The Art of Aging Well
Our previous post pointed out the top 4 misconceptions about YouTube marketing and showed why those are simply myths. In this video, we will show you the top 5 reasons why you should be using YouTube to help market your business.
In this video, you’ll discover why you should be taking advantage of this marketing platform and how your business can benefit. Read more
Last month, we posted our introductory video about marketing your business on YouTube.
This month, we want to talk about the top 4 misconceptions about marketing on YouTube and debunking the myths.
In this video, you will learn what these myths are, and learn the truth and the value of marketing your business on YouTube. Read more
Are you marketing your business on YouTube? If not, you are missing a great opportunity to engage with your clients and prospects, build trust, and promote your products and services.
Over the next few months, we will be uploading a series of videos that will outline to you the reasons why you should be using this online tool to help build your business. The videos were created from an online presentation that was developed and delivered in 2013; the statistics may have changed and the quality isn’t great, (video engagement has increased since then) but the concepts and principles remain relevant.
In this video, you will learn what YouTube marketing is, and why you should be using it. Read more
And all across North America, more and more people are choosing to become independent workers and consultants.
An independent worker is someone who is a consultant, a temp, or a small business owner. According to the third annual MBO Partners State of Independence Report, published in 2013, 17.7 million Americans deemed themselves to be independent workers in that same year. This survey reflected only those folks who work 15 or more hours per week as an independent.
Independent workers also create jobs. 1 out of every 4 independent workers has hired another person as either a subcontractor or an employee.
Last month, we posted an article about how important it is to know your competitors in business.
Just as important is that is to know your customer. In fact, it is a critical ingredient in the running of a successful business.
Simply put, if you don’t know your customer, how will you know what they need? How will you satisfy their requirements and increase their lifetime value to your business? Well, of course if you don’t know your client, you are merely going through the motions and hoping that you are doing the right things to please them. And that just isn’t good enough!
First of all, you should identify your ideal client. What do they look like? Are you looking to provide products and services to a specific group of professionals? What services or products best fit with them? How much are you aiming to obtain in your average sale?
Then, understand what motivates them. It doesn’t matter if your business operates online or offline, or if you sell products or services. The principles are the same. Identify what your target market needs and wants, and then set out to show them how to obtain it. That is what creates satisfies, loyal customers and will generate referrals for your business.
Keep in mind that your customers are human; yes, behind that business is a manager or partner who is a human. Their requirements will always be changing and evolving. It is your responsibility to keep up with their needs and wishes if you are going to keep them happy. It’s not really that hard. Business relationships are just that – relationships. If you do your research, communicate regularly with your client, and really get to the core of what their goals and ambitions are, you will have a devoted and reliable client for many years to come.
Make sure that you are continually doing your research to ensure that the development and implementation of every marketing strategy you provide is current. Monitor all programs and projects to monopolize of strategies that work and eliminate those that don’t. Know your customers’ likes and dislikes, problems and complaints, wants and needs, regardless of whether you are providing a product or service. Anticipate their needs.
Commit time to learning every day to stay on top of changing trends and become a leader in your industry. After all, wasn’t that your goal when you first started your business?
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you are ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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Regardless of whether your business operates online or offline, knowing and understanding your competitors is vital to your success. Just as no man is an island, no business operates in seclusion. It’s extremely important for you to do your research on your competitors and find out about their strengths and weaknesses. There will always be other businesses that provide variations of your own products and services, and knowing who they are and how they work will give you an edge on securing clients.
Most likely, you are targeting clients from the same pool of prospects. By knowing the tactics and techniques that your competitors are using, you can gain an advantage over them and attract the prospects to become your clients rather than theirs.
It’s important that you understand your competitors so that you can position your business and your products and services to stand apart from the crowd. Otherwise, you simply become just another business offering the same services as dozens of others. Why would a prospect choose you over any of the rest? Do you want to leave that to chance, or are you going to take a page from successful businesses to create and develop your own unique brand?
Those expensive, flashy, eye catching websites really don’t help you when it comes to your ROI.
As a matter of fact, there are tons of examples of companies that have poured many thousands of dollars into beautifully designed websites that have generated them no leads, no conversions, and therefore, no dollars!
When creating your website, start by determining it’s purpose.
Is your purpose to create or increase revenue or produce any sort of client or customer activity? If so, you want a marketing expert to work with you to develop your site, or to correct the issues on your current website that you bought from a webmaster or graphic arts company. Or, an even worse option that some companies have opted for are those online phone directory companies who purport to be able to build you a great website. A quick view of some of these sites will show you that they are ineffective, unattractive, and unlikely to bolster your business online. Read more
It provides the opportunity for your prospects and the media to get a closer look at you and your business.
Additionally, it makes it simple to capture the attention of online and offline journalists, bloggers, event hosts and even radio show producers, allowing them ease of contact in order to draw attention to you and your business. And, it never hurts to show that you are media friendly and media savvy.
Be sure to dedicate a separate page on your website to your media kit. You can call this page Media, or Press or Media Kit, ensuring ease of navigation to the page. Also, be sure to use file formats that work across various platforms, browsers and computers, such as PDF files.
A properly designed media kit is generally comprised of the following six main components: Read more
In 2013, Dimensional Research carried out a study sponsored by a software company. While the research was about customer service and how it affects sales of midsize companies, researchers uncovered nuggets that changed the way people look at online reputation management forever. Those nuggets are as follows:
In today’s online world, it will be a huge mistake to ignore reviews about you or your business on the Internet. More so, it will be a bigger mistake to leave everything to chance, wishing that satisfied customers post the best testimonials while disgruntled ones keeping their opinions to themselves. Your target buyers are out there researching for you on the Internet and are looking for an excuse not to deal with you. Don’t give it to them. Read more
While it is used to improve a business or a person’s reputation on the World Wide Web, ORM carries a negative connotation to some professionals and business owners. That is because it is sometimes wrongly equated with posting fake consumer reviews on various popular websites, including social networks. In reality, the proper practice of ORM does not rely on fake reviews, but on positive content, genuine consumer feedback, and sharing via social media.
Having ORM performed on a business may also imply that this business has a bad reputation already, but this is not necessarily the case. ORM can be a reactive or a proactive measure. Consumers nowadays are greatly influenced by opinions of other consumers found online – where they actively look for information about businesses, products and services – that not having a bad reputation isn’t really enough. The good word about your business should be out there online more than your competitors so that your target customers will choose you over them.
Online reputation management is a practice that you as a business owner should start today.
Why? Well, There’s a ton of benefits for managing your reputation online.
For online reputation management to work, you must first be visible on the Internet. You need to be on Google search engine results as 97% of all consumers search for local businesses online, according to BIA/Kelsey and ConStat. Your presence should not be limited to Google though as prospects can also use Internet Yellow Pages (48%), vertical sites or topical search engines (24%), and comparison shopping sites (42%). You also need to be on reviews sites as 85% of consumers reference these sites to determine if a business is a good business, according to BrightLocal.
A separate survey by LMG, meanwhile, found that 87% of respondents search online for more information about a business that a friend or a family member referred. Those who searched online mostly used Google (67%) and looked for reviews or ratings (52%). Some 35% searched for the company’s website. Don’t forget social media because 13% headed to social networks to look up the business. After all, Facebook now has 1.3 billion monthly active users. Twitter has 645 million.
Even the devices used when searching are varied. Some 41% use a laptop when searching online for a business referred by a friend or family, according to the same study by LMG. Some 25% use a mobile phone, while 25% use a desktop computer, and 8% use a tablet.
What does all this mean? This means you should be all over the place. You need “widespread” visibility. Facebook has 1.3 billion monthly active users. Twitter has 645 million. This is where your prospects are. Be present on social networks when they search for you there.
Did you know that at least 50% of consumers will give a brand just one week to respond to complaints before they stop doing business with that brand? In the same study, Oracle also found that 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. Now you don’t want this to happen to your business, do you?
So as part of managing your online reputation, you need to know when people say something about you online so you can respond immediately. A simple solution would be to set up Google Alerts, so the search engine can notify you when the keywords you enter are published on the web. Also, regularly monitor your social accounts to appease consumers who air their complaints on Facebook or Twitter.
Finally, engaging means being able to gain your prospects’ trust and showing that you actually care. To gain their trust, you must have both editorial content (your own content) and independent consumer reviews. These are trusted by 58% and 70% of consumers, respectively, according to Nielsen. When it comes to showing you care, just be there, online. They will appreciate responses and your posts.
Don’t be satisfied with the positive content you produce on your own. Sure, high ranking articles, blog posts, and press releases about you or your business will help. However, it will also be better if you can encourage your customers to leave a testimonial on reviews sites and social networks. User-generated content is powerful in influencing consumer perception. For instance, Kelton Research / Bazaarvoice found that when it comes to banking and financial services, 83% would not make a decision without first reading at least one user-generated content.
Influencing perception also means getting both word of mouth and online recommendations. After all, these are the two most trusted forms of advertising today, according to Nielsen. Some 90% of consumers trust a personal recommendation, which can affect the purchase decision of 84% of buyers. Meanwhile, 70% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, according to BrightLocal. These statistics underscore the importance of both types of recommendations not just in managing your online reputation but also in influencing prospects to avail of your products and services.
The idea of online reputation management is simple. You need to produce positive media about your brand and spread it via social media. You need to encourage people to write positive reviews about you too. Then, you need to listen to your prospects and customers and resolve their concerns as soon as you can. You need to do this consistently. That’s what it takes to get a solid, positive reputation online.
We understand that you may not have the time to do all this on your own. You are running the core business. That’s why we want to give you a consultation to see how we can help manage your reputation today… so that you can appear when prospects search for you, engage them where and when they want to, and influence their purchase decisions in your favor.
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you are ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.
