iPhone apps are becoming a must have item for many companies, just like a website used to be, plus demand for the iPad is looking like it will go through the roof. So if you want your idea or business to benefit, get in quickly. Please contact us for more information.

The concept of virtualised hosting is a very exciting one for online businesses that are growing. It allows you to start on your own small “virtual” server which can then be expanded to use more resources as and when you need them. If your business continues to grow, a “snapshot” of your virtual server can be copied directly to more powerful hardware with out any downtime.

This method eliminates the excessive cost of starting out on your own dedicated server, whilst removing the worry that you will quickly outgrow a shared hosting service.

Hurll Nu-Way is a leader in the provision of heating, cooling and process equipment solutions to industry in Australia and New Zealand. Representing world leading brands such as Nu-Way and Bentone packaged burners, Hauck process burners, SBM and Roberts Gordon radiant heaters, Aerzen blowers and screw compressors, Blackmer pumps, Fluid Power Products, Actaris and Neptune meters, Patterson Fans high velocity fans and many more Hurll Nu-Way provides the best quality products and solutions for customers’ needs

Major Challenge

Can you add content to several sites from one source?
Hurll Nu-Way is a leader in the provision of heating, cooling and process equipment solutions to industry in the Asia Pacific region. Their original website was simply a static website with content that was increasingly out of date. We redeveloped this site into a database driven website with a content management system. The next phase of the project was to find a way to roll out additional websites, but to update of their extensive product range from a single point.

Solution: In order to make the project scalable, we built a central ‘donor’ website that then updates specific content to each recipient website. This concept makes sure there is no double handling of information and filtering allows each website to show only the data that is relevant to it’s specific market.

Further into the future it will be possible of all of the websites to sell their own ranges of spare parts etc online, in the correct currency.

The Bizar Difference

Click here to see how the system works
Click here to visit the site

Slippers Zone is a 100% online business which sells Australian made slippers mainly into the UK.

Major Challenges

1. Usability
The easier a site is to use, the more it will sell. We ran extensive research across this both site others within the Global Web Shops group to make sure we were maximisng the site’s conversion rate. We did this with a combination of Google Multi-variant testing (link) and user group feedback.

Solution: Nothing is where it is on the site by chance. For example we tried different sizes and colours for the add to cart buttons, different lengths of product descriptions and different positions for many other elements on the pages.

2. Speed
When it comes to online selling, the speed of the site (how quickly it loads) will significantly impact on sales. In the world of the internet, customers have no patience. If a site takes too long, Google will gladly point them to your competitors.

Solution: Bizar ensured this site has the smallest amount of code possible to load each page. We also ensure that the site makes the minimum amount of calls to the server as possible (less back and forward between the users computer and our servers). Without boring you with technical jargon we used specialised diagnostic tools to track our changes and ensure the site was fully optimized for speed of use.

3. Multicurrency
Whilst Slippers Zone is targeted for the UK, users all over the world purchase slippers. For an online shop to sell internationally it absolutely has to have a currency converter.

Solution: This site has a currency converter which recalibrates to the exchange rate once per day. However, the conversion rate can be overridden at anytime. I.E Exchange rate + 10%, This prevents the customers from getting any nasty surprises when they are charged.

The Bizar Difference

There are two key reasons that Slippers Zone came to Bizar.

1. Turn around time. This site was completed and live within 1 week. This is due to our ability to instantly understand the clients needs.
2. Our ability to work closely with the clients SEO company to ensure it tied in with their marketing

Click here to visit the website

Our experience tells us that people in this field need to be treated differently from the private sector. Usually the motivation behind their needs are very different, as are the KPI’s surrounding it. We also acknowledge that great care has to be taken with these clients. Often these organisations are heavily reliant on funding from either the private sector or government departments. Getting the message wrong in these sites could potentially cost a non-for-profit large funding.

If you are a charity or non-for-profit we encourage you to contact us to discuss how we can help you with your online needs. Here are some of the charities that we have assisted over the years.

Who?
The National SIDS Council of Australia, trading as SIDS and Kids, is a high-profile and well-respected not-for-profit organisation that boasts an enviable history of success. SIDS and Kids is dedicated to saving babies’ lives through the elimination of sudden and unexpected infant deaths, and supporting bereaved families. We deliver on our vision through world class education, research, evidenced based intervention and advocacy.
It comprises a National Office based in Melbourne and nine Member Organisations (MOs) based in the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Hunter Region of NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.

How we’re helping…
Sids and Kids have been a client of Bizar Software for over 5 years. It’s a relationship that has seen many successful outcomes achieved. The familiar charity is responsible for Red Nose Day http://www.rednoseday.com.au/ and we are proud to be involved in this project.
Currently we are working hard behind the scenes to release a new Sids and Kids site. (after 5 years its due for a make-over). So watch this space – we’ll announce the launch of new site when it goes lives in the coming months.

www.sidsandkids.org
www.rednoseday.com.au

Who?
For the past 15 years, CREATE has evolved from a small volunteer driven organisation to a national, professionally staffed one. This growth has enabled CREATE to reach more children and young people in care through program delivery, whilst simultaneously ensuring that their voice is heard by governments and out-of-home care sector stakeholders.
CREATE is governed by a Board of Directors comprising representatives from some of Australia’s largest corporations and, in keeping with the spirit of youth participation, CREATE encourages the membership of young adults with a direct care experience.
CREATE currently employs approximately 30 staff across the country. To ensure national coverage and local representation, CREATE has offices in every state and territory.

How we’re helping…
Create foundation approached us approximately 2 months ago. They were seeking assistance to make some changes to their site. Having been referred to us by SIDS and Kids we were very keen to help them out as best we could. But as often is the case, their previous supplier had decided to trap them in a custom CMS that was like a locked cage. Following internal discusses about their needs going forward, they contracted us to begin building a brand new site for their organisation. Whilst its current made up of many disjointed sites, we are working towards one central site which holds all their content in a neat and understandable manner.  Importantly this site is being built in Word Press.  Meaning they won’t be tied to using any particular developer.  It also gives them the ability to edit their sites content easily without assistance.

Who is ALH Group?

Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group has the leading portfolio of pubs across Australia. They offer a diverse hospitality experience including electronic gaming, sports bars, bistros, restaurants, cafes, retail liquor, accommodation, nightclubs and wagering. Their facilities are located in capital cities, and urban and regional centres across Australia.

There four main business activities are:

· Pub operations such as bar, food, accommodation, functions and entertainment
· Retail liquor sales incorporating large liquor barns, drive through outlets and walk-in bottle shops. Their brands include BWS and Dan Murphy’s
· Property development. They acquire, redevelop and refurbish venues to optimise our portfolio and offer state-of-the-art, comfortable, and interesting places to visit.
· Gambling operations. They are Australia’s leading pub operator of electronic gaming machines, wagering, sports betting outlets and KENO.

Background

ALH Group have been a client of Bizar Software for over 4 years. Until recently ALH had approximately 15 web providers across their 280 venue websites. In 2009 ALH have awarded a major tender to Bizar Software to become the sole provider for the ALH Group. This project makes Bizar responsible for the recreation and maintenance of all 280 venue sites over the coming years.

Major Challenges

1. Regulation of content Issues
This industry is heavily regulated in terms of acceptable content. For example, venues can not show pictures of pokie machines or advertise alcoholic drink specials. Ensuring that Bizar can be trusted to follow these guidelines was a vital part of Bizar being selected as the vendor.
Solution: using strict guidelines and agreeing on content collection methods has ensured that the content across all venues is consistent as well as legally compliant.

2. Project Management
This project requires almost 300 websites to be created. Content gathering for this project is a huge undertaking. Then of course each site has to be maintained. Taking maintenance requests from each venue has to be recorded and tracked.
Solution:A number of project tracking tools have been implemented to ensure this project is well managed. For example Bizar and ALH are making use of tools such as Basecamp and Zen Desk. The systems allow Bizar to log any works and allows ALH Group to track progress 24/7 without needing to contact Bizar.

The Bizar Difference

ALH Group is part of the publicly listed Woolworths Limited and directly employs over 14,000 staff. Many international and large national web development companies competed to win the business of this major project. Whilst it may seems logical for a company like ALH Group to use an equally large web developer, Bizar demonstrated that it was in fact one of its strengths to be small. It means we have a much larger invested interested in the outcome of the project and it is meant that ALH Group can expect much more of a personal touch that only a smaller organisation could provide.

Rick Cohen (head of IT) was quoted as saying “nobody in the world knows the ALH Groups website needs like Bizar does”. We feel there isn’t a better compliment.

Click here to visit the website

Its true for many businesses, and Bizar couldn’t hide from it any longer. The chippy who still hasn’t finished his home renovations, the chef who is buys take-away for the family and in our case the web company that doesn’t update their own website. Well, after years of preaching to clients about how to improve their online presence, we have re-launched our own website.

This site is built in WordPress. We chose WordPress really as an opportunity to show off its vast capabilities, and prove its power beyond the blog. This site will shortly have payment facilities, photo galleries, blogs, enquiry forms, news feeds. WordPress serves our needs perfectly.

Please take a look around and see what you think. Your feedback is encouraged. We would love to hear how you think it could be even better….

Much of Google Analytics is self-explanatory. However, more and more we get the question “what is a good bounce rate?”. Well, the answer should really be based on your site and what your selling/providing/displaying. As a rule of thumb; the more specific your offering, the better you bounce rate should be. If you have a site dedicated to pink shoes laces to fit size 16 mens shoes – you should expect a very low bounce rate. That said, it’s widely accepted that a bounce rate of 30 – 40% is good.

To begin improving your bounce rate you need to look at three basic area’s.
• Marketing (why people go to your site)
What is the message that you are putting out there to attract visitors. Are the sites that are linking back to your site relevant to your offering? Do your keywords and meta tags properly represent your business? Are your adword campaigns correctly targeted?

• Credibility (how reliable visitors think your offering is)
Does your website display integrity? Can the user trust your offering. This is especially true for sites that sell online. If the visitor doesn’t feel comfortable that you are a reputable business, they are very unlikely to give you their credit card details. Online shop owners are often reluctant to invest money in new designs, but as soon as your site begins to look tired or outdated you will see a decrease in sales.

• Useability (how easily users can find what they are looking for)
This is calls for a common sense approach. Ensure your page is laid out in a fashion that makes sense to different user types. Ensuring your popular items (be it blogs, products or information) are prominent will significantly impact on your

In conclusion, if you can ensure visitors come to your site for the right reason, they trust your offering, and they can easily find what they are looking for, your bounce rate should remain at a low rate

Today, social networking tools can be as important as a Yellow Pages listing was 10 years ago. This is partly due to the shift in user expectations regarding the internet. Where once upon a time, the internet was basically a giant service directory, it is now widely seen as an interactive tool. People expect to be able to read about other peoples experiences, more over they want to be involved. It’s fair to say that this generation of internet users demand interaction.

Its hard to think of an industry that has taken advantage of the internet more than the Hospitality industry. Sites such as www.wotif.com.au and www.lastminute.com.au have revolutionized the way Australians book accommodation. There are also examples of hotels which have built massive in-depth databases about their cliental and are constantly pushing the envelope for marketing. One venue we deal with has such a strong database, that if the venue is quiet come 3pm on a Friday afternoon, they send out a mass SMS to a particular industry (I.E Tradies) with a promotion. Within a few hours the place can be brimming with cliental.

Other venues now take photo’s and video’s during the evening and encourage patrons to check the website later in the week to view the photo’s and leave a comment. This is a ridiculously easy and powerful opportunity that many venues just aren’t taking advantage of. Why more venues don’t make a FREE facebook account to post these photos to still amazes me. This is where the power of Social Networking can really be exploited.

The lack of excitement from old school marketers could be attributed to the false belief that facebook is only for generation Y (18-24 year olds). Yet this is far from the truth. Check out these hitwise stats. Is your demographic using facebook?

http://weblogs.hitwise.com/bill-tancer/2009/06/facebook_surge_the_gen_xgen_y.html

You can interpret these stats for yourself, but clearly despite popular belief, gen y is 3rd in the highest users of facebook.

So if you want to make positive use of Social Networking ask yourself a few questions
• How do I make my content interactive?
• Is my content actually interesting?
• Do I really commit enough time to it?

I hear you asking ‘if I go to all this effort, how is that going to help my business sell more…?’. Social Networking may not be at a point where we buy things directly from sites like facebook or twitter just because our friends told us too. But its power is still immense. For one, you can use these tools to create great hype around new product launches. I’m not sure how many times I have been invited on facebook to join the “im going to see the Hangover movie” group on facebook as an example. More importantly though, Social Networking can help create loyalty to your brand. This is absolute gold. If you become the credible voice of your industry on twitter, who do you think your customers will turn to when they need advice? Equally, if you reward and thank customers for their business, they are bound to tell their friends and become repeat customers.

You need to understand that Social Networking is at a stage where it assists your marketing, not necessarily your direct sales. But don’t under estimate its power to drive people to your door. If your ready to make use of these tools or just want some more information, its time to call us!