Advancement in design and programming technology makes for a perfect storm: Now is the best time to redo your website.

Technology breakthroughs are constant, but design breakthroughs – what’s that all about? Comedian Louis CK does a bit about how your stomach takes 20 minutes to tell your head that it’s full. He says you can stub your toe and your head knows right away how much it hurts, but why does it take 20 minutes for your stomach to communicate?

Well, embracing and using new technology to its fullest is a bit like communicating with your stomach: It takes time.

It’s been 23 years since Tim Berners-Lee launched the first website and we finally have the tools for designing a website that really focuses on the user. Yet it’s not only about the user, it’s also about the owner of the website and what the owner has to offer the user. It’s about a relationship between user and content holder.

And like any relationship, it’s hard work.

Connect Your Content to Your Audience

Make your content relevant to your target audience. The whole world may be able to get to your website, but the whole world is not your audience.

Identify who your key audience is and provide content that best serves your audience while addressing the issues, offers and themes that you want to express. Most users come to your website for three primary reasons:

• Research
• Evaluation
• Purchasing

Does your content and website design address the three main reasons people visit websites?

You Are Here

When you stand in front of a map and read, “You Are Here,” have you ever wondered, as Steve Martin once asked, “How did it know I’d be here?”

When performing a website redesign, you need to know where the users are and you have to make it easy for them to get anywhere fast. Before you select the images and determine what design looks better, you need to analyze these 3 areas of your website:

• The content flow
• The organization
• The navigation

Here’s where design and tech meet in a perfect storm. Never before has it been easier to learn how users use your website, and to have the ability to design a website that meets your target audience.

5 Tech Breakthoughs Your Website Redesign Must Have

1. Analytics

Who is visiting your website? How long do they stay? And once they arrive, where do they go?

The amount of information available through free services like Google Analytics is astounding. Web developer and online marketing expert, Kurt Edelbrock, says Google Analytics will help you, “understand your audience and your website in ways that your competitors on the Web often won’t.”

You can now track users, see what pages are popular and use this information to guide your website redesign.

2. Responsive Design

Responsive web design offers you the best quality browsing experience with easy reading and navigation minimizing the need for resizing, panning and scrolling. A website design with responsive architecture displays itself effectively on desktop browsers, tablets and mobile devices.

“Given the rapid adoption of tablets and smartphones — and the fact that users currently seem to prefer reading their news on the mobile Web rather than in apps — I think it’s inevitable that 2013 will be the year that responsive design takes off,” says Peter Cashmore, CEO of Mashable.

3. Content Management Systems (CMS)

CMS offers you a way to organize your content and post new and updated content. With WordPress and other open source CMS platforms, you can have sophisticated tools at your fingertips that are essential and affordable.

When you manage your content better, you can repurpose it on multiple platforms.

4. Mobile

Did you know that 85% of mobile users expect the mobile version of your website to be as good or better than the desktop view? “A mobile device is the Internet for many people,” says Susannah Fox from the Pew Research Center.

You can’t ignore the fastest growing audience online. Karen McGrane makes a great argument in Content Strategy for Mobile, “mobile can be a catalyst to make your entire publishing process more efficient and more effective.” We should use mobile as the filter for rethinking all of our content. Mobile websites must be simpler, easier to click, better written and designed to work for the person on-the-go in a much smaller space.

How about applying that to your desktop design as well?

5. Social Media

People have a better understanding about what works on blogs, Facebook and Twitter. It’s not just about posting and reposting, but using content that effectively promotes your company, products or services. You can combine your business Facebook page with plugins that share content or simply add quick links and “Like” buttons to attract audiences back and forth between your website and your Facebook page.

For your audience to think of you as professional, your communication strategy must embrace multiple platforms and display messaging and visual marketing in a consistent manner. Today is a great time to rethink and repurpose your website so that it is on target with your business goals, meets your audience needs and utilizes the best that technology has to offer.

Breakthrough Photo via Shutterstock

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[Slatebook X2]

Hewlett-Packard is introducing a new HP Android tablet hybrid, the SlateBook x2, that’s aiming to rival the popular iPad.

HP is pricing its entry into the hybrid tablet market at $20 less than the cost of iPad. But the SlateBook x2 also comes standard with a keyboard. The HP Android tablet features a 10.2-inch screen. There is one USB port, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot, according to an early review from LaptopMag.com.

Striking While the Iron is Hot?

The introduction of the SlateBook x2 comes during recent good times at HP. After suffering internal struggles and slower sales, HP’s second-quarter sales were much higher than expected. That announcement on Wednesday sent stock prices 13 percent higher in after-hours trading, according to The New York Times.

Sales of the company’s notebooks were still slow, according to its earnings reports. The SlateBook x2 could be a way to make a big splash in the mobile device market and possibly snag potential iPad customers by offering its versatile device at an economical price. SlateBook x2 is retailing for $479, a price that should entice budget-conscious customers to at least consider it.

Keeping Up With the Joneses … Almost

HP has realized what others have in the tablet market: the need for versatility. Competitors are also introducing tablet and desktop/laptop combos.

The keyboard has become an essential peripheral for tablet owners. As convenient as it is to have a touchscreen, jobs that require extensive data entry, for example, are just not a fit for a touchscreen alone. The keyboard essentially turns a tablet into a laptop. This should make the SlateBook x2 more versatile as a viable business machine. LaptopMag.com reports that they got 14 hours of juice from the batteries in the tablet and keyboard (each has one), meaning you can get more business done without worrying about a recharge.

One drawback: the 2MP camera mounted on the back of the tablet is not exactly the best means to capture digital media, like shooting photos of your products or even sharing quick snapshots on social media. The review noted photos were grainy in good lighting. The SlateBook X2 is expected to be available by July.

Corrected: a previous version of this article erroneously referred to the iPad2 instead of the most current iPad model.

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There are people who will tell you that you should never, ever write business proposals. Proposals take a lot of time, the argument goes. There’s a lot of work involved. The very act of putting together strong business proposals draws heavily on your expertise and insight. You’re making an investment when you create a proposal – and if the client doesn’t close the deal with you, it’s an investment that returns nothing.

There are people who agree with the never write a proposal position, who are simultaneously very aware that in order for their business to function on a daily basis, they need to write proposals. That’s the way the world works, and so they go through the motions, lining up the necessary fact sheets and price points in the routine fashion and sending them off in the hopes they get the sale.

And then there are people who see business to business proposals for what they really are – a powerful marketing tool that can be used to gain a significant advantage over the competition.

Which group do you belong to?

Business Proposals

The Underappreciated Sales Tool

While preparing this article, I reviewed the last 200 business proposals my company generated. Not every one of these proposals was ultimately successful, of course, but they all had one trait in common: They got our team in the door for further meetings, deeper into the sales process with the prospective client.

We wondered what it was about these business proposals that made customers open the door enough to say, “We’re willing to explore working with you.” Below are the key ingredients that appeared in every proposal.

Overview of Potential Project

Each proposal begins with an outline of the goals and intended outcomes of the project are. This step is absolutely essential. You’re convincing the client that your company is focused on solving their problems.

To be convincing, you need to speak the same language that your client speaks. Every industry and profession has its own language, composed of jargon, acronyms and shorthand terms. The more fluent you are in your potential client’s language, the easier it becomes for that client to feel like you understand them.

Quick Review & Initial Recommendations

In the next section of the proposal, you have an opportunity to demonstrate your insight and judgment. Remember to think like your customer. No matter what industry you’re in, you want to do business with partners who are perceptive and smart.

Use this section to provide your assessment of your customer’s situation, including any items that may be of concern. This is also the point to provide a few surface level recommendations for your customer to consider. You don’t have to provide the solutions to your customer’s problems in the proposal, but you do have to provide your customers with the confidence that you’re capable of solving the problem.

A business proposal is an invitation to start a new relationship. In this section, you’re demonstrating to your prospect what value they may find in the relationship with you. By giving feedback you’re demonstrating to your potential client your style of communication and your level of intellectual investment in their business.

Assumptions and Process

After proving to your customers the value to be found in beginning a relationship with you, the next step is to explain what the experience of working together will be like.

Not everyone has the same background and not everyone has worked on the same projects in the same way. I find it a helpful to share a list of assumptions about how we like to work and what we expect of our client. This step can often help clients determine very rapidly if they’ll be happy working with you.

Marketing to your customer’s means educating and informing your audience. Depending on your industry, a customer may not realize what’s involved in a potential job. Giving your potential client a way to understand what you do and the process you follow illustrates how you value your time and their time.

Clear Pricing Breakdown

Money matters. You have a budget that guides your business decision making process. So do your customers. We’ve found that the clear, easy to understand pricing information is highly valued by potential clients.

Don’t be afraid to be detailed. Break down the costs in a clear way with supporting details for each line item. Customers want to know what they’re paying for. Having support for every number in your proposal demonstrates an awareness of your client’s business needs.

Pride in Your Work & Team

Go ahead and toot your own horn a bit. This is a sales pitch, after all. Let your potential client know why you’re the best choice for them. Be specific, and relate your experience to your potential client’s needs.

Add case studies or images of successful projects. List your team members and their involvement. Tie everything together for your potential client to see you value your team as much as you value their business.

Make it Pretty

Never, ever forget that business proposals are a sales tool. Presentation really does matter. A well-designed proposal is a demonstration to your customer that you value them highly – that you want to get their attention, their respect and yes, ultimately, their business.

Taking the time to make sure your proposals are well organized. Ensure that everything is easy to read and understand. Use color, font, images and layout to make the process of reading the proposal as engaging and enjoyable as possible. Whether you service business is accounting or design people want to feel they matter and good design is a great way to provide that feeling.

It’s Time To Stop

Stop looking at your business proposals as a waste of time or a necessary evil. Start looking at your business proposals as powerful marketing tools you can use to start profitable, long-lasting relationships.

It’s an investment that will reap rich rewards.

Waiting with Proposal Photo via Shutterstock

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