On Target Fall Conference

Thursday & Friday, October 6-7, 2005 from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM

Philadelphia, PA (Hotel to be announced soon!)


List of Events:

• October 5 - New On Target Members: Bonus One Day Financial Management Intensive Workshop - Members of the On Target Start Up Program are also Eligible for this workshop
• October 6 - On Target Conference Day 1
• October 7 - On Target Conference Day 2
• October 8 - On Target Office Managers Workshop

Note: For members who are involved with both On Target and Summit: On Target events dovetail with Summit events also held in Philadelphia in the same time frame, so you will be able to attend everything for which you are signed up.

Most websites work in the way they were intended to work by their programmers, but does that mean your visitors will have the experience you want them to have? You can’t be sure unless you give it a thorough road test in real life conditions. Road testing a website doesn’t have to be expensive, nor does it need to be conducted by highly specialized researchers. You can do it yourself and find out quickly where any problems exist. Here’s a seven step process that you can use.

1. Identify the functions that visitors want. Ask yourself this question: “Why would someone visit my website?” There are many possible reasons why people might visit your website and you need to prepare a list of every one of them.

2. How will people get what they want? When you know what people want from your website you then have to work out how they’ll get it. Prepare an outline for each kind of function that your site now offers that shows step-by-step how it can be done. Later you’ll compare this with test results and see if this is really the best way to do it.

3. Select your road testers. You will need between five and ten people for your road testing. Although anybody can road test your site for functionality the best results will be obtained if you recruit a group from your current customers who are likely to be representative of those who will visit your website in terms of characteristics like age, product preferences and economic circumstances.

4. Set up your road testing facility. The testing facility doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Most people visiting your site will just have a desk with a PC and Internet access so set these up in a quiet location where the road testers won’t be interrupted. You’ll need enough room for your road tester and yourself. Each test should take no more than an hour or so.

5. Write the scripts for your testing. Prepare a simple script for every activity you want to test, both for those functions your site now offers and those you think visitors might want it to offer. If you want to see how someone makes a purchase from your site ask them to “...select a product you might want to purchase and buy it from the website.” Have a script for each activity that is based on functionality only – don’t give them any how-to instructions.

6. Conduct the road tests. Tell the road testers in brief what the test is all about and what you hope to accomplish. Encourage them to say whatever they want to say about your website, both good and bad. You want to see what works and what doesn’t. Go through all the scripts relating to existing functions first and see how each participant handles each function. Don’t help them do anything; if something isn’t easy to do you need to know about it. Note in detail every step in their actions, even if you know what they’re doing won’t give them the desired result. When the existing functions are completed take them through the functions that you think might be wanted. First find out if they want that function to be available, and then ask them how they think it would be delivered. Get them to take you through a process of using that functionality – how they ‘see’ it being done.

7. Analyze your road test outcomes. Review your notes and analyze the test results function by function. Identify which existing functions worked as intended and which need attention. Evaluate the answers you received on functions you think might be wanted and for those that are in demand which is the best procedure to use for delivering them. You need to do this road testing because the real test of a website is just how usable it is. If your website isn’t easy to use it will be quickly abandoned and your prospective customers will go somewhere else where they feel more comfortable.

Information in this article is sourced from RAN ONE, Inc

A business depends on its cash flow to pay its bills. Cash flow can fluctuate greatly in smaller enterprises and there are often times when payments have to be made selectively. This is a strategy to serve as a general guide for paying bills at any time; it is especially useful for times when extra consideration has to be given to which bills are paid and which are delayed.

Prioritize every bill that comes in when it comes in

Maintain a register of all bills that shows their priority ranking, when they have to be paid, and of course whom to pay and how much is owed. Note how they’re to be paid – cash, check or electronic transfer. Set up a system that will enable you to see at a glance the bills due to be paid that day and the priority attached to each one.

Pay the most important bills first

Some creditors are more important than others. Those that are essential to carrying on the business have to be at the top of the pile; this is a list of those that are usually deserving of top priority status:

• Business insurance

• Business vehicle leases

• Governmental authorities - licensing and permits

• Income taxes

• Key suppliers

• Payroll and sales taxes

• Rental or mortgage payments on business premises

• Utilities – electricity, water, gas, telephones

• Wages

Silence isn’t golden

Simply not paying the less essential bills is not the right way to deal with them. It leaves your financial position in doubt and could trigger anything from hostile phone calls to collection action. Contact the creditor and explain that you’ll be late making payment but that payment will be made by a specific date. Raise the priority level of that payment accordingly and be sure you do make it on time. Ask each creditor if you can make partial payments for a period of time until your projected cash flow returns to normal levels. See if there might be some way of reducing or eliminating the debt by providing them with goods or services. If your business experiences seasonal cash flow fluctuations - for example, you generally experience a shortfall during the summer - you can negotiate with suppliers that bills will be paid within thirty days most of the year but within ninety days during the summer.

Meeting a temporary cash flow shortage

To meet a temporary cash flow shortage you may want to use one or more of the following strategies:

• Obtain a loan

• Arrange for a line of credit from a bank

• Accelerate the receipt of receivables due to you

• Bring forward a sale or other cash raising activity

• Acquire new items of equipment by leasing or other finance means

Liquidate investments to raise cash

 

Information in this article is sourced from RAN ONE, Inc