Marketing Tips to Keep Your Small Business Going During a Crisis

1.    Take a look at opportunities for organic traffic growth. Check out your Google My Business listing. Can you update your store hours, business description, photos? Keeping this fresh may help to improve your rank locally for mobile searches. 

2.    Reach out to happy customers and ask for a Google review. More positive reviews can equate to an increase in online exposure and local SEO plus a boost for your brand.

3.    Set up online ordering. Now’s the perfect time to add a shopping cart to your website for customers who want your products mailed or delivered.

4.    Use video. Can you adopt a new video strategy to boost your business? Engage with clients/prospects in one-on-one video consultations or virtual group webinars. Can you supplement your offline products with online video content? Video consumption is increasing during this crisis, so give it a try!

5.    Gather up and organize your client and prospect email addresses. Help your business ride out the storm by emailing your current customers and giving them coupons, free items, or other things they deem valuable. And use email to keep your customers and prospects informed (ex: change in business hours) and/or reassured (ex: precautions your business is taking during the crisis).
If you don't have an email marketing tool for your business, try out a free trial of Constant Contact which gives you all the tools you need to create professional-looking emails to keep in touch with prospects and clients. 

6.    Remain active on social media. If you have a passionate customer or fan base, they want to hear from you! Even if you're forced to temporarily close or cut back, stay in touch virtually. You'll probably see a lot of support come your way and you'll stay top of mind with your community for when you re-open.      

7.    Run a gift card promotion. Run a special offer on gift cards. This can bring in revenue now and foot traffic or attention to your business later.

Have other ideas or suggestions? Please share in the comments. Or contact me for assistance with your business marketing. jocelynm@marketing-er.com

Get More Google Reviews to Grow Your Online Presence

Positive Google Reviews can really impact your business.  These independent ratings of your business can increase your credibility and pique the interest of Google searchers when they see your high marks online. Research shows that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation (Bright Local 2018). Because Google is one of the most utilized and trusted search engines, it’s more important than ever to utilize their Reviews.

As you probably know, when you perform a search in Google, the results page will show any businesses that have a Google My Business listing. In this listing, you can profile your contact information, photos, news and gather customer reviews.

One of the greatest benefits of Google Reviews is how they can boost your local search engine ranking. Google favors businesses that have frequent and positive reviews on their Google My Business listing. Additionally, there are no fees associated with leaving or responding to a Google Review.  Great reviews are positive endorsements or free advertising for your business.

How to Get Great Reviews

Come up with a strategy for collecting positive Google Reviews. Consider all the ways you create great experiences and outcomes for your clients and how you can be proactive about securing reviews from them.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Personally Request the Review

Did you just have a great client interaction in your store? Or maybe you’ve spent months on a client project that surpassed its goals? These are great opportunities to personally ask (in person or by phone) for a Google Review. 

2. Add a Google Review Link in Your Email Signature

If you regularly communicate with clients via email and feel confident that your reviews will be positive, add a request and link in your email signature. 

3. Ask Partners and Vendors for Reviews

Business partners and established vendors can attest to what it’s like to work with you. Exchange Reviews to help each other’s SEO and visibility.

Create Your Google Review Link

Clients may be willing to give you that great online review, but you need to make it easy for them. Here are the steps to create a direct link to your Google Review form:

1. Search for your business name in Google

2. Find your Business Listing on the right-hand side of the Google search results page and click on ‘Write a Review’

3. Once the Google Review box pops us, copy the url from the address bar.

4. This is most likely a very long url. Go to www.tinyurl.com to shorten it into a concise link.

Make it a strategic part of your sales and marketing processes to ask happy customers to review your business. Great Google ratings will go a long way in improving your digital presence.

Have questions or need help with your Google My Business Listing or Reviews? Contact Jocelyn Murray for help today. 

Email Design Checklist

If you've ever created an email campaign and forgot to include an important website link, phone number or social button, then this email design checklist is for you!

Before you schedule your next email newsletter, offer or promotion, be sure to run through these seven check points to ensure that your email communication is on point!

(source: Constant Contact)

New Features and More Reasons to Use Constant Contact for your Email Marketing

Email continues to offer the highest return on investment in comparison to other digital marketing channels. Easy to use email marketing tools can help increase sales, engage customers and generate positive word of mouth. Smart business owners, like you, are using email to get the attention of prospects and clients.  

While there are many email marketing solutions available, Constant Contact has the added features and support that make it a winning solution. Check out these important marketing features that you need in your email marketing solution:

 Maximize Your Open Rate

Compare two subject lines with an A/B test (a.k.a.split test) to ensure you’re sending the most effective subject line to your contacts.

Maximize your open rates by making sure you’re sending the best subject line. Create two subject lines which will be sent to two small groups. The winning subject line will be sent to the remainder of your list.

Increase Your List Growth

Increase your contact list by creating and installing a pop-up sign-up form on your website. Maximize your list growth with a pop up sign up form for your website. Forms can increase sign ups more than 150% than traditional sign up boxes.

Another great list growth asset is the Text-to-Join sign up tool which allows your customers to join your email list via text message. No websites, no sign up sheets. Just choose a keyword for subscribers to enter and prospects can use this channel to submit email addresses via their cell phones.

    Import Your Outlook Contacts

With just a few clicks you can move all of your contacts stored in Outlook into a single list in Constant Contact. 

    Email Click Segmentation 
    Send the Right Information to the Right Contacts

Segmenting your lists is a marketing best practice, especially if your list is large or you have several different audiences. Segmentation allows you to send the right information, to the right contacts. 

When you set up click segmentation in a Constant Contact email, every time a contact clicks a link, a button, or a clickable image in your email, they can automatically be added to a list of your choosing. 

You can either use this list for future emails or trigger an auto responder email that is sent immediately.

These are just a few of the latest features that differentiate Constant Contact as an email marketing tool.  

Small businesses can build new relationships with prospects and foster existing client relationships by sending professional-looking email communications regularly. 

For help with your email marketing plans, contact me at jocelynm@marketing-er.com.

Email Marketing: The Top Marketing Tool for Small Businesses

What's a Good Email Open Rate?

Do you know how your email open rates measure up to similar businesses in your industry?

Your email open rate, an important marketing metric, is a tally of how many people open or view a particular email campaign.  Open rates are typically expressed as a percentage and this is the formula:

Open Rate= Unique Opens / Number of Emails Sent

As a business owner or marketer, tracking your open rates (along with a few other email metrics) and attempting to improve them should be a priority.  Keep a spreadsheet of your email open rates and establish your quarterly open rate average.  Now you can do a quarterly comparison to identify trends or patterns.

You can also use your open rate average to compare yourself to others in your industry.

The chart below (source: Constant Contact) contains open rates by industry and other email metrics: bounce rate (percentage of bad emails), click through rate (percentage of people who clicked on links in your email) and unsubscribe rate (percentage of people who leave your list).

Check out your industry's email open rate and see how you compare: 

Stay tuned for next month's blog where we'll discuss how to improve your open rate!

Why Email is the Top Marketing Tool

Although email marketing might not get the praise that the latest social media platform does, it can have a far wider reach than all the social networks combined.  Email generates a significantly higher click-through rate and total return on investment.

If your business or nonprofit isn't emailing your clients, prospects, and donors regularly, you're missing out on an important marketing opportunity. Email is inexpensive, yet effective, simple to execute and ideal for small business marketing. With user-friendly tools like Constant Contact, you can easily develop newsletters, promotions, coupons, invitations, announcements and more.  

Here are some stats to confirm the importance of email in your marketing:

• Email gets delivered 90+% of the time

• For every $1 spent on email, there's a $44.25 average return on investment 

• 91% of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with. 

(sources: Direct Marketing Association, Marketing Sherpa)

The core of your business is about developing relationships with your clients and prospects.  By emailing quality content or emails with a purpose, you can manage and nurture those relationships and build your business too. 

Start working on your email campaigns today!  Or contact me at 203.377.9980 for help in creating and distributing your emails to maximize results.  

Is Your Contact Information Easy to Find?

Have you ever gotten really frustrated when you're looking for contact information for a vendor, client or a local business online and can't find it?  Don't risk losing valuable business by making it difficult for people to communicate with you: include your contact information in as many places as possible! 

In addition to your business card and brochures, here's a list of online places to include your contact info to ensure that you'll be found:

1) Web Site

Your phone number should be readily available on every page of your website, especially your homepage, in addition to your contact page. Be sure all of your contact details (phone, email, location/address) are on your 'Contact Us' page.  If you use a contact form, also include your email address as an optional way to connect.

2) Google My Business

Register your business with Google so you're easily found when someone does a search.  Be sure to complete your entire listing so all of your business information can be distributed across all Google products (Google+, Google Search, Google Maps, etc.)

3) Social Media Sites

Every social media site is different but check each one of yours(Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) and be sure your contact information is complete and easy to find.

4) e-Newsletters

Your email newsletter probably contains lots of useful information and links but does it include your contact info to allow clients and prospects to easily reach out to you?

5) Email Signature

Create an email signature that contains your company name, office and mobile phone numbers, social media links as well as your mailing address.

You can't post your contact info in too many places. Make sure it's everywhere so people don't have to hunt you down!  What other places online should you include your contact details? Comment below.

Why Your Business or Nonprofit Needs Email Marketing Now

You've probably heard that email is an inexpensive marketing tool that should be part of your marketing plan and strategy, but maybe you're still on the fence about giving it a try.  Here are some key benefits and statistics that might convince you to include email in your marketing:

Benefits

Minimal Investment

Email marketing tools, like Constant Contact, provide robust solutions including pre-designed email templates with high functionality built in for an affordable monthly cost.  They offer small businesses the ideal solution for creating professional looking email communications to help you meet your marketing goals.

High ROI

Email offers the highest return in comparison to other marketing channels.  This makes sense because email marketing reaches consumers where they spend much of their time-- looking at their inbox! According to the Direct Marketing Association(DMA), email marketing's return on investment almost $41 per dollar spent compared to social media's ROI of $12.71.  

Easy to Execute

With little design and technical knowledge, creating and sending engaging email campaigns is simple. Intuitive email builders guide you through the creation process so you can produce customized communications to attract new clients and retain your existing ones.

Email Statistics

91% of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with.

                                                                                                          Marketing Sherpa, 2015

Email is almost 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined in helping  businesses acquire new customers.        

                                                                                                                McKinsey, 2014

66% of consumers have made a purchase as a result of an email marketing message.

                                                                                                                DMA, 2013

If you're still not sure whether or not to invest part of your marketing budget in email, check out what other small business owners are saying about email. Many have experienced great success. And if your're interested in seeing how it works for yourself, you can try it for free! Start your free 60-day trial of Constant Contact today!

Need a Makeover in 2016? Five Ways to Refresh Your Marketing

by Guest Blogger, Michele Kelly, owner of GraphicWays Design

If you can't recall the last time your revamped your brochures, signs or website, you might not be properly conveying your message, product benefits or brand and missing out on valuable sales opportunities.

Savvy businesses realize that in order to attract more clients, contemporary, updated marketing materials that best communicate your products or services can give you an advantage.  While there might not be a budget for a total overhaul, a timely review of your critical marketing tools is a must. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Logo

Is your logo still relevant and does it reflect your brand?

Are the colors and typefaces stuck in a time warp?

Is your logo geared toward your target audience?

2. Brochures

Have you added new products or services?

Does your current brochure look dated?

Is there a call to action in your sales material?

3. Website

Is your website mobile friendly?

Are you getting found in search engines?

Is your site optimized for a wider format?

4. Stationery

Has your company changed address or phone numbers?

Is your website listed on your letterhead?

Are your business cards impressive and unique?

5. Email Marketing

Missing an opportunity by not utilizing your email lists?

Do your emails end up in a client or prospects spam folder? 

Are you getting good open and click through rates?

Remember to review and understand what marketing campaigns have worked in the past. This will better enable you to recreate your marketing for the new year to wake up and re-energize your business!