by seller_bot | Nov 11, 2017 | Our Blog
Do you need more customers?
Are you sick of people visiting your website or business and not buying?
Well keep reading as we will show you How To Attract Customers To Your Business Who Are Ready To Buy.
Much worse than having no visitors to your website or business premises is actually getting visitors, but no sales. That is so frustrating.
If that has happened to you, don’t despair. We have worked with a number of existing and start-up businesses and know a few tricks to help you attract not only new customers to your website but ones who are ready to buy from you.
Identify your target audience – don’t try to reach out to everybody
The first and most important step for any business is to identify your target customers. Do it right, and you will have a much easier time converting visitors into buyers. Do it wrong, and you risk creating a product/service that nobody (or not enough people) wants.
It is well known customers want to interact with brands they can connect with.
To do this, you need to know what kind of company and image you want to portray and then adapt your marketing to directly appeal to the ideal brand of customer you want to attract to your business. This is done by creating ideal buyer persona (an image or profile of your ideal customer) based on their buying habits and lifestyle.
So instead of searching for customers, help them to find you. Go to the sites and places they go to – put yourself in the places they want to be and invite them to come and see you. If you have a clear image of who you want to serve, you are going to be in a better position to give them what they want.
A lot of companies make the mistake of thinking that everybody is a potential customer. They are not! You need to focus on the dreams and desires of your top customers, then pay them special attention by treating them well.
Don’t try to rent your audience, build your own instead
Some businesses we have worked with have tried to take a short cut by renting eyeballs or clicks. They buy and rent email mailing lists in order to get extra customers. Sometimes the gamble can pay off but if you want customers who are looking for a business and services like yours, it is far more profitable to grow your own list instead.
This is not hard to do. For example, on your Facebook page you could provide shareable, inspirational and humorous content – images and quotes to encourage visitors to engage with you.
The people who enjoy the content on your site are generally the ones who will respond to your specific offers and products and you can quickly attract a lot of eager new fans and customers.
Word of mouth marketing
The best way to attract new customers to your site is by word of mouth, and social media marketing, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc, makes this easier to do than ever before. It is fast, free and easy.
Ditch the large scale marketing campaigns
What? Is this really a recommendation from a marketing company? Yes!
In the old days, marketing used to be large scale isolated advertising and media events but things have changed. Your customers don’t live on a campaign schedule. They are always on the move and are constantly being bombarded with new information and offers wherever they go. As a result they have become more discerning and advert aware.
So instead of investing a large amount of money on a big campaign it is better to drip feed your offers through continuous engagement with them.
Social media makes it easy to follow a customer from their first visit to your site, to the point that they become a lead and eventually through the sales process.
The relationship doesn’t end there as your constant engagement and relationship building with them continues long after the initial sale. You can easily get repeat business and referrals from them if you handle it right.
Copy your competition
Do a bit of research.
Find out how your competition is attracting customers:
Do they advertize on the Internet or is it mainly offline?
Do they buy advertizements in local media like newspapers and radio or do they have a large social media following online?
If they are doing something that clearly works for them and are getting customers (your potential customers), you need to try and adopt similar measures so that you don’t continue losing customers to them.
Attract new customers who are actively searching for your product or service
Purchasing pay-per-click (PPC) advertising using Google Adwords is a very effective way to instantly connect with new customers who are not only eager to buy but have got their credit card at the ready to buy there and then.
Unlike traditional forms of advertising, like the Yellow Pages or ads in a local newspaper, with PPC you are not handing over money and paying for an empty promise of perhaps getting new visitors to see your site. You are paying for an actual result, a click.
With PPC, you don’t pay if nobody sees your ad; you don’t even pay if someone does see it but doesn’t click. You only pay when someone literally clicks on your ad.
This is generally called buying clicks because that’s just what you are doing. You’re paying a PPC company each time someone clicks on the link that is pointing back to your Website.
These ads are highly targeted.
So, for example, when a person does a search for a Wedding Planner in your town or area, Google will bring up a list of targeted adverts that wedding planners and related companies have paid to advertize when a customer types those key words into the search engine. In most cases these are customers who are very eager to buy, and you can see how this works over the page.
This is basically how it works:
• You join a search engine’s PPC program (for example Adwords by Google) and add some funds to the account. You set a limit on the maximum amount you want to pay so you don’t go over budget.
• You create a small text ad (in some cases, PPC can include images).
• You specify exactly what words or phrases a customer should type into the search engine before they would even see your advertizement, which will ensure the ads are targeted.
• You specify how much you are willing to pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
• You are now ready. You wait for the next person to arrive at the search engine, enter one of the keywords or keyword phrases you specified, and click the Search button.
• The search engine finds the matching ads (including yours) and places them on the results page.
• If the searcher clicks the ad, he is taken to your Website, and you will be charged for that click.
• Once the budget limit you set for your advertising campaign has been reached, your ad will no longer be shown until you add more funds to your account. By this time you should have received some targeted customers who have bought from you.
Attend industry specific conferences and exhibitions
We are big fans of attending conferences, exhibitions and networking events. It is a great way to make new connections and spread the word about your business to new targeted clients.
People buy from people they have met, so if you are seen and active at events, people will be more inclined to buy from you.
This type of event is also perfect for showing potential clients how caring you are and that you strive to make your customers happy. Exceptional customer service plus excellent products or services will always ensure that you have a thriving business.
Use these events to get people to visit your website and join your mailing list so you can stay in constant contact with them using the engagement tips mentioned above.
By using some or all of these methods you will be able to attract brand new, eager to buy customers easily.
The internet has made it a level playing field for small to medium sized businesses. You can reach thousands of new customers every week from all around the world or locally, by having a well thought out online presence.
It is an exciting time for small businesses and you don’t want to miss out on the revolution that is happening at the moment. Old marketing methods no longer work. The way that consumers buy is changing and you need to change with them, knowing who they are, where they are and why they buy.
by seller_bot | Nov 10, 2017 | Our Blog
Were you involved in the online marketing world back in 2010? Earlier? Ever as recently as a couple of years ago, actually, the strategies that were considered surefire paths to SEO domination were completely different from what they are today.
Interestingly enough, however, Google was saying the exact same things about how you should try and rank a website then as they are now: Provide detailed, relevant, helpful content, network naturally with others, and Google would notice.
Unfortunately, their desired reality just wasn’t the case for most marketers. Hitting the top of search results meant putting in the hours to create backlinks, make sure the anchor text of your links matched the phrases you wanted to rank for, etc. These practices were considered spammy by Google, but they worked… and so people kept right on doing them.
Now, however, Google has finally caught up with its own mantra, and since early 2014 those adhering to old school link building practices are probably walking away a little disappointed.
For Google, it’s a win.
For us marketers, it makes things more complicated, but it’s a win as well.
Right now, SEO is actually simpler than it has ever been, but it’s not easier. That is to say, there’s a lot of work involved, but the work you put in is more valuable to all parties involved now.
In fact, pages are ranking fairly easily for many website owners now, provided they do a great job of providing content. A key component now is Google’s paying attention to social media cues when determining how much of a buzz a page is creating, and therefore how many people find it interesting and useful.
Right now, you can create a page and be ranking on Google within a couple of hours, provided your piece catches social media fire and gets shared around.
Of course, that means you’ve got to come up with something really good. Honestly, though, this can only serve to elevate the level of content that gets produced, as webmasters will be able to spend more time focusing on creating really useful, interesting content for their sites instead of focusing on the post-care SEO of creating countless backlinks.
In order to win, then, you need to be onboard with this new thinking. In fact, if you’re still working within the old framework of SEO, you’re likely going to see more problems than benefits. Sites are constantly being penalized and thrown into the SERPs abyss because they have tried to game a system that has always been about staying one step ahead of those trying to game it (and a goal they’ve finally achieved).
Will SEO professionals still have specific strategies you can take to give your site a leg up?
Absolutely.
Will they work? Probably, but you need to think of SEO best practices these days as a side dish, because there is no longer a substitute for the main dish of hard work creating genuinely awesome pages for Google to crawl.
by seller_bot | Nov 8, 2017 | Our Blog
So now that the ice bucket challenge craze has died down, and we’ve had a few minutes to not be frightened by every video we see of our friends and family pouring water on their heads lest they say our names, it’s time to analyze the social phenomenon. As any successful internet marketer can tell you, everything that happens on social media is related to marketing, whether we choose to see it or not. So even if you think the ice bucket challenge has nothing to do with how you make your living, think again.
Here are some key points to take away from the ice bucket challenge while you’re setting up your next social media marketing campaign. These tips will help you achieve a higher level of virality, though probably not as high as seeing Hollywood’s celebrities dump your product over their heads!
Low Participation Barriers are Key
People want to participate in online challenges and events. They want to be part of the trend and they don’t want to have to buy any crazy ingredients to do so. What was so brilliant about the ice bucket challenge? It took ice, water, a bucket and a camera to participate. It’s safe to assume that the population of people who frequent social media has access to ice and water free of charge. It’s also fairly likely that they have a bucket around. And a camera? Name the last phone you saw that didn’t have a video camera.
Takeaway: If you want people to participate in your social media marketing campaign, make it easy for them to do so. The less friction there is between initial contact and participation, the more people will engage. Throw in some forms to fill out, specific sites to upload the videos to or an entry fee and the ice bucket challenge is a failure.
Self-Promoting Mechanisms Work via Social Invitations
The “challenge” aspect of the ice bucket event was brilliant. This plays right into peer pressure, with your friends and family looking “directly” at you from the camera and calling your name out. To drive the point home, they tag you in their post and everyone knows that you’ve been called out. You have to respond or you’re a horrible person who wants people to die! (Okay, not really, but that’s how it seems!)
Takeaway: Any marketing campaign where people are sharing the idea of their own free will, directly with other people is a winner. You don’t have to do anything to spread the campaign; it does it on its own. Keep in mind that the ice bucket challenge was initially only a three-person challenge, meaning you aren’t calling out a whole crowd of people. This makes it much harder to “hide” or get lost in a sea of tagged names. You’re in the spotlight and you must perform (or be shamed on social media), thus spreading the campaign once again.
Pay Attention to the Time Frame
There are two interesting factors built into the ice bucket challenge that have to do with time, both of which play directly into the success of the campaign. First, the urgency that is created through the issuing of the challenge, you have 24 hours to complete the challenge or you have to donate $100 to ALS. Now, forgetting the fact that people are dumping ice water over their head to avoid donating money to a good cause, focus on the fact that a deadline for action has been set, urgency created. Second, think about how short these videos are, 60 seconds was the longest one I saw and that was from a self-professed camera hog. Keep the content short and fun (yes, I do want to see some of my family members drenched in water and screaming, call me sadistic) and you’ll be successful.
Takeaway: Timing is important in that you:
1) Create a sense of urgency by building in a timetable during which the participants must act or face consequences AND
2) Keep the campaign short, sweet and fun.
by seller_bot | Nov 7, 2017 | Our Blog
So you’ve got your business up and running, whether that means freelance consulting, promoting affiliate products, or running a monetized online community, things are on the up and up. However, you know there’s lots of other, more established competitors in your space… so how do you stand out and convince customers that switching to you is a no-brainer? Well, here are a few proven ways to overdeliver in the digital age.
1. Collect feedback. With the amount of survey tools out there, or the ability to, you know, send an email message, it’s incredibly important that you start listening to what your customers are saying. Early on, this can be as simple as asking them in a post-sale or ideally post-service email what they thought of your service, and if they have anything they would improve.
This serves two purposes: First, it’s going to help you identify people who are really keen on your brand or product, and who might be good candidates to become your affiliates, etc. Starting out, you might just let them know that if they enjoyed working with you, you’d love to send some kind of reward their way if they find a few people to refer to you. These gifts don’t have to be anything expensive, but the gesture is often appreciated and the potential to help you grow is huge.
2. Have a personality. Seriously, for the same reason people vote for political candidates based on how they look, or how they generally “feel” about them, interactions and perception go a long way in purchase decisions. Plus, this is actually something you have a huge advantage at over your larger rivals: When a company has 37 different support agents to help with their massive customerbase, they can’t offer the same kind of repeat interactions or treatment that you can as an individual. Smart companies on the rise use the technique of overdelivering in the personalization and customer support department to win clients from their competitors. It’s not a bad strategy for entrepreneurs and online marketers, etiher.
3. Connect with them via social media as a person, not a brand. This is an interesting one. Now more than ever, people like to know who they’re doing business with, because they can. Social media has greatly raised expectations of interaction and transparency, to the point that even massive brands make sure they have a presence actively chat with those who mention them.
As an individual entrepreneur, you have the unique opportunity to let people know the person who wants to do business with them. This goes hand in hand with point number two about having a personality. Let people Snapchat with you in your off-hours, post Instagram pictures of your work days as they progress. The Facebook page for your freelancing or brand can be a place that people not only get to know you better through written posts, but when you can foster community through asking discussion questions and special offers.
Remember that your biggest weakness, being small and up against long-standing competition, is also your biggest asset, because it makes you more agile than anyone else (and your clients will remember that).
by seller_bot | Nov 5, 2017 | Our Blog
3 in 10 of the 3.4568% of all top-20 ranked Final Five finishers have all…hello? Okay, just checking to see if you’re still awake. Data has a way of putting people to sleep, not literally, but more of a “mental check out.” Data can be mind-numbing, even if the story that the numbers are telling is mind-blowing. Unless you have a real love for numbers and hard data crunching, chances are you’d rather have the information presented to you in a more amiable manner.
Your customers are no different. Sure, they do care that your service or product can increase their profit by 15% over the next 3 months if the quarterly return on their initial investment is plus or minus 5% (adjusting for a 2.5% margin of error), but they don’t want to read this sentence to find that out, I didn’t even want to write it!
Using Visual Storytelling to Compel and Inform
One of the easiest ways to get around this problem is to practice what we call, Visual Storytelling. The art of Visual Storytelling isn’t really a mystery, instead of telling a story with words, use a visual reference to get the point across. Perhaps the simplest visual cue that lends itself to data and numbers is the standard pie charts and line graphs we all grew to love in elementary school math class.
Still, as boring or standard as they might seem, it’s much more visually compelling to look at a line graph that goes way, way up rather than looking at something like this:
* 1/04/12 – 25.5%
* 5/28/12 – 28.5%
* 8/23/12 – 32.6%
* 10/2/12 – 41.8%
* 12/25/12 – 53.5%
* 1/29/13 – 69.1%
That’s a lot of information to take in, even if it is pretty simple to look at the right column and notice that the numbers are going up. But it’s still much easier to see a line graph shooting up through the roof showing profits and gains going up. Further, a line graph will get some points across better than data can. For instance, unless you have a real head for numbers and a keen eye, you probably didn’t notice that the rate the percentage above was going up increased drastically as time went on. Whereas the first percentage jump was 3%, it was followed by approximate jumps of 4%, 9%, 12% and 15%. And did you factor in the different dates? Of course not! That’s too much data to grasp just looking at numbers!
Infographics are Visual Storytelling Aids that Work
Of course, as mentioned, line graphs and pie charts are rather basic, so it’s a good idea to combine them into infographics. Infographics can have a number of different mediums for visual storytelling, all combined into one big sharable chart. They can also have blurbs next to the chart to get your main point across, giving you a simple, short and sweet way to explain your content and data without hitting people over the head with numbers and analysis. Of course, sometimes you need to do that, so don’t let this stop you, but thinking of alternative (and more viral) ways to get your point across is always helpful.
A good thing to keep in mind when relating data and stats to customers is that it doesn’t have to be boring just because it is informative. For example, you can have some humorous content in the infographics or even tie the data into something more lighthearted. For example, maybe your product increased sales for a specific brand at the same time reruns of the Big Bang Theory started airing on Channel 5. The point is, make your numbers more fun while still getting the point across.
by seller_bot | Nov 4, 2017 | Our Blog
Mobile marketing is THE way of getting your business noticed and known. Explore the various mobile avenues businesses can use to contact new customers in this report. It is time for your business to jump in and unleash a hidden traffic source of over a billion eager buyers that very few of your competitors know about…yet!
Mobile marketing has become the hottest new way for businesses to spread their message to customers. It is not really a surprise as Smartphone and tablet sales have been increasing year on year. As a result the trend of surfing the internet using mobile devices rather than PC’s is growing each year. Merrill Lynch has estimated that by the end of 2013, mobile devices will surpass PC’s as the most common device to access the Internet. Searches on mobile devices have grown 5 times in the past two years with over 50% of all LOCAL searches being done on a mobile device.
This opens up a great opportunity for local businesses like yours who want to directly reach potential new customers. Consumers that own and use Smartphone’s make searches for local businesses nearly twice as much as general mobile phone users (61% vs. 32%). This is great news for all local businesses that can rank high on searches, as their new customers are ready to buy there and then.
Once a customer gets to your site they expect to see a mobile friendly website that is easy to navigate giving them a positive experience that will encourage them to buy from you.
Here is what they are likely do once they get to your site:
• Get directions and opening times (74%)
• Contact your store (64%)
• Find product information (61%)
• Make a purchase or order a service (50%)
That figure of 50% making a purchase is phenomenal. You have a 50% chance to make a sale for every visitor who views your website on a mobile device. Perhaps now you can see why it is vital for your business to have a mobile friendly website to entice these new visitors to buy from you or use your services.
How to Plan Your Mobile Marketing Campaign
Just like any other advertising campaign, your mobile marketing must be carefully planned so that you can achieve the best possible results.
Here are some steps you should follow if you want to run your own successful mobile advertising campaign:
The first thing you need to do is decide what you want to achieve. The main objective of mobile marketing is to find leads and convert them into paying customers. However you might also want to redirect your visitors to your bricks and mortar store or office.
You need to understand your audience. It is important to remember that you have to actively engage users for your mobile marketing to be effective. To do this you need to do your homework and understand the audience you are aiming for so that you can effectively tailor your marketing and information to reach them.
Don’t be afraid to be innovative and try something new. Mobile marketing is still relatively new making it the perfect medium for exploration and creativity. Even if the campaign fails, there will be lots of lessons that you can learn from it that will help make your next campaigns much more successful.
Cost Effective and Powerful
Because they don’t fully understand mobile marketing, a number of small businesses we speak to feel mobile marketing is too expensive or too complicated. So they back away from it, decide not to investigate further.
If that is how you feel, this article will definitely reassure you and help allay any fears or hesitations about mobile marketing. It will show you how any small business can set up an easy, yet effective, mobile marketing campaign on a budget.
Here is a selection of the most cost effective marketing strategies which are easy to set up and very powerful, resulting in more sales for your business:
SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is simply marketing using a mobile phone. SMS stands for ‘Short Message Server’, otherwise known as text messaging. The beauty of SMS marketing is the fact every mobile device has SMS capability. Virtually everybody can send and receive a text message now. That means no matter what business you are in, SMS is a viable marketing option.
SMS marketing is one of the most affordable mobile ad campaigns, because the cost of sending a text are so much cheaper these days. To get the most out of an SMS campaign, don’t send too many messages out too often as this will only serve to annoy your potential customers. You need to think very carefully about the message or offer that you are going to send. Try and put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself: Is the message I am sending out really something that I would want to receive? If it is, then be sure to always include a ‘call to action’ in the text.
For example you might tell them if they present the text when they come to your store to make a purchase, they will get a discount, or you could direct them to visit your website to enter a competition using a particular codeword that is included in the text. There is no limit to the options of promotions and offers you can use. You just need to remember to include your business name and contact details in each SMS so they know who the text is from.
QR Codes
Although you might not be familiar with the name, you will definitely have seen QR codes before. If you hadn’t noticed them, now that they have been pointed out to you, you will see them everywhere. QR, stand for Quick Response and they are just simple two dimensional codes very similar to retail barcodes that have been used for years. You usually see these codes on printed advertisements in magazines, newspapers, flyers and even on TV. People scan them with their Smartphone’s to view the content. They are a fantastic opportunity for any local businesses looking to do something different with their marketing, particularly if they are on a budget. They cut down the costs on paying for huge advertisements in the local newspapers and magazines.
For example, if you are in Real Estate, you could put your QR codes on For Sale signs, flyers and in the local newspaper ads. Then, when people view these codes with a QR reader app on their Smartphones, they will be taken directly to a video or full page website, where they will be given a full tour of the property. Before QR codes came along you would have paid a fortune for a half or even a full page ad to make sure to get in all of the information you wanted. Not anymore! All that information can now be accessed just by scanning one tiny QR box. Now you understand how to use QR codes, you will no doubt come up with many more ideas relevant to your business.
Mobile Phone Applications
Mobile phone applications provide businesses with a great way to strengthen the bond between you and your customer. Virtually every major business has their own app, but even smaller businesses are realising that, for less than the price of a one-off full page ad in their local newspaper (which would be seen for just one day), they can have a useful marketing tool that could generate a ton of brand new business.
Mobile Phone App Ads
There are literally thousands of free apps available in Smartphone app stores. These apps are free because instead of paying for the app, the user knows the app will display ads as they are using it. They expect to see the ads and are not offended by them. As a result, this ype of mobile marketing can be particularly effective when the ad is related to the subject of the app. So, spend a few minutes looking around apps related to your service industry and choose which app you would like to advertize on.
Location Based Mobile Advertizing (often referred to as Proximity Marketing)
This kind of marketing is generally used with Bluetooth-enabled devices. These custom ads, created by local businesses, are displayed on mobile devices whenever the phone user is in a particular location. This kind of advertizing is very popular and welcomed by the phone user. After all, who doesn’t love to receive a bargain? They will receive a simple text message, coupon, picture message or even a short video showing what offer is currently available, and as these offers are normally time sensitive it encourages them to take action quickly.
Your Business Can Cash in on Mobile Marketing Today
Although some of these ideas might seem too complicated or out of your budget, don’t let this put you off looking into them as you are going to be pleasantly surprised. The fact is, if your business is to survive, you need to get involved in mobile marketing as soon as possible. Your customers are actively using their Smartphones every day to find and purchase products and services like yours. They will expect your company to get involved too. If you don’t, then your competition is going to get there instead, making irresistible offers and ranking higher than you. So when the customers make a local search on their phones your competition is going to steal the business away from right under your nose. Don’t put off making your website mobile friendly. You will definitely lose more money than you save if you do!
How We Can Help
As so many of your customers now access the internet via their mobile phones having a mobile friendly website is essential for any business.
We are a local online marketing company. We are incredibly friendly and have a wealth of experience in online and mobile marketing. We have a number of services and packages to suit your business perfectly and give you a strong online presence which will attract thousands of extra visitors and customers to your website.
If you don’t have the time or confidence to get started online then please give us a call or email us. You will be so glad that you did. We are not pushy but you will love our enthusiasm and will be very excited to learn what we can do for your business.
