As a general rule navigation should be simple, unembellished, and consistent in design. People love to navigate in different ways, so a variety of navigation options should be provided for your website. Navigation should provide context for content. You should show all of the content that is related to a particular category or item at one place. If you have to provide detailed information about a Category, then you can further divide your content into sub categories.

Avoid being glitzy, and test / preview the navigation to ensure that people find it easy to use. Different people have different needs while navigating the content. Some may want to get to the homepage as soon as possible, some may have a very specific subject area in mind, or some may want to navigate by category like products, services, customer support and so on and so forth. So a set of essential links also known as global navigation links placed at the top of the page is always helpful. This helps the visitors to go to the key sections on the website regardless of which page they are on. For example, if you have an e-commerce enabled website, then it will require a prominent e-commerce navigation arrangement.

You may also want to let the visitors know where they have been. For example a primary function of the hypertext link is to indicate the visitors about the places they have already visited earlier. That’s the reason why some hypertext links change color every time you click on them. Conventionally Blue represents Unclicked and Purple represents Clicked page. Keep this format standard on all the pages.

Studies have shown that only in a minor number of cases people know exactly the type of content they are looking for. As an example, visitors may be interested in buying a digital camera, but they may not know the exact make and model. Navigation can help them in assembling all the relevant information on the digital camera into a well presented environment and give them best options for buying the product.

Keep the navigation very consistent and avoid creating a website in which the navigation is constantly changing in its structure or format. If essential links are placed across the top of the page in one section of the website, then keep them consistent across the top of the page on each and every section or page, unless there is a very specific reason to change them. Lack of navigation consistency is particularly problematic if a business has a number of websites, like a website for external world, a private website (intranet) or even an extranet.

The most important links should be placed on every page. These links begin with a “Home” link and usually contains links to “About Us” and “Contact Us”. The organization’s logo should be placed on every page usually to the top left corner and it should link back to the homepage. A search box should be placed on every page preferably to the top right corner. A Footer should be placed on every page containing essential links for Address, e-mail, Phone, and links to copyright and privacy statements.

Also never mislead or surprise visitors. If you don’t sell to a particular country or region, inform people about it in a very clear and succinct manner. For example the 800 toll free number used in the United States may not work outside of United States. So you may need to provide an alternative number. Remember, not every country has zip codes, so you may want to mention postal codes instead. Give visitors an option.

This is the age of social media and real-time marketing. We are transitioning into Web 3.0 version, so you may want to give serious thoughts to social media and how you can incorporate social media into your website. Tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Xing, Myspace etc.

I have also seen websites with unreadable fonts, bland backgrounds, tawdry font types which are rather confusing and hard to read. A special emphasis should be given on how to engage visitors to your website by providing the most eye catching and most interactive user experience with a special focus on the home page. If your website is very large and has a lot of content I would highly recommend incorporating a site map. A site map will help the visitors to get a comprehensive Index or Table of Contents about your website.

In closing, remember the old adage, Keep it Simple.

Remember customer loyalty is equally important than a world-class customer service. I have seen so many cases wherein the customer and the vendor have a rock solid business relationship. If a competitor comes in picture and offers products and services (sometimes better products) at a lower price with a guaranteed world-class after sales support, the customer doesn’t budge. The customer is so much glued and dependable to his existing vendor that no matter what you say doesn’t change his mind. This is a glaring example of customer loyalty.

If you want to be ahead of the competition, you should constantly act as if each and every customer is thinking about making a switch at any point of time. In other words if you want to keep them as clients, treat them like a diamond. Take personal interest in addressing every major and minor issue which your customers might have. You may want to fight with your competition in a professional way, but leave no stone unturned to keep a client.

If you get a faintest idea that your client is thinking about changing vendors, immediately ask for a facetime with your client. If you are serving all of their needs and wants and you don’t have any unsettled issues, then I don’t think it will be a difficult challenge. Your goal is to assuage them of their feelings before they get involved in any manner with another sales associate. Make sure you come prepared for this meeting. Imagine each and every meeting you had with this client and what transpired during those meetings. Maybe you left out on something important and the competition touched a hot button which inadvertently you left in your initial sales meeting. Imagine all possible questions and justifications that the client might have and come prepared to have a solid answer to all of his concerns. You may even want to have a dedicated Customer Retention Department in your organization and train some of your employees to handle those situations where the customer is planning to switch.

You also need to study the products and service offerings of your nearest 3 to 4 close competitors. Make sure when your customer is comparing products with one of your competitors that they are comparing apples to apples. Every product or service has its own strengths and weaknesses. Even though it’s very hard to make a true comparison from the customer’s perspective, you may want to verify things for yourself. You not only need to figure out the competitor’s weaknesses, but also need to consider what the competitor sees in your products and services as a weakness.

Always have a strategy in place to keep the customers and win them back in case they switch over. By constantly reminding them that by switching, they are not only changing brands but they’re also losing whatever you in person brought them. It could be your expertise, suggestions, or maybe some business leads for their business.
In closing, another suggestion for you. Never knock down your competition or a salesperson from your competition. This is a small world and you never know tomorrow you’ll be working for your competitor. In case all of your efforts have failed and your client switches over to one of your competitors, keep a very positive attitude. Although the customer changed his mind, offer the customer to keep in touch for questions and concerns. You may want to email this customer with useful information every once in a while, so that you are on his radar. Sometimes very strange things happen. Even after switching over to one of your competitors, your former customer may come back to you after couple of months. Probably they realize that they were not getting what they thought they would. In such a scenario maintain your attitude and welcome your former customer with an open mind. It will serve you very well in the long run.

So let’s go ahead and define what a mission statement is:

A mission statement is an explicit, direct and precisely written statement reflecting the purpose of your company or business. The mission statement should spell out the overall purpose, guide the actions of the company, provide a sense of direction, and guide you in making smart decisions.

Here are the various steps that you should take in order to craft a powerful Mission Statement and Values Statement for your company

Step 1) Mission Statement: The first step in crafting your mission statement is to ask yourself the question, “Why does my company exist in the first place?” Once you really know the answer, your mission statement will write by itself. Keep answering this question followed by “So what”. What is going to happen next is that you will keep fine tuning your answer till the time you feel like you can’t answer the “So what” question any more. That’s the time when your mission statement will be ready. Also remember that your mission statement is different from your Slogan / Motto. Slogan is a peppy and eye catching statement, usually just a couple of words.

Let me give you an example. Avaya is a communications company which builds, deploys and manages telecom networks for businesses of all sizes. Their mission statement is, “Provide the world’s best communications solutions that enable businesses to excel”. It’s short, sweet and resonates with the masses.

Step 2) Core Values Statement: Now that you’ve answered the critical question about “Why your company exists”, the next step would be to think about your values. The core values of an organization are those values that form the foundation on which we perform, work, and conduct business. However remember that even in today’s market dynamics and ever changing world, your core values are constant. Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish our mission. Core values underline our work, how we interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission. The core values are the basic elements of how we go about our work. They are practices we use or should be using every day in everything we do.

So, the second step would be to identify your company’s core values. Now ask yourself this question. What are the Values my company uses to guide everyday interactions with each other, customers, and suppliers? Come up with a power statement and as mentioned earlier, keep asking the “So what” question to yourself.

Step 3) Implementing Business Rules: The third and final mind-over-matter element is implementing business rules. They’re called the ABC business rules because there are three of them, and they’re as easy to implement as ABC.
A: Proceed with a decision only if it’s good for your business.
B: Proceed with your business decision only if it’s good for your customer.
C: Remember that everyone is a marketer.

As someone has rightly said, “Successful entrepreneurs take decisions fast and change their decision slowly, while as not so successful entrepreneurs take decisions slowly and if things don’t work out they will changes their decisions fast”.

Viral Marketing works well when:

* The product or concept is new and genuinely different, and is something that the opinion leaders relate to.
* The product is relevant to a huge audience and it’s very easy to communicate the benefits and features.
* Also the benefits have to be real. After all if people are telling their friends and recommending certain products, they are putting their reputations on the line.

In this information age, it’s imperative on the part of a business owner to have a powerful online presence. One way to build a brand is to create and publish content that will allow people to quote and redistribute the information. People also love to tell their friends when there is some great new service or product, some of which may even be free. So depending upon your business you may want to incorporate viral marketing as part of your overall integrating marketing strategy. Remember we also need to create a sense of urgency at times. We may be able to promote our Products and Services by offering some great freebies with the main product. It could be in the form of eBooks, downloadable Audio files, Vblogs, Free Newsletters, Free Audio CDs, Webinars etc.

Sometimes it helps to conceal a key product benefit and/or feature and not advertising it at all. Let the customer discover it by accident or by using the product. He will be delighted with the new discovery and this news can spread like a wild fire. One of the best means for Products to go viral. I have seen it happen many times myself and had some amazing results.

However be wary of inappropriate viral marketing. If done in the wrong way, viral marketing may be seen as a chain letter selling and / or spam. Every email that is sent out needs to make it clear that the business is not involved in spamming or other unethical practice.

I would highly recommend getting out of your home and start meeting people. There is no point in sitting in front of the computer and send emails back and forth to job boards and recruiters thinking that the phone is going to ring some time soon.  It’s not going to happen.

You need to prepare your 30/60 second  elevator speech and marketing plan to get started.  It doesn’t really matter whether you are a slow networker (you prefer  1 on 1) or a fast networker (networking with lot of people during an event).   If you are meeting a person 1 on 1, do  your homework before you meet him. Try to know as much as you can about the person you are meeting. You can Google the person, search on LinkedIn, Xing, Twitter, Fastpitchnetowrking etc. You got to exude confidence, poise and a pleasing personality. Have a big smile on your face and give a firm handshake to the person you are meeting.  If you really find something exciting about the person, talk about it first during your meeting as an icebreaker. Don’t  ask for a job to the other person or tell him/her  that you are looking around. This way your networking contact might feel unfriendly and he won’t show any interest in you.  The whole idea is to ensure that the other person likes you and both of you feel comfortable talking to each other. People don’t really care how much you know until they realize how much your care.  Ask your contact if you could help him/her in any way.  Once you have developed a good rapport, then you should talk about yourself,  your interests  and background.  Remember you got to give before you can receive.

Just before the meeting is about to end, ask your contact if he would recommend some other interesting people to pick on their brain for some counseling and advice. If you strike the right cord, your contact will definitely give you some references along with a possible e-introduction. Focus on giving a perception of high energy, friendliness and having a great sense of humor.

Never hand over your resume to your networking contact during your first interaction and also send out a thank-you email after the fact for his / her time. You will see for yourself that by employing some of these techniques you will go a long way in developing successful and long last connections for your professional pursuits.

Last but not the least you should respect your networking contact’s time and make sure that the meeting doesn’t overstretch beyond a reasonable time.