a little different, in that users don't immediately see the results after filling out the survey.

Social Media

If your company has a Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook page, you can easily add a feed of your latest posts to your Home Page. This works especially well with Twitter, since posts are short. It also makes it easy for visitors to click on the link to go directly to your Twitter page and follow your company.

Podcasts

A podcast is an MP3 file of your content that a person can download from your website. It doesn't take a professional to record blog posts, technical papers, descriptions of your products and how they work, or any other content. Users can download the file to their computer, iPod, iPhone, or any other MP3 player and listen to it when it's convenient.

Webinars

Webinars are basically a hosted presentation where someone talks, and there are visuals appearing on screen to support what they are presenting. Most webinars are promoted as live events which also allows for a Q&A session at the end. The webinar recording can then be archived on your website for anyone to play at a later date. Webinar content doesn't have to be complex or sophisticated. It can be as simple as someone who is an expert in your company explaining how a particular product or service you provide solves a problem that your customers commonly experience.

Video

Not all people like to read text. Some would much rather watch something visual to obtain information. Adding video to your website enables visitors who prefer visual communication to watch, rather than read your content. Most manufacturing companies have numerous opportunities for short, 3-4 minute video presentations. How is a particular product made? How does it function? If you can't show it in actual operation, film someone with the product explaining verbally how it works as they point out the different elements they're discussing. How about filming your CEO discussing hot topics within your industry? With all the inexpensive video cameras available today, you don't need a professional to do this.

An added bonus to a video archive: You can create a YouTube Channel that also houses your video collection. Since Google owns YouTube, companies that have video on YouTube are ranked higher in Google's natural search results. Plus, there's that WOW Factor again . . . companies with YouTube channels look high-tech, don't you think?

I'm sure there are other interactive tools industrial companies can incorporate into their websites, but these are some of the ones I'm seeing used successfully. Make an honest assessment of YOUR website, and if it's time to bring it into the 21'st century, use some of these interactive features to increase traffic, keep visitors in your site longer, make it easier for visitors to connect with your company, and deliver your messaging using the latest Web 2.0 technology!

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