Just read an interesting interview over at the Corporate Eye blog about good usability.

This is an interesting read. You would think that after so many years of being online, most of us will have a good grasp of this concept of usability. Well, just as common sense is rather uncommon, than good usability is yet another illusive phantom for many.

Many small companies cannot afford to get a full time team to take care of their website. These sites become white elephants faster than you can eat a Happy Meal. Worse, many of them “cannot afford” to spend to create a decent site. Just yesterday, I saw a site where they simply scanned in their promotion flyer and put it up as a single JPEG file. So, that website had one page, and one page only. Worse, it was just a jagged, slightly blurry JPEG file of a handbill.

There are some nice solutions. For example, if you just need a simple site, yet want it to look professional (eg. Flash, animated menus etc), you can use professional templates that can give you almost an instant site – see www.domains4everyone.com and www.myezynet.com for example.

A professionally designed site will give you a good level of usability. It makes the user feel comfortable and imparts a certain level of trust that they are dealing with an “OK” company. Another important reason for having good usability on your site, you need your visitors to be able to actually find something useful for them. You really don’t want them to come to your website, click around in futility and leave in a huff.

So, if you are interested to hear what an expert has to say about good website usability, go on over to read: Expert interview: David Hamill, Good Usability

Popularity: 12% [?]

We live in the Internet Age. Yes, this might sound a little cliche, but it is true.

This fact was hammered home to me the other day. I was talking to my friend about a good cancer doctor who was trying out a unique, holistic approach that seems to be working well. He was interested, and then asked the inevitable question “What’s his web site?”

Well, he did not have one. The reaction I got was one of shock and disbelief. You see, my friend thought that anyone involved in such “advanced” work, ought to have gotten his own web site a long time ago. It is more or less a given.

Today, we even get blogs for our dogs. So, the question then becomes, WHY don’t you have a web site?

Many small business owners today have their own web sites. Many don’t. Even for those who do have their websites, many find it difficult and/or expensive to upkeep. If you visit a site today, tomorrow and the week after; and each time you were there, it looked exactly the same, would you be back?

Despite the fact that there are many Content Management System out there, web site templates and other make-it-easy for you solutions, many still struggle getting even a token presence online.

I found a really good system. It is nothing new, but it is spectacular. Flash-based templates, editing on the front end instead of the back end, a-dollar-a-day cost and so much more. It was so good, I created a site using that system to market that system – in half a day. OK, technically, it took just an hour to get all the text typed in. But I was fiddling around with the images, graphics and so on. You know what it’s like.

You can take a look at it over here: www.domains4everyone.com

It is a really simple site and would not be of much use for anyone who requires more sophistication. But for the average small business, it is all you need and more. It looks professional, easy to set up, and most important, it is easy to keep updated.

There is really no excuse now for not getting online. Drop me a note. Let’s talk about this.

Popularity: 10% [?]

I was reading Dr OIC’s blog on his take that one should not work too hard during the economic winter.

Farmers do not go out to sow seeds in winter. Instead, they visit families, eat and sleep (nice tradition for Chinese New Year). So should you. Take a vacation. Go away for a few months. Reserve your energy and resources during the Winter.

Sure, farmers do not sow in winter for all seeds will not bloom and grow in the cold. In fact, all farmers know the necessity of keeping enough food stock to survive the winter without working. The rich farmers can keep enough for reserve and sell the rest for profits, what about the poor farmers?

Businesses are like the farms. What happens to businesses that do not have existing activities that will tide them until spring comes? These businesses will not be able to act like rich farmers.

What does a poor farmer do during the snow-locked winter?

Let’s see … He has to take up a secondary profession or he will starve and freeze to death. He can elect to be Rag and Bone Man scavenging on whatever left and make a living out of it. He can also chose to be a hunter, take his rifle and make a kill for the table.

The chances of the Rag and Bone man picking up a diamond among the junk are slim. However, insightful detective work, powerful leg work and trained focus and patience can certainly land the hunter plenty of meat and bacon. I would elect to be the hunter. Load up the gun, dress warmly, pack enough food for a few days and then start out on the off-beaten tracks to scrutinize all the animal tracks on the ground and smell the scents in the air. Troublesome as it may sound, i reckoned the hunter has a better chance to survive winter. If the hunter is in luck to find several game tracks, he must be focused and decide if he wants to go down this or that trail.  He needs to examine his strengths, opportunity and resources to ensure a kill, otherwise the trip will be futile and possibly deadly in the snowy cold winter. Once he has decided what prey to bring down, he has to consider his strategy – pursue and chase relentlessly or select a great spot to wait for the opportunity before he strikes, or lay down some traps and wait patiently. The strategy will help him further decide the tactics to use.

What will you do if you were the poor farmer? Care to share your thoughts?

P.S.: I also like to tag Anja Merret, Bokjae, Calvin Warr, Lisa Tan-Koh, Laura Spencer, Robin Bal,  Solomon , Walter Lim to carry on this discussion here and in their blogs.

After note: Please read these wonderful bloggers’ contributions:

What to do in an economic winter? by Anja Meret

Economic Winter by bokjae

Facing the Economic Recession by Calvin Warr

Living beyond the economic winter by Lisa Tan-Koh

When winter falls, build a snow man by Walter Lim

Take it out of the inner recesses of your mind by Solomon

Popularity: 16% [?]

How did you like your past 364 days?

How do you intend to create your next 365 days in 2009?

Tomorrow is a brand new year waiting for you and I. Here’s some questions from my friend, John Stamoulos to complete 2008 and create 2009. You may find some of the questions really tough to answer, however, it will help you to have clarity in your life.

Versa Creations and I wish you a happy new year.

Completing and Remembering 2008

What was your biggest triumph in 2008?

What was the smartest decision you made in 2008?

What one word best sums up and describes your 2008 experience?

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2008?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2008?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2008?

What are you most happy about completing in 2008?

Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2008?

What was the biggest risk you took in 2008?

What was the biggest surprise in 2008?

What important relationship improved the most in 2008?

What compliment would you liked to have received in 2008?

What compliment would you liked to have given in 2008?

What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2008?

Creating 2009

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2009?

What advice would you like to give yourself in 2009?

What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2009?

What would you be most happy about completing in 2009?

What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2009?

What would you most like to change about yourself in 2009?

What are you looking forward to learning in 2009?

What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2009?

What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2009?

What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2009?

What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2009?

Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2009?

What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2009?

Popularity: 19% [?]

Are you worried about your bottom line?

Are you wondering if your bottom line will hit rock bottom in this financial tsunami?

I’m pretty certain you’ll have some concerns even though you are wonderfully successful at the moment.

Like everyone else, I have my fair share of concerns and anxiety. However, I would not resort to not celebrating Christmas with the feel-good and nostalgic baked turkey, honey ham, egg nog and a few nicely wrapped presents underneath my Christmas tree. Careful budgeting and purposeful spending is wise. Scaling back unnecessarily will actually stop the economic wheels moving and in the long run is going to hurt you and I even more.

Feeling energized and empowered after 2 of T Harv Eker’s powerhouse seminars – The Enlightened Warrior Camp and Mastering The Stage , my enthusiasm in propelling my client’s business to the next level remains strong.  I have faith that the cheese is at the next corner or the one after next. Why do I have such faith when the financial storm is still brewing? I started my first business in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. I sowed, ploughed, and unearthed many hidden gems then.  The opportunities were there but the journey was definitely not a relaxing stroll in the park. For those who heard my story previously, my very first cheque was an awesome S$117.

For the past 2 weeks, after many, many cups of coffee listening to my clients, I can smell and sense their intense fear of uncertainties for the future. The typical sentiment is “I know I must put in more efforts in marketing my stuff, I know I must have a more decent advertising budget but I’m worried about my bottom line. What if everything goes down the drain?

The fear of losing whatever little they  have is very real, can you relate to such fear?

I’m sure you do. Everyone has a bottom line.

For a business owner, it is the net income a company has after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue. That net income is what keeps his business and family going.

For a salaried worker, it can be interpreted as the net income after you have paid for your necessities.

With prices soaring, value of assets declining and money shrinking, the feeling of scarcity is intensified. To fear is human, and we have to be truthful about our emotions. However, we must use our mind and emotions to our favour.

Reducing expenses can only help so much. Borrowing from the wisdom of Jay Abraham, the other options are to increase your sales, increase your sale frequency and increase your price.

I recently found another option: Change my financial blueprint and maximize my wealth dynamics profile.

We have been programmed and conditioned to think, react, response and do things in a set manner. That affects how we choose to spend, invest, save or even hoard our money, and who and how we elect to mingle and socialize with in the business arena. Many of our habits and actions are non-empowering or damaging without our knowledge.

I was privileged to be tutored by T Harv Eker for the past year, and recently have added Roger Hamilton’s wisdom in “Wealth Dynamics” to my learning and application. I now have a better understanding of my financial blueprint and wealth profile. I jumped when I heard that there’s a seminar called “THE BOTTOM LINE” coming to Singapore.

I was attracted by the promise of the program, “More Profit, Less Stress”

Would you like that as a business owner? I would.

After doing my due diligence PLUS a long and meaningful discussion with the program trainer, Allan Cheung, I gladly registered for THE BOTTOM LINE on Christmas Eve.

Why am I doing that?  Especially since I had already invested in 7 programs with T Harv Eker? Because it is going to complement what I had learned! Because I choose not to have my emotions dictate my wealth creation.

THE BOTTOM LINE is a highly interactive program for participants to discover

• Openings to new possibilities and ways to create more wealth with less setbacks
• Insights to how successful millionaires, and even billionaires, create their wealth with seemingly effortless ease
• Clarity on what strategies to adopt and what actions to take

We will learn key principles of Wealth Dynamics

• What is “FLOW” and how you must be in flow to use it to attract wealth
• What actions to take to find your personal “FLOW”
• What actions to take to create “FLOW” for your team
• What actions to take to create “FLOW” for your business
• What actions to take to ride on the repeating cycles of industries

The “FLOW” bit especially intrigue me. I’m doing what like but there were times I felt I was riding against the tides. Was I not in my flow? I don’t know. I’m going to find out.

What is unique about THE BOTTOM LINE is that it is designed for you to take action. In fact, after attending the 2-day program, you are to come back on another evening to share the actions you have already taken and listen to other people’s actions and success stories.

According to Allan, this program is regularly conducted in Hong Kong and a 100% of his participants have given it a huge thumbs up. Well, I said I did my due diligence earlier. What I did was run a quick Google check and found quite a few positive testimonials. I also discovered that the program wasn’t the typical sit-down-and-listen-only type. You can have a glimpse how fun and interactive at this YouTube video.

If you want to generate more profit for your business AND at the same time have less stress, then you really should consider this program. At an Early Bird Investment of only S$199 (USD130) – which is about what you pay for a Christmas Dinner for 2 – what do you have to lose? More importantly, what do you stand to gain from this small investment.

Er, if you are living outside Singapore, take advantage of the low airfares and get to enjoy the city while learning how to make more profits with less stress.

For those of you who’s wondering why I spent so much time and money in educating myself. Let me share with you what Jim Rohn said: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe also said “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

T Harv Eker’s programs have turned me around in more than one way. And I’m looking forward to THE BOTTOM LINE giving me a great spin to more profits and less stress.

Where to sign up? Just click here:THE BOTTOM LINE.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Advertising Agency: Contract Advertising, Thailand ~Executive Creative Director: Manirat Banthukamphon ~ Art Directors: Kavin Sitsayanaren, Manirat Banthukamphon ~ Copywriter: Manisa Orprasert ~ Published: October 2008

If you have a commodity-type product and you do not quite know how to sell it, there’re 2 options:

The tedious, but certainly, a proven and effective method is to build a brand around it.

The fast and attention grabbing, but sometimes controversial, method is to pimp your product.

Just look at the above advertisement … it is really funny. Please, click on the advertisement if you can’t read the text, to see the magnified version.

The chicken is branded “S-Pure”. I don’t know what the “S” stands for, there are just too many suitable words starting with “S”. However, when you associate the brand with the screaming headline, “I am a Virgin”, the “S” could mean “So P…”, “Soft P…” or “Sexy P…”. Whatever it is, the mind goes wandering and fantasizing despite the fact that it is an ad about chicken.

The headline, “I am a Virgin” is also open to lots of interpretation, response and reaction.

• “So what?”

• “Are you sending an invite?

• Or like WhiteSpace commented at AdsOfTheWorld, “Not for long!”

• While another guest commenter brutally but truthfully stated the cruel fact, “then I was slaughteredand wrapped in plastic . . .”

And the copy makes me LOL. This S-Pure chicken is certainly health conscious – she eats, sleeps and stays untouchable in the purest environment imaginable. However, naughty readers will only remember these words, “Will you believe me … I truly am a virgin … Will you bring me home.”

I don’t know much about the guys in Thailand. If the majority of them are like other men I know, they should enjoy a steamy yet tender relationship with their chicken; and sales should be pumping high and fast. But I bet there will be those who will not be too hot about the S-Pure chicken style. Sex is dangerous, especially when used in ads.

Source of Ad: AdsOfTheWorld

Popularity: 17% [?]

Don’t click on these 2 ads to see the enlarged version first. That will burst the suspense bubble right away. Make a guess at what the sea turtle and clown fish are staring at, with their eyes super big and round?

Agency: Publicis Conseil, Paris ~ Executive Creative Director: Olivier Altmann ~ Art Director: Frdric Royer ~ Copywriter: Olivier Camensuli

OK … now click to check out the logo at the bottom right of the advertisements.

Now,  do you appreciate these advertisements better or do you give it a thumbs down?

Whatever your stand, you’ll have to admit that the Wonderbra people has lots of guts to churn out unorthodox advertisements.

When it comes to women’s lingerie or swim wear advertisements, the conventional, safe, in-the-box way will be to feature a sexy blond with big boobs, rounded behind and with an hour-glass body to kill for. Her sultry looks, alluring figure and of course, the sexy 2-piece will drive up our blood pressure and cause our eyes to bulge.  This “sure-to-work” sexy formula ticks like clockwork but it is so boringly predicable.

On the the other hand, the unorthodox, non-sexy Wonderbra advertisements breathe a new breath of life. We don’t get to see the sexy results, however, we got to see the benefits and effects of the swim-wear through the squirmy looks and wide eyes of the sea animals. What you don’t see may actually spark a wilder imagination. It’s really a sexy ad without being at all sexy.

I would say these are great ads from the creative perspective. Beautifully art directed, simple to understand and relevant to the product.

Will it get the cash register ringing? Who knows. These types of advertisements only appeal to a certain niche of people. However, this niche appreciates individuality, originality and anything out-of the-box, and will likely be steadfast supporters.

Wonderful ads.

Popularity: 17% [?]

That’s the opinion of Al Ries.

If you don’t know the man, he is the one who along with Jack Trout coined the term “positioning” and authored the famous book, “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind”.

Al Ries was in Singapore recently to attend the Global Brand Forum and he answered an interesting question from Marketing magazine:

In your opinion which brand has a great brand image but is not doing anything to leverage it and why?

Al Ries’ answer was not unexpected.

Coca-Cola it is world’s most valuable brand yet it never plays up on its heritage as the original, authentic cola. Every couple of years they change the slogan. The latest concept ‘The Coke side of life” to me is a meaningless concept. Coca Cola should own an idea called “The Real Thing”, connoting the authenticity of the product. Incidentally, Coca Cola share of the soft-drink business in the US has been declining about 1% yearly in the last four or five years.

I’m always in the opinion that marketers should own a key word or key phrase in the target audience mind. Mercedes-Benz is all about “prestige”. Volvo means “safety”. Nike advocates “doing”. American Express reminds us “don’t leave home without it”.

Coca Cola has a gem in it’s 1970 slogan “It’s the Real Thing” yet it abandoned it within a year. I have discussed in my earlier post When Is A Change Of Advertisments Good? that

You breathe and live your product and services, you will notice even if a speck of dust drops on it. Your target audience, however, is nowhere near that level of intimacy with your products. They are not as aware of your brand, corporate identity, product features and benefits as you are. My suspicion is, they are starting to take notice of you just as you are beginning to get sick of your own marketing messages.

Fortunately, when Singapore Airline ditched Batey Ads For TWBA, it did not hear the calls of dissidents to ditch the famous “Singapore Girl” branding.

It will be interesting to see if Coca Cola will emulate companies like Burger King – who resurrect it’s 1976 slogan “Have it Your Way” in 2004.