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Resse Lamothe Case Study: A Classic Remake To An E-Commerce Responsive Solution

Resse Lamothe Case Study: A Classic Remake To An E-Commerce Responsive Solution

Posted on by johnson5publishing
Resse Lamothe
SMN Web Services Case Study

Project Type

Reconstruct and launch website. In need of an e-commerce solution that is easy to use and edit independently.

The Request

Classic theme with a contemporary layout. Preferred colors of red, black and white. 

The Solution

Resse Lamothe is delightfully a returning client. A new e-commerce website layout was hand-crafted with an updated theme. 1 revision was made to the website and 2 revisions were made to the e-commerce core of the website as the client had the ability to try out two options of the e-commerce software, choosing the second option due to the ease of independent client use. 

Resse Lamothe

About the Client

Based out of Belmont, North Carolina, Resse Lamothe is a new 100% genuine Italian imported leather company providing women’s purses and soon accessories for men. Resse Lamothe is a returning client and bestowed upon us the opportunity to craft their new signature website with room to grow as the business does in addition to providing e-commerce and customer solutions that are easy for the client and customers in the same platform.

The Architecture

The architecture was built with a request of a simple update to a previous classic red and black theme design. The color palette consists of red, black, white and gray. The website construction and design was coordinated with the client with 2 different options presented. There were 2 revisions to the e-commerce core. The client was able to see continuous construction of the project as it was built.

The Results

A responsive and digital space connecting the clients and it’s customers with an e-commerce option was chosen by the client of which they can conveniently and independently use and access at their comfort level. The client also has the option to change or upgrade their e-commerce software at anytime. Per audit the title, headings and description are crawlable and located through the web. The description and title are at perfect length. The sitemap.xml is located and the robots.txt are well configured. No malware detected. Site is not blacklisted.

Appreciation

“It’s good to be back in business. I can’t wait to see what God has planned.” ~Resse Gowens, Owner, Resse Lamothe~

How to Prevent Marketing Missteps

Posted on by T Gregory

Understanding how to prevent marketing missteps is essential for any business. Keeping these mistakes to a minimum allows you to maximize the reach of your company and give you an advantage over your competitors. On the other hand, always making simple marketing mistakes makes it much more difficult for your business to maintain success in the long-term. You also want to make sure you are measuring the success of your marketing efforts. Taking the time to focus on marketing is crucial for the growth of your business. Here are a few simple marketing tips to keep in mind for your business.

Do Your Research

One of the first steps in creating an effective marketing strategy is to always do your research beforehand. You should use a number of tools for customer segmentation. Taking the additional time to perform research allows you to target the needs of your audience and create a much more impactful marketing campaign. Understanding what your customers want allows you to market more effectively and help your business grow.

Measure Your Progress

The next stage in a marketing campaign is to always measure your progress. Keeping a close eye on your progress allows you to see what works and if you need to make any changes. Marketing goals should be measurable. You can use a variety of software programs to help you determine the success of your marketing outreach. Continually measuring your results allows you to find ways to improve and never stay satisfied with the status quo.

Always Invest Enough Money

Many small businesses make the simple mistake of not investing enough in marketing. However, a lack of funds for marketing makes it much more difficult to obtain new customers. Over time, this can significantly limit the growth of your business and cause you to fall behind your competitors. Always setting aside enough money for marketing is essential in reaching new levels of success for your company by maintaining a steady growth rate.

Learning how to prevent common marketing mistakes is critical for any business owner. Always doing your research, measuring your progress, and investing enough money are all critical aspects of a successful marketing strategy. Failure to focus on marketing makes it much more challenging for your business to grow and attract new clients. Today’s workplace is very competitive but focusing on these marketing tips can help you reach a wide range of customers and ensure your business maintains long-term success.

Of course one of the worst missteps is not having a well made and maintained website. Luckily, we can help! Take a look at our packages and get started on having the best website today!

Top Workplace Standards That Will Enhance Your Business

Posted on by T Gregory

In order to create a safe workplace, certain standards must be implemented and followed. These guidelines, often regulated by government agencies, are in place to provide organized safety for all employees. Other standards that exist may not have anything directly to do with safety, but they exist to protect the employee.

Institute Safety Guidelines

For a place to be deemed as safe, there must be guidelines set up and implemented. These are often called cardinal rules. They ask that every employee adhere to them in order to maintain a safe and efficient working environment. They should often include precautions that have been tested and are established as the safest means possible.

Establishing safety standards keeps people safe, increases efficiency, reduces potential risks, and offers several other important benefits to your company. Leveraging the right resources can help a safety manager easily access the materials needed to create a safe working space.

Create Communication Policies

The news of safety must be spread to all employees. How does one do it, though? The messages must be vibrant, consistent, and informative. The timing of a safety message should be weekly, and they should be discussed in all employee meetings.

Safety communication does not have to be a dry, lifeless piece of information. Make it fun and attention grabbing. Insert quotes from knowledgeable sources regarding employee morale. A communication can use an employee as an example of someone doing something safely. The main message of a safety communication should be relevant and timely.

The Importance of Safety Committees

Safety comes in numbers. A safety committee is, usually, a safety manager and employees who are dedicated and concerned about the safe practices in and around their work environment.

A safety committee is an excellent way to formulate ideas and action. The group can brainstorm ways to communicate safety guidelines and policies to the rest of the employee population. The direction of the safety group should be the benefit of all the employees, keeping in mind that the employees should not be dictated. The policies from a safety committee should be a cooperative effort between managers and employees. The safety committee is a great way to incorporate those efforts.

Safety guidelines are in place to make the work environment a safe and effective place to work. Once the guidelines are implemented, more communication policies can be created through the works of a safety committee.

Read more: How a Wellness Program Benefits Your Business

How to Know When to Outsource and When to Keep It in House

Posted on by T Gregory

One of the best advantages of the internet for businesses today is the ability to outsource professionals and talent on a whim at any time. When you have a business venture or idea of your own, knowing when to outsource and when to keep your IT services in-house is essential, especially if you intend to grow and scale your company and brand in the future. Once you are familiar with the advantages and drawbacks of both outsourced as well as hiring in-house, choosing the right solution for your own business will become much simpler and less confusing and stressful.

Stronger Marketing Strategies

One way to take advantage of outsourcing talent and professionals is to do so when you are in the beginning stages of building a new brand or business. Marketing is one of the most important and useful elements of running a business or promoting a brand’s image and message to prospective customers. When you are first spreading the word and message of your brand, hiring outsourced marketing experts and professionals can help you to save time while optimizing your current advertising budget. Outsourcing professionals of any kind also provides you with instant access to a much larger talent pool of people in various industries. If you feel limited with your current in-house hiring choices, outsourcing the right candidate may be best.

What to Do About Technology Issues?

Today, most successful businesses and mega-corporation conglomerates understand the value of the internet, having an official online presence, and an active social media following. IT tech support goes beyond simply restoring servers or protecting websites from being hacked by potential thieves, trolls, or data harvesters. Unfortunately, many tech companies only focus on IT issues, such as when you’ve been hacked or your server is down, and don’t go beyond that. If your website begins to run slow or during a traffic surge, having an in-house IT specialist is highly advisable. While outsourcing IT professionals at the beginning of your business venture is likely more affordable and much simpler, consider expanding to an in-house IT team of professionals once your brand has been established and has shown that it has profitability for years to come.

As your business continues to grow, scale, and expand, it will also require more resources in order to properly function adequately while remaining profitable. In order to scale your website at an appropriate pace, consider hiring an in-house IT team. In-house IT teams can help with structuring and setting up your very own hosting servers, providing you with more accessibility and control over your website’s speed and who can access your data and company files at any time. While outsourcing an IT team or individual professional or contractor is extremely appealing and attractive to new websites and ventures, an in-house solution or team may ultimately provide more advantages as a company continues to grow within their industry.

Budgeting

Before settling on the decision to outsource or hire in-house, be sure to spend time reviewing your company’s finances as well as the budgeting you have available. Budgeting and reviewing your finances regularly is a way to prevent overspending or going into debt, especially if you are working with capital for a new company and brand. While outsourcing an IT professional or specialist of any kind may be more affordable for short-term results, hiring a full-time IT employee can also help to cut back on unexpected expenses and fees in the future, especially as your company demands more attention from specialists and IT professionals.

Social Media Presence

A successful brand or business does not avoid the power of social media, even if they do not make most of their sales online. Establishing an online presence is more than launching a simple website and sharing your company’s details with Google MyBusiness and other online local directories. In order to truly make a mark in your industry while garnering new followers and prospective customers, it is important to craft a well-executed social media marketing strategy.

While it may seem simple to create an online social media marketing strategy, it does require skills and a complete understanding of current trend monitoring, keywords, SEO, and targeted advertising campaigns. Outsourcing a professional to help create a base social media presence is one way to get your business and brand off the ground with little to no effort and a small budget. However, as you begin garnering new followers and communicating regularly to your customers via social media and online ads, hiring an in-house social media professional can significantly improve the responses and overall performance your campaigns receive.

Web Development

You only have one opportunity to make a great and lasting impression on your visitors and prospective customers or clients online. Without a well-developed website, your website’s bounce rate will likely skyrocket, preventing you from generating sales and remaining profitable. A website’s bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who exits a website after viewing its official homepage or just one landing page they have visited via an ad, search engine, or online promotion.

Even if you do not intend on creating a massive online presence with your business, it is imperative to hire a professional web developer to ensure your online presence is modern, relevant, and accessible to your target audience. Hiring a professional web developer is a must, whether you choose to do so by outsourcing talent or hiring a professional in-house developer that can help to make updates and changes for your business online instantly and with little notice.

Ultimately, you want the best for your business. Take the time to consider your current business model, strategy, and place within the market or industry you are working in before hiring any new professionals to join your team. Whether you are working with a brand new startup or an existing business with thousands of customers, it is always important to know when the best time to outsource or hire in-house is to ensure the ongoing future success of your business and brand.

How a Wellness Program Benefits Your Business

Posted on by T Gregory

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure everything is going smoothly. This includes checking on the well-being of your employees. Your employees play a very important role in your business. They’re the ones on the front lines and behind the scenes. However, your employees are not machines that can go on indefinitely. If you suspect that your employees aren’t doing as well as they should, a wellness program can do them a world of good. Here are a few ways that a wellness program benefits your business.

Improving Employee Health

One obvious benefit of incorporating a wellness program into your business is improving the health of your employees. No matter what their jobs may be, your employees work hard to keep your business going. In between commuting, tight deadlines, and possibly challenging co-workers, their productivity can suffer. Implementing a corporate wellness program not only shows your staff how much you care, but it also gives you an opportunity to engage on a different level. There are a lot of wellness programs that aim to improve the health of your employees, including exercise initiatives, stress reduction, physical therapy, flu shots, and health screenings.

Improving Productivity

A wellness program does more than simply boost employees’ health. Wellness programs are designed to address challenges commonly faced by employees that can prevent them from being as productive at work. The opportunities provided by a wellness program can help to increase your employees’ productivity and reduce stress levels. They’ll often also be happier to come to work. Unmotivated employees can do more than simply put people in a bad mood. Without the right motivation and the right wellness program in place, poor attitudes can cause your business to lose money. Studies show that incorporating a wellness program helps boost productivity significantly and creates a stronger feeling of unity in the workplace.

Improving Recruitment Rate

Having a wellness program can also lead to higher levels of retention. You may be able to bring in more highly qualified candidates during the hiring process. As a result, this can give your competitors a run for their money as you take on more employees with talent. In fact, potential recruits are more likely to work for a business with wellness programs that help to reduce stress.

Wellness programs are a great way to keep your employees active, vital, and happy. If you’re not sure what kind to choose, simply ask your employees. Try to incorporate a variety of options that suit everyone’s needs.

To learn more ways to help your employees, read on here!

Simple Things Business Owners Can Do to Help Their Digital Marketing Team

Posted on by T Gregory

In today’s internet-connected climate, digital marketing is an absolutely essential part of running a business. However, communication is also an essential part of business, and communicating with your digital marketing team is necessary if you want to create a successful online presence. Here are some ways to connect with your digital marketing team to work toward further success.

Prepare Information

When you hire or put together a marketing team, you trust that these people have the skills needed to get the job done. But it’s important to remember that, while the team is made up of experts in marketing, they may not be experts in your industry. In order to help your digital marketing team develop quality content, give them information about your industry as a whole (and not just about your company). Be sure that the team knows you are willing to answer questions they have as they generate content.

Encourage Communication Between Sales and Marketing Teams

In just about every case, communication will help your business. And one of the most important points of communication is the one between your sales and marketing teams. By encouraging regular communication between the two, you can support your business’s success. For instance, after your marketing team launches a campaign, your sales team can get in touch with recent sales data. From here, the marketing team can adjust their strategy if needed.

Offer Motivation Through Appreciation

In many cases, people who feel appreciated work harder. And for a hardworking marketing team, it can mean a lot to know their efforts are seen and appreciated. Appreciating your marketing team doesn’t have to involve a large amount of time or money, it can be as simple as saying thank you, offering a gift card incentive, or taking the team out for drinks once a goal has been reached. One thing to be aware of is that you should start off small. If you suddenly start offering major rewards, it may make your team suspicious. Start by thanking individuals or groups and give small incentives, and then build from there.

Be Set Up on Google

Google is one of the most major sites on the internet. And for any serious marketing effort, getting a business listing set up on Google is one of the first steps. A Google business listing is not only free, but it also offers you opportunities to connect with customers through both search and map functions. This is a step you can initiate even before hiring a marketing team you can set up a Google My Business account and add location, hours, and business name. This account will then provide you and your marketing team with valuable information. You will be able to monitor Google reviews and also see search data on how most customers are searching for and finding your business online. Google review links are easy to make and should be listed in numerous places.

Help Create Structure

If your digital marketing team is through an independent agency, the team likely already has some structure built-in. But if you’re like many small business owners who opt to build an in-house team, structure is essential. If you are structuring your own team, make sure you include people who specialize in content creation/SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, search advertisements, and mobile marketing. By creating clearly defined roles, you’ll be able to save the team you assemble a lot of time. You’ll also ensure that different aspects of digital marketing are covered equally.

Offer Information About Your Brand Voice

It’s important to remember, especially if you have hired a team from an external agency, that the team is coming in with little information about your business itself. If you have an existing brand voice that you want to maintain, or even if you have more general ideas about the kind of brand voice you want to cultivate, be prepared to collaborate with your team early on. By offering guidance when it comes to brand voice, you’ll save the team some time while also taking the guesswork out of the equation.

Few things are more frustrating for a digital marketing team than being given very general instructions, only to have the business come back and harshly criticize their efforts. Early talks and collaboration will ensure you and the team are on the same page. In conclusion, your digital marketing team is likely to be one of your business’s greatest assets, especially if you’re very early on in your marketing campaign. However, like most aspects of business, marketing doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

By collaborating with and offering assistance to your team when you can, you will save everyone time and effort. You’ll also make it more likely that your digital marketing content matches your brand voice and ethos. By working with your marketing team, you’ll be well on your way to drawing more customers.

Ready to improve your online presence? Click here to see our Web Development packages!

Her Why: Sunshine Marie Network Backbone

Her Why: Sunshine Marie Network Backbone

Posted on by johnson5publishing

The year, 2009, my father whom was a retired Vietnam Vet and aspiring jazz musician was struggling to reach new potential customers for his St. Louis, MO based HVAC business outside of his immediate radius as illness started to dance around him sporadically. Bred into an artistic family of painters and musicians. I inherited the gift and love of the arts. Throughout childhood I always looked at almost everything with an abstract eye. I went to my father with the idea of creating a platform online for him that embodied the value of his HVAC business in the community and his character. I smile as I think about daddy’s response to me stating, “sunshine, you understand more than I do when it comes to computers. I am learning but you are creative and talented. Go ahead and create this for your dad.”

In remembering the year was 2009 at the time of this discussion, websites for small businesses were just starting to explode and not many in my area had thought of using websites to their advantage or saw the opportunity as financially feasible. Living in Colorado Springs, CO at the time, with excitement and intrigue, I worked on my father’s website after work in the evenings, caring for my children and tending to the house and on the weekends. My father was just as excited as I was. My heart since I was a little girl has and will always be with communities. With those who need help.

My heart was overjoyed to both hear and see the smile on my dad’s face when he would see the work on his developing website. Unfortunately, my father was not able to see his site completion as passed away both unexpectedly and tragically. I was with my father when he passed away and held his hand until he took his last breath. It felt like my soul dropped to the ground and everything haulted. I transitioned into shock and numbness and it took many moons to heal.

Fast forward to New Year’s Eve 2011, the online presence I initially started for my father surprisingly started getting views from friends and co-workers. I began to get requests to build sites for friends who owned small businesses and those in the local entertainment community. From that point I created my first completed site “Taggleme (website for artists)”, releasing in January 2011. Developing the website name after my father, I embraced my thoughts of providing a forum for the world’s talent and community business without having to sift through extra additives. Since the inception of first entity, Taggleme, Sunshine Marie Network has grown into a hub following my nickname (Sunshine) and my Middle name (Marie) to include SMN Web Services, SMN Radio and new retail MARIEVINE.

Most importantly, the work that I do is not for me. When it is my time to graduate from this life I want to leave support and genuine love. The core of Sunshine Marie Network is in its philanthropic efforts. Our program “You Gotta Do This!” will provide free web development services to single parents in need via SMN Web Services by receipt of one page essay’s and “A Soul Left” is dedicated to individuals experiencing and fighting against homelessness.

SMN is still growing and I am very excited as my joy comes from being able to provide joy to others with their means of talent, expression, further business and support base, and doing more for others as things are so much bigger than ourselves. To learn more please visit Sunshine Marie Network at: https://sunshinemarienetwork.com

Tammy Ms. Marie Johnson - Founder and CEO of Sunshine Marie Network
Tammy Ms. Marie Johnson – Founder and CEO of Sunshine Marie Network
J. Hastye Consulting, LLC Case Study: From a Blank Canvas to Contemporary Responsive Solution

J. Hastye Consulting, LLC Case Study: From a Blank Canvas to Contemporary Responsive Solution

Posted on by johnson5publishing
J. Hastye Consulting, LLC
SMN Web Services Case Study

SMN Web Services Case Study:

  • Project Type: Launch Website. In need of logo. In need of customer contact solution.
  • The Request: New logo creation. New contemporary but simple and sleek website with ease of customer contact. Preferred colors of purple, black or gold.
  • The Solution: A new logo was hand crafted with 3 different options and 2 revisions. Color palettes of purple, black and white were chosen. An online booking system was created with client access to easily change booking, calendar and pricing options making booking easy for the clients customers online.

About the Client

J. Hastye Consulting, LLC provides small business startup support, book keeping, tax services and mobile notary services based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Client J. Hastye Consulting, LLC came to us as a new client and bestowed upon us the oppotunity to craft thier signature logo and website in addition to providing customer solutions that are easy for the client and customers in the same platform.

The Architecture

The architecture was built with a request of a contemporary but simple bone structure and a color palette of a royal purple color, black and white. The logo design was coordinated with the client and completed within a 48 business hour decision period with 3 different options presented. There were 2 revisions of the option that was chosen. We presented an online booking system with pricing and payment integration that was embraced by the client.

The Results

A central, responsive and digital space connecting the clients and its customers with comprehensive booking options for each of the clients services that can be easily managed by the client. Per audit the title, headings and description are crawalable and located through the web. The description and title are at perfect length. The sitemap.xml is located. No malware detected. Site is not blacklisted.

Testimonial

“It’s Amazing. Thank you so much! You truly don’t understand the blessing you just gave me. The hope.” ~Jacelin Hastye Founder, J. Hastye Consulting, LLC~

Domain Price Transparency and Annual Consistency

Domain Price Transparency and Annual Consistency

Posted on by johnson5publishing

One of the most top consumer complaints these days is being an attendee to a hidden cost party that they did not want to be invited to. Some domain registrars are no different in dragging consumers to such surprise parties. Many times hosting companies lure customers in by making available domains look like they are extremely cheap by offering them anywhere between $0.99-$5.99 on average. For the first year, the price for the consumer is in fact at those low rates. After the first year one may notice their domain purchase was not so transparent or simple and the lack of consistency with pricing begins.

The foolery begins after the first year when the domain price jumps upwards of $10.00-$39.99 per year and that price sometimes comes without email support or who is protection. In addition, many domain registrars will add on extra services their customers never signed up for. Up next, the festivities include domains being held hostage when the new fluctuated annual rate has arrived along with paying a hefty price of sometimes hundreds of dollars to get the domain released.

Your domain name, i.e. your online address, is, in essence, your digital ‘identity card’ – the first thing people will see and recognize you by. With mobile Internet usage steadily growing and attention spans getting shorter and shorter, registering a domain name that is easy to discover and remember is becoming more and more crucial for building a successful online presence.

At SMN Web Hosting, you will find a wide array of domain extensions. We are partnering with multiple ICANN-accredited registrars, which allows us to choose where to get a specific TLD from. This is also the reason why you will find our domain registration prices not only among the lowest on the Internet but at a price that stays the same annually without hidden fees. Plus, the ICANN accreditation speaks for itself – it means that you are dealing with a reputable partner. As soon as you’ve registered a domain with SMN Web Hosting, you’ll gain access to our advanced Domain Manager interface, which allows you to control everything domain-related – from WHOIS info updates to DNS record modifications. Plus, you’ll be able to manage multiple domain names at the same time with ease.

Get a brand new domain name for your website or brand from SMN Web Hosting at an exclusive price today and take advantage of our intuitive Domain Manager, which guarantees you a seamless, single- and multi-domain management experience! Enjoy full control over all your WHOIS and DNS records!

Sign up today and rest easy knowing that your new domain is in safe hands with an ICANN accredited domain registrar!

SMN Web Hosting