ARTICLE FROM MAY eNEWSLETTER

Where Are Small Businesses At? Generating Leads That Deliver

Hello Again,

With Spring sweeping down on us it's time to address some major
concerns facing the current situation with technology and the
internet in business. As I'm sure some of you have already
experienced the need to call or get in touch with technical
assistance in some manner this year, you will undoubtedly be seeking
guidance on many informational fronts throughout the year. We at I
AM Presentations have experienced a big increase in tech related
assistance requests this year compared to last. We hope and expect
the use of various forms of communication (multimedia, internet,
email, etc.) to increase and further assist business professionals
in operating more efficiently from a marketing, advertising, and
operational standpoint. With that said, I hope to address some
important issues that may seem relevant to the current business
fields.

THE HIPPIE INTERNET PERIOD IS OVER
Certainly the internet, even in its short life-span to date, has
evolved and migrated a great deal. One fact that can hardly be
disputed is the notion that information on the World Wide Web wants
to be free. Furthermore, those who will find that information will
want it for free. The days of selling particular forms of
information on the internet are numbered.
Originally, the Web was marketed as very complicated. It's not. It's
about publishing. It's about communication. The Web is made up of
content, and information architecture (IA) is the discipline of
organizing that content. Allowing the powers that be, assuming in
most cases the supreme powers are the visitors/customers, to
interact, as much as possible, with your site will prove to be more
pioneering than cookie-cutter brochure-like websites that did
nothing but establish the notion that a business was online.
In a recent release from KeyBank and AMI-Partners, 80% of Small
Businesses are online (5.5 million firms). 56% have high-speed
Internet access and 45% have websites (2.4 million firms). It may
be no surprise, businesses are online. Businesses need to be
online, both from a marketing and an operating basis. What is
needed now to separate good sites from mediocre sites are the
necessary tools to interact with visitors.
Let's look at the proven benefits of an efficient website, as
reported from KeyBank and AMI:

Small Businesses with websites...
--Increase sales online by 19%
--Lower marketing and advertising costs by 26%
--Increase sales offline by 27%
--Expand customer territory by 34%
--Increase customer satisfaction with customer service by 39%
--Keep up with competitors by 39%

Looking at the numbers can sometimes just seem like numbers.
However, one point I want to focus on is the increase in customer
satisfaction. A whopping 39%! With nearly 2.4 million firms in the
U.S. having websites, the demand from customers to be able to access
and engage a website is high. The standards to satisfy visitors are
constantly rising. Therefore, your company website must at the
least stay fresh and up-to-date, with efficient interactive elements
to interest and guide your visitors to where THEY want to go.
Creating the effective website that fits your budget is the
obstacle. I AM Presentations offers several webmaster plans that
allow you to focus mainly on the operating side of your business,
and we take care of most of the web related issues...assuring a
successful, efficient, and effective website for your company that
surpasses market competitors.
For more info on efficient websites, please contact us at
iam@iampresentations.com

GENERATING LEADS THAT DELIVER--CREATING A WEB OF CUSTOMERS WITH
WEBCASTS

As many of you have probably already done at least once or twice
since turning onto the Internet, is watch a web-cast. Engaging in a
web-cast can, and in most cases should be, more than an audio/video
projection. It should ideally be an interaction with the visitor.
At the least, a web-cast offers the visitor an "experience". For
the company, it offers a way to gather information. Creating an
interactive presentation is more likely to persuade visitors to
enter personal and contact information at different stages
throughout the "experience". For example, by using a slide-show
like presentation that informs the viewer and then asks questions,
your site initiates "communication" between you and the visitor.
Submitting the data allows the visitor to move forward in the
presentation. Collecting their data allows you and your company to
process and generate sales leads.
For more info on creating the ultimate user experience, please
contact us at iam@iampresentations.com
WELCOME: BestBreed.com
Best Breed, a national leader in Premium Pet food products, has just
signed on with us for Webmastering services! We are delighted to
team up with Best Breed, whose site will soon reflect the company's
drive and dedication to being the best on the market. Look for a new
look and feel to the Best Breed website in the coming months as we
will roll out a new look and user interface to exemplify the top
quality of the brand.
That's it for now. Hope this has been helpful in many ways. If you
have any questions or comments, please send them our way.

Take Care,

I AM Presentations

SPECIALS

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Agree to a 2 Year Hosting contract and pay full price only on the
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WEBMASTER SOLUTIONS---Spring Promo
From $99.95 a month, you can have a complete website from a custom
template with 1 hour of dedicated web work from I AM Presentations a
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Check it out:
http://www.iampresentations.com/html/webmaster/plans.htm

LAUNCH: RaveLimo.com
----------------------
http://www.RaveLimo.com is now up and online. Rave Limo Service is
a luxury limousine company that requested I AM Presentations to
deliver a custom advertising website to further their marketing push.