Advertising just doesn't work like it used to. It's expensive and isn't getting results. Worst of all it's difficult to track. Businesses don't know how to manage their marketing or advertising and don't have time to do it right. Word of mouth works and can still be counted on. That's why social media is growing fast.
Many small business owners would echo these sentiments. However, none of these statements have to be fact. While advertising can be expensive and time consuming, it has major benefits. On average, many small business owners cut marketing budgets first when they start having cash flow worries. However, it’s at those times that it’s even more important to keep your business brand front and center.
Social media is by far one of the most effective and affordable ways to reach your customers and build your brand, but it’s not the only way. Here’s our list of marketing tips and strategies to help you market your business the best you can, even when the budget is tight.
These eight tips are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to marketing. But they are enough to get you started and help you out if your budget isn’t that big. Just remember, engaging customers and building relationships are the heart of your business and will be vital in your business growth. You don’t have to spend outrageous amounts of money on your marketing for it to be successful as long as you put in the time and effort and focus on what’s important to your customers.
Infographic: Freepik.com; edited by Poole Communications.
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We’re so excited for the opportunity to present a workshop at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce on May 29! The topic up for discussion is how to Make the Most of Social Media.
We know that Social Media can be a real headache. Especially for business owners who need to focus on business, but know that social media can be an integral part of business growth.
This workshop will give you the information you need to effectively manage your social media without eating up your time. You’ll learn how to use social media more effectively, best practices in social media and how to make it manageable. Plus, we’ll talk about content management, how to determine which networks and platforms are most beneficial for you, and when it’s time to hire someone to help you out.
The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to noon on May 29, at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce.
Fish Where the Fish Are
Spend your advertising dollars where the market is. The same concept can apply to social media. Use the platform the reaches your specific audience! If you’re customers aren’t using Twitter, but ARE using Facebook, put your time and effort there!
Also, browse our blog for more great marketing tips!
Do you want more tips?
Comment below and let us know what topics are really giving you troubles, or topics you'd just like to know more about!
Today's review comes from our owner, Sally Poole.
Enchantment
by Guy Kawasaki
Build your company by building trust.
“The best overall treatise on interpersonal relationships since Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
— Michael Gartenberg, Research Director, Gartner
If you haven't read anything by Guy Kawasaki, it's time to start. His books are entertaining and filled with usable information you can apply to your business or organization right away. Guy started out as the chief evangelist at Apple and he knows business and marketing.
In Enchantment, he talks about winning over people to your company, product or service. It's much more than persuasion or influencing. It's about providing a lasting benefit to others that transforms people and relationships. It cements customers to you. And the process is outlined in this book.
A few of the chapters include: How to Achieve Likability, How to Achieve Trust, How to Prepare, How to Launch, How to Overcome Resistance, How to Make Enchantment Endure.
I'm going to highlight pertinent points from a few of the chapters. Kawasaki talks about how to align yourself with others by becoming more likable through smiling, acceptance of others and even dressing in similar ways. He talks about building trust by being transparent and fully human. That means admitting mistakes and acknowledging personal flaws and passions. He suggests giving for giving sake.
He gives examples of products and companies that enchant, such as Virgin America, and Apple Macintosh. What makes them different is that they are deep, well designed, intelligent, complete, empowering and elegant. I personally love design and to me this is what great work is all about. Thinking a product or service through so that it provides the best possible experience.
I love this book because of all the working examples and the tools he gives you to succeed. One important part of the book is about giving to others. He suggests you give with joy, give early, give often and generously and give unexpectedly. This is part of what builds trust and relationships in business. He even gives you ideas of how to use technology in a better way. For
instance, the six sentence email. Many emails are too long and don't get read. I've even heard of a SIX WORD email. Try it and see what success you have.
Finally he talks about enchanting your employees, your boss and even how to avoid enchantment! Guy Kawasaki covers it all and you'll enjoy his style and information. It's a quick read and it will help you, your business or organization.
To find out more go to: http://www.guykawasaki.com/enchantment/
88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours, according to a Google Mobile Movement Study.
70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour.
Businesses are missing 70% of local content on sites like Twitter and Pinterest because they don’t have location-based sentiment monitoring set up, according to a recent study by Venuelabs.
These are some pretty staggering statistics. You spend lots of time and money building a website and optimizing it for search engines (SEO). But are you optimizing your business for local searches on mobile devices?
Half of mobile users use a local search/map to find businesses.
Let’s start with defining a local search.
Example:
An iPhone user asks Siri to find them a nice local restaurant, while visiting St. Louis. Local searches will include a specific location, city, ZIP code, etc.
Local SEO has one goal: to get to the top of the search results. In this case businesses want to rank on top for local geographic terms related to products and/or services that their businesses provide. The typical consumer performing a mobile search probably won’t scroll through pages and pages of results. They want fast, easy answers; they will likely make their decision based on no more than the first page of results.
So, what do you do?
Here’s a few tips to get you started:
Yelp
Yelp is a community driven review site that enables users to create locations, give details about the businesses, review them, and even post multimedia content.
It’s a major asset; you can thank Apple for that, and here’s why:
When an iPhone or iPad user uses Siri to search for a local business, the results are powered by Yelp. So, if you’re not on Yelp, iPhone users aren’t going to find you in local searches (unless they use their mobile browser and navigate to Google).
But there’s more. Yelp results returned to Siri are based on Yelp reviews. So, the top results returned are going to be the business with the most positive reviews.
But use caution, Yelp reviews can be tricky. If someone creates an account just to write a review for you, it’ll likely never be activated. Yelp likes reviews from active users. Ask your clients if they use Yelp, if they say yes, then ask for a review. Also, you can, and should, thank reviewers and invite them back for another visit, even offer a discount! That person, who’s already a fan, will often post a follow-up review, or answer others’ questions about your business. On the flip side, if someone posts a legitimate complaint, don’t be afraid to publicly apologize – but be sincere. Remember, a scorned customer doesn’t want freebies; they want to be heard.
Google Plus Local Pages
Google Plus Local pages are indexed in more than Android mobile searches. They’re also indexed in three additional types of searches:
Google Plus Local Pages are similar to Facebook business pages, but they have better SEO. You don’t have to post to your Google Plus Local Page as you would on a Facebook business page, although it doesn’t hurt. The essential elements include a complete bio, contact information and some photos.
You’ll also want to ask for reviews. Just like Yelp, the more positive reviews you have, the higher you will rank in searches. And responses to reviews are important here, too.
Other Searches of Note
Not all users search using Siri or Android Google searches. Many people have a favorite app. You should try to have listings on these sites as well. Other sites to consider:
Mobile Websites
To make the most of these local searches, your website needs to be optimized for mobile viewing. Here’s why:
There are plenty of apps, widgets and resources that can help you optimize your website for mobile viewing.
Now’s the time! Go mobile!
If you have more questions, or want to know more, give us a call!
http://www.inman.com/next/3-key-strategies-to-optimize-business-for-local-search-on-mobile-devices/
http://visual.ly/solomo-stats-no-business-can-afford-ignore-infographic
Yesterday we started a list of guidelines to help you improve your marketing efforts, today we're sharing the rest of the list! You can view Part 1 here.
Follow Up
Once the schedule is established and responsibilities have been assigned, make sure all is going according to schedule. Check to see what your customer response is to each advertising effort. If you don’t already have a way to register response to advertising, set something up. Better yet, set up more than one way to track response. Ideas: include discounts for mentioning the ad; at the time of purchase ask your customers how/why they chose your place of business, mail special offers and track response.
Evaluate Customer Response and Effectiveness
Develop a tangible method to determine the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. Develop a short questionnaire for customers or include a response vehicle on your website. Use the results to tailor future advertising efforts. Advertising must be responsive to your customers and prospective customers needs. It must be ever changing and speak clearly to do its job.
Bonus Tips:
Copywriting
Clearly state who you are and what it is that you have that customers will want, especially in terms of its benefit to them. Point out why your product or service is preferable to others. Don’t make promises you can’t fulfill. Remember, there is usually someone else offering your product or service. Give your customer reasons to come to you and keep coming back.
One common mistake in copywriting is that companies tell their story first. The first thing your customer wants to know is how you can answer their need. What product or service do you offer that will help them accomplish their goals?
Design
Buy the finest quality you can afford. Quality speaks best for quality. When you see poor quality workmanship, you don’t expect much from the company, and you certainly don’t expect to pay much for it. Good design should make it clear to your prospective customer that you are the best place to come for the products and services they need. If your customer can’t find your contact information or if your ad needs further explanation, it is a lousy ad.
Think of your customer first and you will develop great advertising to promote your company.
For more great marketing tips like us on Facebook!
Marketing can greatly enhance your business and help improve your company’s profitability – as long as you plan carefully.
Today we're sharing with you part one of a list of guidelines you can follow to make your marketing dollars work harder for you. Check in tomorrow for part 2! (more…)
When the Internet became a household tool a lot of things changed. When landlines and desktops turned into cell phones and tablets, even more things changed. It’s hard to measure exactly how much our lives have changed through technology, but our personal lives aren’t the only thing that changed – so did the customer.
Customers today are very different from what they used to be and that means the way businesses market to and connect with customers must evolve to keep up.
Let’s look at four characteristics of new customers and how you can adapt your strategies to suit them.
Customers know more than you do.
Customers today have access to virtually all the information they need before you know if they are even interested. They’re armed with greater information and influence than ever before. They use technology to make their decisions and influence the buying patterns of others making them feel empowered and knowledgeable. They may know as much or more about your product and your competitor’s product than you do. Be ready for them.
Customers are social.
“If you make your customer happy they will tell someone; if you make them unhappy they will tell 10 people.”
This adage describes the practice of word-of-mouth. Online platforms have transformed word-of-mouth into what is called “user generated content” or UGC. When customers post online about their experiences, questions, praise or condemnation of products, services and general behavior in the marketplace, it’s like word-of-mouth on steroids. Be a positive social information generator.
Customers make their experiences and opinions about businesses and their products/services known to millions. They are blogging and posting about it on Facebook and Twitter. And not only are they telling their own experiences, they are reading everyone else’s. Referrals and recommendation are coming from anyone but you (unless you have testimonials – which we’ll talk about later.) Which leads us to…
Customers tell you what they want.
Customers today tell you how to interact with them, and when and why they will or will not do business with you. This is directly connected to the previous point. They are posting on blogs and social networks telling not only what they think, but they are telling you what they want. Listen carefully.
Customers judge books by their cover.
Customers are influenced by who they believe that you are before they consider your products and services. Customers care about what your brand stands for as much as they care about what you offer. Consumers have the power to shape what you stand for if you don’t do it for them. Share your “why?”
How to adapt:
Stay on top of your game, adapt to the customers wants and needs and the avenues by which the obtain information and your business will grow hand in hand with your customers.
Today we’re talking about budgets, specifically marketing budgets. Not many people get excited when talking about numbers and money, but it’s a very important aspect of business. Successful businesses have budgets that include marketing.
Let’s keep this simple. Look at what you spent on marketing last year and set aside a dollar figure for the amount you’re going to spend this year. Look critically at what worked last year and stop any advertising that didn’t work. Check your budget numbers monthly and stick to your plan. Having a budget will help you spend you’re advertising dollars wisely and prevent impulse buys. Take a good look at your marketing numbers this week and fine tune them to do even better!
For a more in depth take on creating a solid marketing budget, check out this article written by Dave Lavinsky for Forbes magazine.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/06/07/three-steps-to-a-solid-marketing-budget/
