Are Times Harder for Small Business?

When Constant Contact asked small business owners if it was more difficult to run a small business now compared to five years ago 59% said yes. Most cited the economy and keeping up with technology the main challenges that face businesses today.

But online tools were cited as pluses to head off the competition that comes from direct sources as well as big business. The online tools were cited as not only leveling off the playing field between big and small businesses but also were considered more affordable tools to get the word out there to customers than yesterday's marketing sources.

And while more businesses are using email and social media to market to prospective customers, 23% state it's difficult to keep up with technology. These businesses are at risk of losing to the competition. Many of today's customers look to the personal contact that they receive through social media and online marketing. Building those kinds of relationships and being available to customers takes time away from the ordinary day to day business of the swamped small business owner.

That's when a web consultant can step in and manage your online media marketing. Posting on a regular basis to social media, responding to your customers requests and inquiries, and handling newsletter campaigns increases your customer base and sales and costs less than yesterday's marketing initiatives.

And with the new marketing tools 58% of small business owners say that their businesses will be thriving 5 years from now---optimism that can't be beat.

Source: Constant Contact Survey

Keeping Prospects Engaged over the Long Haul

According to Justcreative.com, Chilton Research shows that many consumers take quite a while to make a large purchase---as much as 60% take seven months or longer to punch that buy button. Staying ahead of the competition by engaging and keeping with your prospect is even more important. An innovative internet marketing plan can position your company to do just that.

• Start with a website that provides information on the product that the prospective customer can add to a wishlist, watch videos, find specs, and see all the great things your product can do. This provides something that can be shared with other decision makers in the family. At the same time, though, you need to link to something even more dynamic and that would be:
• Engaging and active social media that not only offers tips, samples, sales information, but legitimate praises from your Facebook fans. This is a sure way of keeping connected to your prospect. Since your potential customer has already identified a need for your product, at this point you're staying ahead of the competition with your online community. This is a great way to celebrate what your business does best and proves just how responsive and inclusive your business community is.
• Ask your potential customer for an email address and permission to sign up for your newsletter at the time of first contact. Fill the newsletter with reasons that the purchase shouldn't be put off. Share tips, personal stories, events, and links on your business---push information out to your customer and stay ahead. 

 With an online strategy connecting with a prospect over the long term yields the results. And the online strategy keeps that customer with your business community even after the sale is completed.        

It's About Staying Connected

Making it in today's economical environment is all about relationships. Marketing doesn't end at the sale any longer. Keeping customers close throughout the life of your product through training, events, and support insures a happy customer will bring in more like minded customers and return to you for product replacement. How do you do that?

By staying connected. Websites, Social Media, and blogs are a great way to keep customers in the loop. These all provide a platform for education, communication, and innovation. When a customer succeeds in the use of something you sell, recommends your product, or innovates outside of the box you have an avenue that can reward that customer. And there is nothing like a public pat on the back to bring a flock of people to see who and what created the kudos.

Today's marketing doesn't stop at point of sale.  And more than ever before today's marketing has sale potential. By staying connected even potential problems can be turned into potential sales opportunities. And businesses who commit to communicating and responsiveness capture the market with additional sales and returning customers.

Not sure where to begin? Contact us today for a total online marketing plan.    

Mix it up

Half hearted online content yields half hearted results. A great web site with great content is only one step in the process in today's world. A complete marketing plan could include:

• A blog with expert content, tips of your trade, and news of your business' sales and events. Be sure to link back to your own website when appropriate. This gives your web site some additional status in the search engines and provides another way potential customers to gain more information about your products and services. Be sure to link back to sites over the internet that provide additional information too---give credit where credit is due. Be careful not to copy content though or all your hard work may not be recognized by search engines looking for duplicate content.
• Social Media is an easy way to get your business up and running. But be careful. This requires a commitment or it will leave potential customers wondering if you are still in business. Plan on making a minimum of one post per week on a Facebook page which you can then transfer into a Tweet on Twitter. Less than that and you may as well not do social media. And the content has to be a mix of sales and business information, free tips and offers, and personal information making your business someplace that people want to spend time with. Give your customers what they want and they'll come back again and again, and pass you on to their friends too.          
•  Put it all together on your website with links that include all your social media and your blog. Automate all as much as possible and don't forget a regular newsletter too. 

Web marketing pays off with sales and customers but it takes time and commitment to build a web presence. Static web sites and social media pages can be a detriment, not an asset to your business. We can help your business get started with your marketing plan. Contact us today.

Happy Cyber-Monday

Online, small businesses are on a more equal footing with the big guys than in the brick and mortar world. Shoppers don't have to physically go to another place to view what the small business has to offer and it is often simpler to find a phone number, email address, and get a response back from a small business than it is from a large guy if there are questions or if your customer is searching for a very specific holiday gift request.

So on Cyber-Monday, even if you don't have an online store, you can bet that with the right keywords, people will be visiting your site, viewing your information, contacting you, and coming into your brick and mortar store to buy what they need for a perfect gift.      

Cell Phones bring sales

According to a recent article on Market Watch the majority of cell phone users are searching for services and products online and these users feel the smart phone is a really handy device to use to make a purchase.

The good news is that most smart phones know where they're located. A phone will give information locally first and then branch out depending on where that phone's user is if that user allows for certain GPS location searching. This means that local small business can be on equal footing with all the big competition around as long as the proper keywords and web marketing is in place.

Because security is a concern for these online users it's important that your website offer a Paypal option for payment as it is viewed as more secure over traditional credit and debit cards. And for the 3 out of every 10 who don't feel comfortable making purchases online---be sure your physical location, phone, and hours of operation are prominently displayed on your website and are kept up to date.      

New Year Media

With the Christmas over, the time to step up your media campaign is now. Keeping up your contact with those new and old customers, adding supplementary products and services to compliment their recent purchases, helping and assisting with future sales, these are the things that being on top of your social media at this time can do for your business.

Try an email campaign outlining a class and event schedule, tips through your blog, and top it all with a show stopping Facebook and Twitter Page. No time is better than this winter lull to get your business moving into the new year with new customers, new sales through online media marketing.    

How will you Inspire your Customers?

The best kind of marketing is the kind that gives at the same time it wants to get something. The Bing Search engine has an ingenious marketing idea; each day for the month of December a visitor can obtain a gift per day. Some gifts are ads for products, but sprinkled among the products are freebies---patterns for holiday decorations, holiday music and video, special deals from vendors.

And these are the types of things that bring customers back to you over and over again. I may not have frequented Bing's search engine much over the previous month, but just about every day since I got my December email I've been going back to the site to see what's next.

It's fun. It's inspirational.             

Tale of the Bison

This weekend I came upon a marvel of Internet marketing. Business groupings were made into tours that people could visit in a weekend afternoon drive. There were tours of wineries, places to shop, farmer's markets, flea markets, art galleries. All were on one website with links to individual sites as applicable. A virtual tour of a region---and it was all in my backyard.

I love bison. They're big lumbering creatures that man almost totally destroyed. I've traveled far and wide to view a bison---clear across the country, to the other side of the state, to three or four states over.

My love for bison doesn't stop at just observation either. I have tasted bison meat; it's good and better for you than beef or pork.

One of the virtual tours that I browsed this weekend included a bison farm---less than 15 miles away from my home. One that has been in business for over 5 years and that I only found because of the power of Internet marketing.        

What to Tweet?

OK. So you've got the website. You've got the blog. And you'd like to take advantage of those new phones everyone has to keep your business out in front of the competition.

First take a look at the competition. Are you a retailer? Most retailers, whether they sell vacuums or food compete with places like Walmart or Target. What are they talking about?

They're talking about their deal of the day, their sale events, their career opportunities, and their charitable events. No need to buy into Groupon. Post your own sale, tweet it out to a few customers at once, follow it up with a link for an internet coupon posted to your website or blog and watch as your customers get the word out to all their friends.

Hey there's a big sale down out Ma and Pa's this Saturday!

That's competing with the big guys.     

Online Marketing--Beware

Seems odd that I should be repeating a warning about online marketing? Yesterday I came across an article about an innocent small business owner who signed on with Groupon for a campaign. You can read about her experience here.

What this small business owner's experience demonstrates is the power of online marketing. Online marketing has the power to bring in customers that would not have considered you previously; maybe because they were unaware of the need for your product or maybe they often use the product you sell but were never aware that your business existed and had better service than what they were getting elsewhere.

The Groupon experience brought in so many customers with discount cards that it presented a financial hardship for the business owner. Beware--don't under estimate the power of online marketing. 

Customer Visit Expectations

What do customers expect when they visit your website? What do they expect when they visit your actual location?

Meeting your customer's expectations online can be a tricky thing. Your customers may have entirely different needs and expectations than you are providing.

Using a good analytics program, research how your current website is being used. Where are clicks being made? Where are customers exiting? Where do they enter?

A short survey on your site can also provide valuable information. Did the customer find what they were looking for? Was the site easy to use and informative? How likely are they to use your services or product in the future based on information they have obtained?

Understanding why your customer locates you on line, what they find when they locate you, and where and what they do from there are the first steps to making that sale and keeping that relationship going into the future.