by Hannah Whittenly Are your marketing efforts falling on deaf ears? If it feels like you spend tons of time and money on promoting your business but have little to show for it, you’re not alone. In today’s competitive landscape, it’s easy for even highly innovative companies to get lost in the shuffle. Luckily, there’s a lot that you can do about it. First, identify the mistakes that you’re making. Here are 10 especially common ones and steps that you can take to correct them. 1. You Don’t Have a WebsiteAccording to the non-profit organization SCORE, only 51 percent of small businesses have websites. If yours is among the 49 percent that don’t, it’s little wonder that customers have no idea that your company exists. Why don’t you have a website for your business? If you think that it’s too expensive, think again. Having a simple website developed is reasonably affordable, and the return on your investment will be considerable. If you think that maintaining one will be too difficult, services like Squarespace and Weebly will show you otherwise. Finally, perhaps you believe that your business is “too local” to warrant a website. However, even when seeking nearby goods and services, people overwhelmingly turn to the Internet. The solution here is simple: Have a website developed for your business. Its visibility will skyrocket in no time. 2. You Don’t Analyze What Works and What Doesn’tLike many business owners, you may pour a lot of time and money into your marketing efforts and then leave it at that. Without using analytics to see what works and what doesn’t, however, you’re just spinning your tires. Successful marketing is all about trying things, measuring results and then optimizing your efforts accordingly. Without tracking the effectiveness of various techniques, there is no way to tell what works, and you can end up sticking with strategies that are getting you nowhere—and missing out on ones that really work. With so many affordable, advanced analytics tools out there—Google Analytics, in particular—there’s no excuse for not tracking the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. By tracking metrics like conversions, bounce rates, traffic to various landing pages and the like, you can double down on techniques that are working and ditch those that aren’t. 3. You Aren’t Spying on the CompetitionRegardless of its niche or industry, your company has competition. Keeping track of what competitors are doing is one of the best ways to optimize your own marketing efforts. When it comes to marketing, knowing your enemy is incredibly wise. Identify at least three primary competitors in your niche, and study their marketing techniques to leverage their successes and failures. For example, if a competitor tries something once and then abandons it, it’s probably not worth your while. Monitor your competitors’ websites, blogs, social media pages, landing pages, paid ad campaigns, email marketing efforts and other marketing activities. Where do they seem to be having the most success? Take their efforts and improve upon them for even better results. Spying on the competition may also help you refine your offerings. For example, if a competitor discontinues something that is still in demand, you can swoop in and offer it yourself to snag that business. Finally, monitor competitors’ backlinks. Who is linking to them, and what kind of content is being linked? Use this information to bolster your link-building strategy. 4. Your Business Isn’t Distinctive EnoughEven in the most specialty niches, companies that don’t stand out generally go under. It is crucial to show prospects why they should do business with your company instead of with your competitors, and the best way to do that is by offering something that the competition isn’t. Assess your offerings. How can you make them stand apart from the competition’s? A few characteristics of a better, more unique product include: • The product is truly one of a kind—no one else is offering anything like it • The good or service offers better value than alternative options • The item meets customers’ needs better • The product has superior overall quality • The good or service delivers truly unique features and benefits The bottom line is that “me too” businesses face uphill battles. Standing out in some way makes all other marketing efforts easier and more effective. 5. You Don’t Know Your AudienceYou can’t effectively market anything without knowing who you are marketing it to. Unfortunately, business owners have a tendency to promote their companies based on who they think their ideal customers are versus who they actually are.
Chances are that your offerings appeal to more than one kind of customer. For this reason, a granular marketing approach is essential. Engage in market research to identify the needs and pain points of various types of customers. Use this information to create detailed personas for each type of customer. Different approaches should be used for each distinct persona. This means creating unique landing pages, social media campaigns and content for each. Put each unique buyer’s needs front and center in your efforts to maximize the effectiveness of your overall strategy. 6. You Don’t Know the First Thing About MarketingUnless you own a marketing firm, you may know next to nothing about marketing. Like many business owners, you may just contract the work out to others and assume that they will get things right. Having a basic grasp of marketing is crucial because it allows you to hire the right people, not because it allows you to do it yourself. Business owners who know nothing about marketing are taken advantage of constantly. Get up to speed about today’s most effective marketing techniques so that you can hire people who won’t lead you astray. 7. You Don’t Have a Defined Marketing StrategyYou may think that you prioritize marketing, but that can’t be true if you don’t have a clear, written marketing strategy in place. Without one, you are sure to waste huge amounts of time and money. According to the 2015 B2C Content Marketing Trends Report by Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, marketers with written strategies were twice as likely to say that their efforts were effective versus those who don’t. Instead of handling things in a haphazard, willy-nilly way, they put pen to paper and make a clear, actionable plan. Sit down with your team to develop a clear marketing strategy. It should include an overarching brand identity and marketing message. It should also define your target audience as well as when, where and how you will market your business. Which marketing techniques will you use? On which channels will you use them? What schedule will you follow? Outline your marketing budget too to avoid squandering money on the wrong techniques. 8. You’re Losing at SEOBy now, everyone knows that search engine optimization, or SEO, is one of the best ways to promote a company online. But just because you’re engaging in SEO doesn’t mean that you’re doing it as an SEO expert would. Do any of these common SEO mistakes sound familiar? If so, it’s time for a change: • prioritizing quantity over quality when link building • not optimizing for local search • optimizing for the wrong keywords • not using anchor text at all, or being too repetitive with it • using low-quality content • not using unique title tags, meta descriptions or URLs That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of other mistakes that ruin the effectiveness of SEO. Something that SEO whiz Chris Walker understands is that one of the biggest problems is how SEO is constantly changing. What works today may not work tomorrow. For this and many other reasons, it is generally best to hire a professional to help. Stick with SEOs who employ personalized approaches. An SEO expert needs to take the time to understand a company’s unique needs, stay abreast of the latest SEO trends, have a proven SEO system in place and hopefully offer free consultations. 9. You’re Ignoring MobileNot long ago, we officially passed the mobile usage tipping point. According to KPCB’s 2015 Internet Trends Report, mobile digital media time now totals 51 percent versus 42 percent for desktop. Also, people spend 2.8 hours per day accessing the Internet via mobile now versus just 0.4 hours per day in 2010. What’s more is that 87 percent of Millennials say that their smartphones never leave their side. So, mobile is a thing. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re surely missing out on tons of exposure and business. You don’t have to create a separate mobile app or mobile website to correct this issue. Instead, hire someone to build your website with responsive web design, so that it renders properly across all devices. Responsive web design delivers a better user experience. Google recommends it, and it’s cost effective and easy to manage. What’s not to love? 10. You’re Putting All of Your Eggs in One BasketWhen a particular marketing technique pays off, it’s tempting to go all-in and to focus all of your budget and efforts on it. However, this can and will backfire in a number of ways. Diversification is crucial when it comes to effectively marketing a business. An integrated marketing approach that incorporates a variety of techniques is better for business. For one thing, you’re better positioned for sudden changes. For example, an algorithm change can render what works now completely ineffective in the blink of an eye. By having other approaches in the hopper, you aren’t completely out of luck. Additionally, an integrated approach keeps customers more engaged. You can also play different channels off of each other to maximize their effectiveness. Don’t just diversify for digital, either. Traditional approaches like cold calling and direct mail are still worthwhile too. Whether you’re making one or two of the mistakes above or are guilty of all 10, don’t despair. It’s never too late to correct them. The sooner you do, the sooner your message will reach the right people—and the sooner you will on your way to true success. Source: http://customerthink.com/top-10-reasons-customers-have-no-idea-your-business-exists/ by Annie Pilon In Small Business Operations Running a business is complicated, which means there are some factors or tasks that tend to get overlooked. From basic concepts to more involved processes, members of our small business community have plenty of tips for dealing with those sometimes overlooked business tasks. See the full list of tips below.
Be Sure to Spend Enough Time on Marketing So how much time should you be spending sharing content or connecting on social media or networking at industry related events? How long should you be spending on marketing in general? It depends. Answer the Small Business Trends poll and see how you stack up against others for amount of time spent marketing your business. Learn the Difference Between User Experience and Customer Experience The user experience and customer experience are important considerations for any business. But they’re not the same. And understanding what each is can make a big difference for your business. Caroline Sober-James explains more in this Acumium blog post. Get Honest Feedback for Your Business Idea Coming up with a great business idea is, of course, important. But you also need to gather some honest feedback about your ideas if you want them to succeed, as Cate Costa discusses here. Members of the BizSugar community also share thoughts on the post here. Invest in LinkedIn Marketing LinkedIn can be good for more than just keeping in touch with your professional connections. There are plenty of marketing opportunities that the platform presents, as Aaron Agius details in this Search Engine Journal post. Determine Your Brand’s Social Media Persona Lots of brands get on social media and just start posting without giving it much thought. But to really make an impact with your social media, you need to determine a persona. This post on the Inkhouse Inklings Blog by Sarah Mitus explains the importance of having a persona for your social media efforts. Pitch Your Online Content for the Right Audience Finding your target audience is absolutely essential to any business. And you need to constantly keep that audience in mind when creating and pitching your online content as well. This Two Feet Marketing post by David Lowbridge includes some thoughts on pitching content to your audience. And you can also see discussion about the post over on BizSugar. Use These Tech Savvy Ways to Tell Your Brand Story Every brand needs to tell a story. And you can actually use technology to help convey that story to customers and potential customers online. Here, Ivan Widjaya shares some tips about using technology to tell a brand story in this Noobpreneur post. Improve Your Email Click-Through Rates When it comes to email marketing, there’s a lot of emphasis put on gaining subscribers. But if you want your email marketing to have any impact, you also need to focus on improving your click-through rates. Here, Neil Patel shares some strategies for improving click-through rates on emails. Build Customer Trust to Stand Out in a Crowd There are tons of flashy strategies out there for making your business stand out. But few are as effectively as just building good old fashioned trust with your customers. Sherry Gray of ChamberOfCommerce.com discusses more here. And BizSugar members discuss the post here as well. Use SEO to Get Local Customers to Cling to Your Content When you think about the importance of SEO, you probably consider how essential it is to online businesses. But local businesses can use SEO and content marketing to reach customers as well. Here, Bhupinder Kaur Chhabra outlines how SEO and content can benefit local businesses in the Blurbpoint blog. If you’d like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com Source:http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/09/10-overlooked-elements-running-successful-business.html BY ZOË HENRY More than 60 million small businesses are using Facebook to grow their sales, some three million of which are deploying advertising. Now, the social media giant wants to help those companies reach new customers in promising international markets-- at no additional cost.
On Thursday, Facebook announced the addition of some new tools that will give small businesses a boost in growing their footprint abroad. The new features are designed to help business owners determine which markets they should expand to, and the best strategy to reach those customers. "Digital strategies and technology are really helping small businesses to find new customers," said Katherine Shappley, the director of small business at Facebook. Her team of about 150 was inspired to create the new tools when they noticed that some people were already "hacking the system." Using Facebook's "Page Insights," business owners would gather data on the global locations where people were most interested in buying a product. Essentially, Facebook wants to help startups to recreate their early successes in new countries. One of the new tools, called "International Lookalikes," is an expansion of a preexisting feature that lets business owners identify potential customers, based on the age, gender, and location of their current ones. With "International Lookalikes," businesses can identify potential customers abroad. Similarly, a new "Regional Targeting" tool allows companies to extend their advertising to the most promising areas of the world, based on where early customers were enticed by advertising. "It [the platform] looks at the initial conversion and finds similar clusters [abroad]," explains Shappley. Facebook is also rolling out a handbook and informational webinars, aggregating publicly available data, to teach international marketing techniques to business owners. These tools are all free to use, beyond the existing cost to advertise on Facebook, which varies depending on a company's budget. As Shappley underscores, more than one billion people on the site are connected to at least one business in another country, including 60 percent of American users. (There's no pre-requisite for setting up a small business Page, so long as the user has a Facebook account.) Many business owners have long-recognized the benefits of using social media to inexpensively target new customers, and retain the old ones. "Facebook is the most popular social media for small businesses like mine. We have meager budgets," says Gene Marks, the founder of Marks Group (and an Inc.com columnist). He recently touted the announcement that Facebook would show ads even in the presence of ad blockers in a Washington Post column. Little Passports, a San Francisco startup that sells educational toys, recently used Facebook to find customers in six foreign countries. The company, which first launched in 2009, is now on track to see $30 million in revenue. Roughly 15 percent of its sales now comes from outside of the U.S. To be sure, the move is likely to boost Facebook's own revenue if the company is successful in signing on new businesses. Facebook topped $17.93 billion in sales last year, up by 44 percent from 2014, thanks to its continued push for mobile content. (The company declined to comment on what percentage of its total sales small business clients account for.) And while attracting customers is certainly a major challenge for businesses looking to expand abroad, the new features do little to help them overcome other formidable challenges, such as navigating government red tape, forging strategic partnerships, or discovering new sources of capital. Source: http://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/small-businesses-get-a-boost-through-new-facebook-tools.html By Kara Mulder Small businesses-- with limited marketing budgets-- are competing with national brands when it comes to advertising. Due to the online nature of commerce in this era, local businesses have no other option but to compete with corporations that have marketing budgets much larger than merely a couple of years of revenue. The online attribute required of companies demands that small businesses compete on a larger scale, but how do entities do remain competitive?
Small businesses can best stay relevant through online marketing. Thanks to the rapid growth of the internet, small businesses are better positioned than ever to compete alongside big companies through the utilization of an online marketing strategy. However, many small business owners believe that online marketing is ineffective and useless. Many owners will say things like "My customers aren't online," or "Online marketing is a fad." Some go as far to say that, "Online marketing doesn't work for me." The truth is, a company will never gain new online customers-- and even in-person consumers-- if the business does not have a strong online presence. There are close to five billion Google searches a day and over one billion active Facebook users. It's hard to argue that at least some of those users won't be interested in searching for a local products or services. With online advertising alone, small businesses can target specific demographics and geographic regions; reaching hundreds of potential customers online. The rapid growth of online marketing can be most evidently seen in the retail sector. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, online retailers were found to be the overall drivers for retail sales for more than a year, while traditional department store sales declined. Online marketing is, in fact, a necessity. Here's why: 1. Consumer expectations have changed When most consumers hear of a new business, they immediately look up the website and social media accounts to learn more. To find you, they plug your address into their smartphone and use Google maps to get there. People expect you to have a website. If you cannot be verified digitally, individuals searching out information doubt your existence and legitimacy. Also, more consumers are increasingly searching for products and services on the web and these trends are expected increase exponentially. 2. Your competitors are online You might not have launched an online marketing campaign yet, but your competitors mostly likely have. Michael Priyev, manager of new york web design agency, Toggle Web Media, explains that, "The reason why online advertising doesn't work for so many small businesses is that their websites do not engage or connect with potential customers online. It's not a question of how pretty the website is designed, but rather, how effective it is in converting online visitors into customers." Priyev adds, "Providing a unique brand value proposition, user experience (UX) design, and click-to-action (CTA's) buttons on a site are key to a successful digital marketing strategy." Online marketing is essential for small businesses today and is a cost-effective way to increase revenue, customers, and brand presence. Consumers are now online, and online marketing is only growing more important. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/why-small-businesses-need_b_11869800 By LINDA DUKE Socially Responsible Marketing is doing social good. In recent years, restaurant brands were touting health benefits and lower calorie menu items; now socially responsible marketing is the big focus for restaurant operators and consumers alike. What does Socially Responsible Marketing mean for your restaurant?
Socially Responsible Marketing calls for combining business vision with a “social vision.” A business vision may be necessary for business success, but it is no longer sufficient—having a “social vision” is imperative today. A social vision is one that contributes to social and environmental sustainability, while producing profits for its business. For example, many California restaurant operators, hit with the severe drought, are taking responsibility and steps to cut back on water. Their “social vision” is to reduce water waste. One operator installed an air compressor to blow plates off instead of wasting water to rinse them off prior to going into the dishwasher. His “social mission” was to save thousands of gallons of water and he did and made headline news besides! This is Socially Responsible Marketing. Today, any guest who dines at any restaurant in the state of California has to ask for a glass of water. It is not automatically served. California now has this as a mandatory law. Socially Responsible Marketing instills a sense of faith and goodwill in customers and cause consumers not only to feel better about dining at the restaurant in the first place, but also feel better about dining there again. Socially responsible marketing makes sense as a business strategy because it not only broadens and expands your customer base, but increases the likelihood of developing customer loyalty and frequency. The practice of socially responsible marketing has many distinct advantages for restaurant brand leaders who choose to embrace it. In terms of financial advantages, the government has established a number of tax-cuts and other benefits for restaurant companies as incentives to be more socially responsible. For instance, companies that reduce their carbon emissions and pollution levels are often offered tax exemptions and other assets for their cooperation in the country's movement towards environmental awareness and responsibility. Socially Responsible Marketing attracts millennial guests. This attractive demographic of young diners appreciate social responsibility and as a result, restaurant brands can gain their business and maintain it with more ease. For example, if a restaurant can certify certain menu items are "organic," they gain a certain degree of competitive advantage over competition. Customers are willing to pay more than menu items that have not been certified as "organic," because they perceive the value to be higher. Get Started with Socially Responsible Marketing Here’s how:
Certification: From Kosher, Fair-trade, organic and gluten-free: global organizations are setting standards to identify legit customers. Consumers are becoming more aware of the standards and guidelines. Superfoods: Überhealthy and natural foods will continue to sprout up on menus including: quinoa, goji berries, yerba mate, acai coconut and hemp milk. These are considered “socially hot” with Millennials. Reuseable/Biodegradable: Packaging and beverages which offer recycling, and to-go bags and packaging produced using reusable materials and are biodegradable are expected. Restaurant operators not offering biodegradable paper products or recycling in their restaurants are getting negative reviews on Yelp. Ingredients and Sizes: New menu items geared towards lactose intolerant, gluten free, and sized for correct portion control, are increasingly offered as options. Consumers seek these menu items out and become loyal and frequent diners. Guests who are allergic to nuts, wheat, and dairy find it difficult to eat at many restaurants or get the ingredient information. Brands providing these details, and numerous offerings, are winning new fans and repeat customers, due to this perceived “socially responsible” act. Making Your Restaurant Socially Responsible
No Proof: making unsubstantiated claims. Vagueness: apply a broad term with no explanation. Irrelevance: Making a claim that has no baring on the product in question. Fibbing: an outright overstatement or boast of an unearned certification. Lesser of Two Evils: Makers of naturally polluting products make green claims. (i.e. Lawn care chemicals—claiming a “green” product, but the use of lawn care chemicals is not a green practice.) Knowing if You're Socially Responsible"The Golden Rule: Do unto others the way you would want others to do unto you. The utilitarian principle: Act in a way that results in the greatest good for the greatest number. Kant's categorical imperative: Act in such a way that the action taken under the circumstances could be a universal law, or rule, of behavior. The professional ethic: Take actions that would be viewed as proper by a disinterested panel of professional peers. The TV test: Always ask, "Would I feel comfortable explaining to a national TV audience why I took this action?" The legal test: Ask whether the proposed action or decision is legal. Established laws are generally considered minimum standards for ethics. The four-way test: Ask whether you can answer "yes" to the following questions as they relate to the decision:
Water: Where is water used in your business? Sinks, bathrooms, guests, walk-in, freezer, coffee machine, decorative, and plumbing. Fuel: Oil, gas or propane, helium, stoves, ovens, delivery vans, trucks. Frying oil. Electricity: light bulbs, indoor and outdoor lighting, appliances, office electronics, POS system, surveillance, freezer, walk-in, stereo, TV’s, alarm. Insulation, ventilation and Sealing: Windows, ceilings, crawl space, attic hoods. Heating and Cooling: water heater, air conditioner, space heaters, fans. Cleaning supplies: disinfectant, surface cleaners, dishwasher cleaner. Uniforms and Linens: Do they require too much washing? What are they made of and from what resources were they made? Cooking: Ingredients. Quantity, temperatures and cooking times of all products. Food & Beverage: Know all your vendors products and where they come from. Although you may buy beef, fish and produce—who you buy it from can make a huge impact on the environment. Menu: Is it printed on recycled paper? Can you print your menu in a smaller size? Audit All Ingredients:
The video streaming platform Periscope has gained a huge amount of attention in the last year. In just a single year of operation the company has managed toboast 200 million video streams. Every marketer in the world knows how much video marketing has taken off. Brands everywhere are scrambling to compile their video offerings. Video is especially helpful for hitting the mobile audience. But how do you go about using Periscope to market your business? You’re about to find out. Create An Exclusive Experience Too many brands will simply repost the same content on multiple platforms. The problem with this is you’re not giving anyone a reason to join you on them if they’re not already there. Driving traffic to your Periscope account can only be done if you’re giving people something different. One of the best ways to do this is to give them a guaranteed exclusive experience. Offer them something they won’t find anywhere else. This has the advantage of making followers feel like they’re valued. For example, you could give them some insider experiences they’re not going to find anywhere else. Pull back the curtain and show them what’s going on behind the scenes. Send Your Live Event Around The World Most businesses will host some sort of live event at some point. Live streaming has become such a useful marketing tool that brands in all niches are thinking of ways they can stream some sort of physical event. This could be a conference, a product unveiling, or simply an open house. But Periscope can be used to amplify the value of your event. It can easily offer information, provide an education, or just entertain. Your viewers can tune in from across the world, breaking down geographical restrictions. Now your fans can feel like they’re in the room with you. Increase Customer Engagement With Live Broadcasting What a lot of people don’t realize about live streams is it’s not just a chance for people to watch you do something. It’s a chance to increase your levels of customer engagement through live broadcasting. The fact is that live broadcasting is one of the best ways to make customers feel like they’re part of whatever you’re doing. Periscope allows viewers to type comments into the chat box. You can see the comments and you can respond to them. There are lots of ways in which you can make your live stream interactive. One of the most popular ways is to host a live Q&A session. You can get people to ask questions and they can answer live. Go even further than this and allow people to dictate what happens as part of your event. There’s no better way to get people to engage with your brand. Form A Customer Relationship With A Relatable Brand Turning a customer into a lifetime buyer is aboutforming a relationship. Forming a customer relationship takes a lot of time and effort. Periscope can be used to do this through adding a human side to proceedings. Show your company for what it really is. Cut the corporate spiel and show the people behind the scenes. The goal here is not to just show how you put a product together. It’s to show the company’s culturein all its glory. Demonstrate what happens on Casual Fridays and take some videos from the company’s outing to the amusement park. It might seem like a trivial thing, but people really do care about these things. Showing yourself as relatable will increase the chances of keeping that customer forever. Manipulate Emotion To Drive Attention To Your Brand Periscope can be used to get people excited about your brand. Playing around with the emotions of your target market is a great way to get people emotionally invested in what you’re doing. This is a proven way ofgetting customers to stick with you. Studies have shown that live video generates emotions and feelings you’re not going to find anywhere else. Drama, uncertainty, and unpredictability are just some of the emotions you can take advantage of through Periscope. Last Word – Time To Use Periscope Running a live stream for the first time can be a nerve-shredding experience. Businesses that haven’t done it naturally stay away because they’re scared of slipping up. But this is no excuse. Slipping up can actually be a great benefit. Making mistakes leaves you looking more relatable than ever. Getting started doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money. A strong Internet connection and a camera that shoots in HD is all you need to start producing coverage for Periscope. Source |
Marcus Guiliano
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March 2020
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