The benefits of business blogging / Know your website's "bounce rate" / Employer to fine unhealthy workers / Takeout takes off

THE BENEFITS OF BUSINESS BLOGGING
Much has been written on the benefits of blogging for business, and the verdict is still out as to exactly how valuable blogging really is for for-profit enterprises. My opinion is that a blog is another tool to add to your marketing and communications toolbox, and every company will benefit in different ways.

(A more in-depth version of this article, along with a complete definition of blogs, is available on my Meaningful Marketing blog.)

1. Increase your search engine presence
Search engines love blogs — they love the consistently updated content, and they find and index them regularly. If you’re having trouble with search engine ranking, a blog can be a boost for your regular website: your blog may get more search engine presence than your company site, and customers can find your website and learn about your company through your blog.

2. Communicate directly
A business blog provides the opportunity for you to speak directly with your customers and prospects, and to share your company’s expertise with a larger audience. Few companies keep their websites updated regularly enough to provide communication on an ongoing basis, and new information is what keeps visitors coming back to sites.

3. Build your brand
Everything your company does affects the brand. Your brand really lives in the mind of your customers, and all you can hope to do is influence your customers’ perception of the brand by fulfilling your promise to them. A blog is one more way to connect with your customers, to be more than a commodity, to matter more than the next guy.

4. Differentiate your organization
A blog will help set you apart from the competition, allowing you to show what’s truly different and better about your organization/products/services. A blog will allow your customers to learn more about the company and the company’s philosophy, so that they can connect with you on a deeper level.

5. Build trust and develop relationships
People want to work with people and companies they trust, especially today, when so many have lost faith with big business. Direct communication through blogging allows customers and prospects to learn more about the people and philosophies behind the organization, fostering trust and building long-lasting relationships.

6. Position you/your company as the expert
Blogs give companies the opportunity to showcase top talent. Whether authored by one person or several, a business blog with interesting and well written content will position your company as the expert in your field. Topics can include how-to or educational articles, industry news and trends, product reviews and comparisons, and opinions and points of view, as well as information about your own company.

7. Disseminate company news easily
Because of the ease of publishing, a blog is perfect for informing customers of product updates, new product introductions, special offers, and late breaking company news. Information that needs to go out now can actually go out now, without having to wait for the weekly or monthly newsletter.

8. Effectively communicate internally
Blogs make great vehicles for corporate communications when used internally for company news and announcements. They’re excellent for employee feedback, too.

9. Gain clarity in your value and point of view
Regularly posting to a business blog forces you to get clear about the value your company brings to the marketplace, as well as sharpening your point of view. You’ll become a better writer and be able to put your thoughts in order more quickly when talking to customers, because you’ve already written about it on your blog.

A blog is a tool that can provide a unique personal connection to your business, allowing you to communicate in new ways, and allowing customers to get to know you on a different level.

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KNOW YOUR WEBSITE'S "BOUNCE RATE"
One of the easiest -- and most useful -- website metrics to access and understand is the "bounce rate," which reports the number of prospects who come to your site and then immediately leave. One important website goal should be to reduce your bounce rate. In other words, you want to keep as many people as possible from getting to your site, thinking "This isn't what I want!" and then moving along.

There are two easy ways to track the bounce rate. Either look for the number of visitors who saw only one page of your site, or look for those who stayed for a very short period of time -- usually five seconds or less.

Your task, then, is to reduce that bounce rate. If your analytics tool will allow it, look at the referral sites to see where your traffic is coming from, and see what the bounce rate from each source of traffic is. You may discover that visitors who come to you from Google tend to leave right away, but that your email marketing campaigns draw traffic that tends to stick around long enough to be impressed. Does your Google listing need to be tweaked? Can you optimize keywords, AdWords, or any other campaigns?

Next, check the bounce rates of individual pages. Do some pages bounce traffic right off, while others tend to hold visitors? Look at those pages. Are they uninteresting? If one of your email campaigns drew visitors to that page, is the page a letdown, or unclear, or does it fail to deliver what was promised?

Knowing the bounce rate of your site and of the individual pages within it will help you fine-tune your online presence, and get visitors to stick around long enough to get to know you.

Source: marketingprofs.com

For more articles like this about website effectiveness, see Top 10 Web Design Mistakes, Write Smart for Websites, and Plan Your Website for Monkeys

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EMPLOYER TO FINE UNHEALTHY WORKERS
Healthcare incentive programs have become common, wherein workers can expect perks like discounted health club memberships. However, Indianapolis-based Clarian Health will soon attack the issue from another direction by penalizing unhealthy workers. The company will assess fines from those who fail to meet base "healthy" criteria on the basis that these workers incur more healthcare claims than healthier workers, and hence raise costs for the entire company.

The practice, which is permitted under the final government rules governing HIPAA compliance issued in December 2006, would assess a fine of $5 per paycheck for workers who use tobacco. An additional $5 per paycheck will be assessed if an employee fails to meet any of the following four conditions:

• Body mass index over 29.9
• Blood pressure over 140/90
• Blood glucose over 120
• LDL cholesterol over 130

A worker who fails to meet all five criteria would be assessed $25 per paycheck, and the company hopes that the appearance of these fines in front of workers every pay period will lead to positive change. The intent is to target negative choices, so employees who can establish that a legitimate health condition prevents them from meeting certain standards will not be assessed the associated fines. In addition, the fines will be dropped if an employee can prove that he or she has made changes with the intention of meeting the standards.

To give employees time to make any necessary changes, the company will not begin assessing fines until 2008 for tobacco usage, and will not assess fines for the other metrics until 2009.

Source: workforce.com

For more articles like this about employee healthcare, see Incentives Help Keep Workers Healthy and Spend More on Healthcare Now to Save Later

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TAKEOUT TAKES OFF
According to a recent study, Americans spend 48 percent of their food money at restaurants. In 2006, the average person ate 127 to-go meals, and only ate 81 inside of a restaurant. The takeout boom is on the rise, growing by five or six percent per year. It seems that Americans want to be able to order all types of food on the run so that they can eat it somewhere else.

Quickserve still dominates the takeout market (70 percent of an average McDonald's business is to-go), and pizza and Chinese restaurants are also still popular for takeout meals. However, the trend has grown to more traditional sit-in restaurants, particularly "casual dining" establishments with a per-person check that averages between $10-$23. At these restaurants, takeout now accounts for twelve percent of receipts.

Applebee's, for one, has a curbside service which allows customers to call ahead, leave their order along with their name and the model and color of their car, and simply pull up to the restaurant. A server inside watches special parking spots and runs orders out when customers' cars pull into them.

The trend is growing, and is spreading even to high-end steakhouses where the typical bill for two diners tops $100. The tendency toward takeout is attributed largely to customers' increasing lack of time. Today, more than 9 in 10 family dining restaurants offer takeout, and around 75 percent of fine dining establishments offer it.

Source: Sacramento Bee

For more articles like this about food trends, see Vegetarian Restaurants on the Rise, Fast Casual Restaurants Market to Kids, and Quickserve Breakfast is Heating Up