This article tells you how to expand your business using statistics from your web site

If you have a web page and know how to get site statistics, here is how to use them to grow your business. (You will automatically receive statistics nowadays with virtually every hosting package—however, the more you invest, the more statistics you will receive.)

What statistics are the most important?

• Number of unique visitors
• % returning vs new visitors

Let’s just start with these.

Why does it matter how many people visit your web site? If you use your web site like most businesspeople,its  primary mission is lead generation. (A lead is someone who might become a client. The process of identifying them is called ‘lead generation’.)

You probably have an e-mail address, telephone number, and/or contact form on the web site. You might even have a newsletter.

You know how many calls you receive. You know how many e-mails you receive. Start tracking those in Excel.

Then, begin to track:

1. E-mails per 100 visitors
2. Calls per 100 visitors and
3. Newsletter subscriptions per 100 visitors (if you have one)

Why bother?

First of all, to solve problems in your business.

If you notice 10,000 people coming to your web site per month, but you are not getting anyone to contact you, you might check your web site:

1. Is the telephone number correct?
2. Does the e-mail work?
3. Are client inquiries going into your Spam box?
4. Does the newsletter signup function correctly?
5. Is what you offer clear to the visitor?

If you are tracking these numbers and you notice a sudden dropoff on any of them, you can immediately see something is wrong and go correct it. I have known people whose websites were down for weeks without even noticing—because they weren’t looking at their statistics on at least a weekly basis.

And the Good News?

The other way stats help you is to plan and track positive movement in your business. How does your new article or Facebook post influence your numbers? How many people came to the site that day? Did the newsletter signup percentage remain the same?

As you optimize your content and your calls to action (invitations for people to do things such as signup for a newsletter or call you on the phone), you can track how your percentages (such as newsletter signups per 100 visitors) move and thus keep what works and abandon what doesn’t, gently improving week by week until you reach your goals for your website.

How is it Done?

You don’t have to write down web statistics every day. But you should note calls and contacts every day.

Once a week, fill in the same Excel sheet that contains your other other business statistics with the number of visitors each day. Put them in the same chart as your other daily statistics and you can begin to calculate on a monthly basis:

1. New clients per 1000 visitors
2. Income per 1000 visitors

And any other statistics which may be meaningful for you.

Tracking these statistics will help you see not only  if you are getting more people to the web site, but whether your effectiveness per person is increasing as well.

If you do this, you will be ahead of 99% of people who market using the web. If you haven’t read the other article about tracking business statistics, you can read about that as well.

If you would like some help with this, give me a call. Skype: tondeaf / ryan@sparkmk.com or using the contact form on this site.

Why is Quantifying Your Business Important?

Wrong.

No matter what size your business is, you should quantify as much key information as you possibly can on a daily basis, if at all possible.

Why is this useful?

• It helps you confront uncomfortable realities (and thus, solve the issues relating to them if necessary.)
  Did you make more money this month than last month? Is your business growing, really? Are you spending money faster than you are making it? When will it run out?

• It motivates you by showing your progress.
  If you are making 15% more money every month, it may not feel like it. But if you are tracking the numbers, you can see the improvement and be motivated to continue on.

• It provides a foundation for making decisions and speaking to others about the business.
  If you use a coach, want a loan, or want to invest in other ways, if you already have realnumbers, you can quickly see if a particular [advertising] investment is wise or not so wise, fill in your coach on your current status, or provide information to people who might be willing to support your business with investment.

What kind of statistics do you need?

Start off with the absolute basics.

For example:

1. Number of clients per day
2. Income for each client
3. Number of enquiries (break these down by method—telephone, e-mail, etc.)
4. Number of new clients
5. Number of returning clients

Then with this information, you can calculate:

1. Income per day/week/month
2. % returning clients
3. % new clients
4. Number of new clients/enquiry (perhaps per month)

Just type these into an Excel spreadsheet or use Google docs at first. After only a week of this, you will look at the data, and it will start speaking to you.

This will provide meaning about:

1) how many people you are touching

2) what difference you are making for those you are touching

3) what they feel that difference is worth, and more.

For information about how web advertising figures into all of this, see my “Understanding and Improving Your Business Using Web Statistics”.

Try it for a week and feel free to put your comments below.

Would you like some help with this? Give me a call. Skype: tondeaf / ryan@sparkmk.com or using the contact form on this site.

What do you think about it? Does anyone care to hear your opinion? And how do you make money from expressing how you would counsel either Arnie or Maria? 

How can you use this event to get media coverage for your tantra, [sacred] sexuality, or relationships-serving business?

You could, for example, contact local papers, TV stations, etc…and send articles or offer yourself for interviews to about questions like:

1. If you teach tantra or conscious sexuality: Why was Arnie so dissatisfied with his sex life? Was it necessary to have so many affairs? What does tantra say about this (in your opinion?) What other options are available today?
2. If you are in the poly community or do workshops on relationships: what other viewpoints/opinions do you have about living successful relationships? Are there better, tried and true ways to handle the issues that face Schreiver and Schwarzenegger than secret affairs and expensive divorce proceedings?

Answer questions like these or offer yourself to answer such questions and you may find yourself on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper or on local TV.

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This was one quick idea, but if you would like quick, easy help with marketing your Tantra or Sacred Sexuality business, click here.

• Free samples

Whether it is crack on a schoolyard or the ones your doctor gives you at the office, giving you something for absolutely nothing is a way to stimulate interest in your products and services.

They did a test with chocolate at a university. They had pieces of Lindt premium chocolate and Hershey’s kisses that they were selling.

The Lindt: 13 cents per piece. Hershey’s = 2 cents per piece.

69% of people took the Lindt chocolate.

They raised both prices one cent: Hershey’s kiss was 3 cents. Lindt was now 14 cents. Almost the same result.

Then they reduced prices by one cent. Hershey’s kiss for one cent and Lindt for 12 cents. Same thing. 76% Lindt. 24% Hershey’s kiss.

But, when they reduced prices another cent: Lindt for 11 cents, Hershey’s kiss for free, the numbers reversed:75% Hershey’s kiss and 25% Lindt.

We don’t know why this is, but one theory is the feeling that, if I don’t pay anything for it, it is not a risk at all. It becomes a riskless transaction.

So, while I can’t agree with giving crack out a playgrounds, I would encourage you to give a lot of value for very little money or free at the beginning of a business relationship so that your customers can get “addicted” to your value-providing goods and services.