|
I recently got a call from 858-812-9342 saying my Visa had been deactivated and to Press 1 to reactivate it, etc. I hung up and Googled the phone number. This site came up. After reading the comments here I knew it was definitely a fraud call.
A Muse News subscriber sent this to me about her phone fraud call:
What if a Website is Illegal, Unethical or Posts Bad Things About Me?
In the 11 years we’ve been in business, this question has come up only a handful of times. I hope it never happens to you or someone you know, but if it does, here are some guidelines. I recommend calling and speaking to someone directly to get the fastest response.
1. Contact Google – they are pretty quick to address your concerns:
Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Phone: +1 650-253-0000
Fax: +1 650-253-000
The dictionary uses these words to describe “conscientious” – honest, responsible, reliable and straightforward. In a nutshell, that sums up our work ethic. We respond to all emails and phone calls within minutes or hours. Completing requested tasks in a prompt, efficient manner is standard operating procedure. While this sounds like Basic Business 101 – it apparently is uncommon.
We work well with a variety of professionals throughout any given day. Whether they are Domain Registrars, Hosting, SEO, Pay Per Click, Adwords, Marketing, Public Relations, Printers, Web Companies, Programmers, Virtual or Administrative Assistants and more. I was appalled when I phoned a web company to fix a scripting error on their client’s site for us. (We’re doing some updates on that client’s site). I was told they couldn’t take my request over the phone, I would need to email it to support@ – what the heck? I received an automated email response assigning a case # and saying if it took longer than 72 hours a rep would call me. Well, that didn’t happen, so I emailed again, a new case # was assigned and again no response. I then emailed the person I spoke with initially on the phone. To make a long story short – my request was totally ignored and to this date, the problem still exists on their site. How do they sleep at night?
There are so many different methods to organize our busy lives. Some people like to use old-fashioned paper calendars, others like iCal, Blackberry, iPhone or Outlook. I decided to spend two hours with Google Calendar and share my experience.
It’s pretty easy and user-friendly. Since I already use Gmail – I installed the Google app so a mini calendar shows up on the left sidebar below my labels. The Quick Add feature allows you to type in something like: 3pm 7/19 Meeting with Client Name, location, phone. It can be typed in any order that makes sense to you. Then Google Calendar automatically places it on that date with a default of 1 hour. If I type in the time frame like 3-5 pm then it blocks out that time on the calendar. I put everything on one calendar – both business and personal. There is the option of creating several calendars though and that may make sense for your activities.
I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and my dad was a diversified farmer. This meant we had cows, pigs, chickens and a variety of crops. With this type of diversity we were always insured of multiple profit centers. If it was a bad year for soybeans then the price of corn may have been higher and carried us through. If hail wiped out an entire crop then we had the beef or pork to rely on.
Every business owner is similar to a farmer. Here are my top 3 analogies.
It’s baffling to me when people put up a website and expect people to just find it. If you read these suggestions and smack your forehead saying, “Oh, I can’t believe we ran that $3,000 magazine ad without our web address! “ You are not alone! Businesses every day are frequently overlooking offline marketing to bring visitors to their site.
How many people are going to find out about your website off-the-web before they are online? Print your web address and e-mail on every piece of paper and promotional material that leaves your office. Your web address and e-mail address should be on business cards, brochures, letterhead and envelopes. The recipients of these items may not know you have a website and will be prompted to take a look. If they know about your website, maybe they haven’t been back to visit and will place your business card by their computer as a reminder to check it out.
Prequalify clients with your FAQ's
A great way to pre-qualify potential clients that visit your website is to add a FAQ or Do’s/Don’ts page. This will help fine-tune the types of clients who will contact you for your products or services. To develop your own FAQ page, think of the top questions your ideal clients ask you. Browse your emails for the most commonly asked questions and your responses. When people are shopping for a product either on or offline, the FAQ can help close the deal.
Here is a short example:
Just like each client is unique – every web company has unique offerings. Here’s what we do and don’t do:
We Do:
Think about what makes you stand out from your competition. Put the top 3 on your website, you might also include one of these benefits at the end of your voice message.
The Web Muse Blog authored by Anita Larson offers web marketing musings for creative types, artists, entrepreneurs and small business owners. I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and am inspired daily by our many wonderful web clients.
info@thewebmuse.com | 303.489.5001 | The Web Muse & Co., 9006 Old Tom Morris Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 | All Content © 1998 - 2009
